Anyone switch to convertible car seat early?

Mr.&MrsS

We are thinking of putting Nolan into his convertible car seat already. He HATES the infant seat and screams the second you put him in it and continues to scream until we arrive where we are going and take him out. It can make for pretty stressful car rides!! But I am wondering what you did when shopping....wear the baby? He cant sit up yet, so he cant sit in the cart. What about when you went out to eat? I would imagine we would have to hold him the while time until he is big enough to sit in a highchair.

If you switched early just give me the good, the bad, and the ugly. I just want to know if this is a good idea so early. (We didnt switch Brady until he was 8 months and he could sit up so shopping carts and highchairs werent an issue, and he wasnt really falling asleep in the car anymore at that point. Plus he always loved his carseat and being in the car so this was never an issue.)

BoxTer

We did. I can't remember exactly how old she was, but it was maybe four months? She was in the 95 percentile for weight and height and it got heavy carrying her around in the carrier. She wasn't sitting up yet either so I wore her in the Bjorn at the grocery store, mall, etc. or I used the stroller (depending on how much stuff I needed to buy). Overall, it was not too bad. Yes, it was more convenient to take her out of the car in her carrier, but I never thought it was too terrible. I would probably switch him and see how it goes. Driving around with a screaming baby can't be much fun! And if it doesn't work, you can always switch back and use the seat in a few months.

Temp159135562506975

We moved Gibby at 4mo because he was already 18lbs and it was killing my back lifting it up into the car.  Griffin was switched at 5mo for the same reason.  We have kept Gray in the infant seat b/c he's a lot lighter- and it's just so much easier to have at least one baby in the infant seat right now.

the boys don't sit on their own-but can sit up well if propped so now i put them both in the top of a shopping cart seat area - with the seat cover + blankets wrapped around them to prop them up - no problem. With Griffin i had a seat cover that had a "snuggle strap" of sorts that helped him sit up really well. Can't use that now since i have 2.

The bad, would be, if you, like us, go out to eat a lot and would keep him in the infant seat while eating... since he's a little young to sit in a high chair for a full meal - that might be tough- but won't last too long.  We don't go out to eat with all 3 of them now- so it's not an issue for us anymore... but that was the biggest problem when we mvoed Griffin - we often had to sit him on our laps.

Since you have 1 there are a lot more options like wearing him.  When you are shopping you can always lay him down in the top seat area if your seat cover is nice and cushy - we did that with Griffin a lot and he'd sleep in there if he was really tired.  Again- can't do that with 2 babies now

talentedgirl

We switched Hud around 4 months, he was just to big to carry in the seat. I used the stroller or moby mostly, but I made him a belt so I could strap him up right into restaurant high chairs and shopping carts. I sewed a 3 inch wide piece of fabric, doubled over with velcro on it, I would put it around him right under arms and it helped prop him up pretty well.  I also lay him on my jacket in the bottom of shopping carts a few times, he loved that especially store that had ceiling fans to look at.

The only problems I had was it was harder to keep him covered and warm in the covertible seat. I used a larged fleece blanket and wrapped it around the entire seat to try to keep him warm, and I used have to put him in and out of his snowsuit or bunting bag everytime I took him anywhere. Kind of a pain, but good practice for this year. I can't remember where you are and if snowsuits are an issue.

marcuej

Good to hear this stuff!  I think we'll be moving Stella to a convertible seat in another month (she'll be 4 months then).  She's just getting too dang heavy and long to keep in her infant seat.  I was wondering the same things about going out to eat and shopping. 

dusk42

This is slightly different since I still have a newborn, but we only installed the convertible seat so far (we haven't installed the infant carrier because we were using my car to haul around our foster dog).  Our convertible seat fits newborns well, so we have just been using that.  I wear her in a sling or carrier in the store or while eating at friends' houses so that I have free hands.  It's been pretty easy so far, but I'm sure it is different with an older baby.