When Do We Buy a Different Carseat?

I kept my son in his carseat until he was 14 months old. He did not out weigh it and was ok height wise too. You can buy a convertible car seat now and switch her into it but I waited until he was a little older due to safety issues. It is best to keeo them rear facing as long as possible. The recommendations are until they are at least a year. My son also loved his infant carrier so that worked well for us.
J.

The Illinois State Law is they must remain rear facing until 1 Year of age and 20 pounds. Both requirements must be met. So you will probably need a rear/front convertible seat. Look for one that goes to at least 80 pounds so you don't have to get another one for her.

Hi M.,
It goes by size. My baby switched over at 6 months but he was 27 inches and was just not comfortable in it anymore. We just keep the convertible carseat backwards still. If you have a smaller baby you could go a couple more months. Just check what your infant seat weight limit is. I have a lot of friends who had snugrides that broke at 20lbs even though the weight limit was higher.

Your baby will need a new seat when she has LESS than 1 inch of hard plastic above her head or she is heavier than the seat's guideline. She must be rearfacing to 1 year and 20lbs, but consider keeping her rearfacing til she exceeds the rearfacing weight limit on the new carseat. The Britax Marathon and Costco Scenara both rearface to 30+lbs. It is much safer for her head and neck to be rearfacing as long as possible.

We have a Britax Marathon for our 3 year old. It harnesses to 65lbs. Other Britax convertible seats offer more side protection, but the Marathon was at the top of our budget. It has worked well for us. I used the much cheaper Scenara for my son, but it only harnesses to 40lbs. I would not put your 1yo in the Graco Nautulus, because that seat does not rearface.

our Dr told us that our little girl has to be at least 1 year old, at least 20 lbs and either walking or great body control.

You would be wise to do your research and homework (just like you're doing here) because if you don't you can wind up buying a new seat for every stage and go broke!

We switched our son to a convertible car seat at 9 months because he no longer 'fit' the snap-and-go infant carrier. His little legs were about to dangle off the end and the straps were getting very, very tight.

We wound up going with a Britax model (for the life of me, can't remember which but one of the middle models, not the top end or the bottom). I absolutely love it! You can use it rear-facing or forward-facing, it is totally easy to install, and the seat will accommodate our son until he needs to be in a booster.

Look at all the different offerings, see their age/height/weight range and requirements, then make a decision that best suits your family. Another good source is the book "Baby Bargains" because they evaluate pretty much every seat on the market.

Yes, your daughter will go into a convertile carseat once she is over 20lbs or has reached the height limit for her infant carseat. If her feet hang over the infant carseat, she has reached the limit and would be safer in the convertible carseat.

A convertilbe carseat is used stationary in the car at all times either facing the rear or forward. They still have the safer 5 point harness (rather than using the car's seatbelt.) Your daughter will face the rear of the car until she 1 year old AND has reached 20lbs. Once she has reached this milestone you can face her forward and she can stay in the seat until she reaches that weight limit. Most have a weight limit around 50lbs. (She can move to a booster seat with the car's seatbelt once she is over 40lbs and 4 yrs old)

M.,
I moved my Daughter into a new car seat once she was getting too heavy carrying the car seat everywhere. Usually in the directions it tells you how much the car seat will hold. I hope you kept the info? if not call the non-emergency number to your local Police Dep. and ask them, they usually know.

The right time to buy a new car seat is when your child is too large by weight or height for the infant seat. I bought a new one when my daughter was about 10 months and she was over the limit for the infant seat by 2 pounds. The seat should have a sticker on the bottom or side giving the limits. When I bought ours, I looked at a bunch of them and the dollar amount. I had narrowed it down to a Safety First seat that is forward or reverse up to 40 or 65 pounds, cannot remember which, and the Graco Nautilus which is not reverse. I chose the Graco. I know she should be rear facing for a little longer but we don't go out very often right now and she is in the 90th percentile for her age. One thing I do suggest is checking out the carseat with your car. There is a website that is supposed to help but it did not help me choose one. You need to make sure the car seat fits well with your car. Also some of the newer seats now are huge. Basically, based on the size and age of your child (rear facing until 20 pounds and 1 yr though some recommend up to 35 pounds)and type of car. During these times though, we also have to decide based on our pocketbook. One suggestion, once you decide onthe carseat, look online and see if you get a better deal. I bought mine at Walmart and saw it cheaper at their website. I ordered and returned the one to the store. Good Luck.

I love this blog site. http://www.carseatnanny.blogspot.com/

She has a list of car seat with their weights, heights, likes and dislikes. There are great links too. You can switch to a convertible seat, which is rear-facing and forward facing when the time is right. "They" are now saying it is safer to keep your child rear-facing as long as possible. My child is 17 months and is really tall. I will keep him rear-facing until he reaches the maxium for rear-facing and then I will switch him. Good luck.

K.

Hi M.-
I believe its when she gets to 23lbs. One big recommendation- when you buy a new carseat get a RECLINING one. When we bought a new carseat for my son we got one that doesn't recline because we have a Doublecab Truck and the backseat doesn't recline, so I didn't think we could get a reclining seat, but now I know we could've! And now when my son falls asleep in the car his head hangs down to his chest and it looks very uncomfortable and I feel so bad for him! So I definitely recommend a reclining car seat. Good luck! A.

Hi M.,

You can use the infant seat until your daughter exceeds the weight or height limit. I know on ours (Graco Snugride, part of the LiteRider travel system), the height limit was 27 inches and the weight limit is somewhere in the 20s. But, if you don't really used the pop-out feature much, you can switch anytime. We have the Britax Roundabout. It's a great carseat (even better designed than the infant seat kind) and works well in our Toyota Corolla.

Best,
R.

We changed right at 6 months. Our daughter had outgrown her's and when we went in and talked with a person at Babies R' Us she told us that once they are pulling their head away from the seat it is time.

Our daughter had been holding her head up for months, refusing to put it down. So once we switched, she was happy! She was sitting up more like she wanted.

It's probably more than time to switch.

All carseats have weight and height guidelines on the side/back. Look at the guidelines and see how your child matches up. She will grow out of it at some point.

You can get a "convertible" carseat that faces back and front. Back facing is still best for a child under 1 or under 20 lbs.

I haven't see much difference between the cheaper Cosco models and the very expensive Britax models. Find what works for you.

Good luck.

Hye,
Change of carseat depends upon the weight of baby. You can ask your doctor if she is ready for front facing seat. If she is tall enough you can face her front. Changing carseat is recommended after 1 year of age. Doctor is the best person to suggest about that.

read your convertible carseat weight limit. once she is over/close to the limit then you'll switch to the regular carseat that remains in the car. she will need to stay rear facing until she is oneyear old.

My daughter was WAY too heavy for me to carry in the infant carrier at 6 months so we moved her into the convertible seat. Ours is the Alpha Omega Elite. We bought the same one for our son a few years ago and love it. It's rear facing for under age 1 and under 20 lbs., then it turns to front facing and it then turns into a booster. Look for something like this so you get more for your money!

she can stay in the infant bucket seat until she is over the weight limit or her top of the head is too high (usually it's tip of ears at the top of the seat.

After she is too big to carry in the bucket you just leave the bucket in the car and move her only.

The new recommendation is to keep her rear facing as long as possible. To do this you would need a convertible carseat that can be both rear and forward facing if she is over the weight limit for the infant seat.

When she is 20 lbs. AND 1 yr. old. she can be switched into a forward facing car seat, no sooner though. Their little bodies can't handle it if there was a collision.

eventually you will have to buy a convertable carseat as your infant seat is only safe to use rear-facing and up to 20 lbs (i think that newer graco is good through 30, but i have a hard time imagining a 30 lb baby who'd be happy rear facing!).

we switched our daughter at 5.5 months because she didn't stay asleep in the infant seat when i'd bring her in the house and i figured that she was bulky enough that it wasn't worth the effort. most convertable seats are good from 5 lbs--you don't need to buy the infant seat--through anywhere from 40-80lbs depending on the model you get. illinois law requires that children be in a carseat of some kind till they hit 80lbs (might even be 85) and the whole point of a "convertable" is that it can be safely installed rear or forward facing. your daughter, according to the law, MUST remain rear facing till she is 1 year old AND weighs at least 20 lbs.

we initially went with a britax roundabout. it's good for 5-40lbs, is pretty compact and SO easy to install. we've moved it to my husband's car recently as my 2-year-old started school and he's in charge of drop off and got her a britax marathon (through 65 lbs). if you're looking at britaxes, i'd suggest www.albeebaby.com... amazing webstie! free shipping (and crazy fast!) over $100 and they tend to have last season's patterns for a LOT cheaper (our marathon retails at $279 and i paid $179 w/ no tax or shipping!). check out their close-outs.

good luck!

Our son outgrew his infant carrier at 5 months. We bought a convertible carseat that goes from rear to forward facing (at 1 year and 20 pounds) into a booster up to 80 pounds. She's definitely ready for a convertible carseat. Make sure you buy one that she can use as a booster too, because that's money better spent. Good luck.