Carseat Question....What weight limit will you go with?

arcook0307

Maybe I should read up on laws regarding how long a child should be rear facing for my state.  I haven't done that yet.  We are military so I'm not even sure what state we will be in by the time LO is 3 months old. But my question is about which car seat to buy.  We are looking at the Graco Snugride carseats which can be purchased as an infant seat, up to 30 pounds, and up to 35 pounds.  In the essence of cost effectiveness, we were thinking of going for the 35 pound limit carseat even though it costs a little more.  The carseat can only be installed rear facing so that means my child will have to stare at the backseat until she is 35 pounds.  For some reason, it seems to me that rear facing until 35 pounds (while safer) doesn't always seem that practical.  Both my husband and my side of the family have smaller bone structure and are on the shorter side so I am wondering if my kid could be rear facing until she's in the second grade!  My hubby was only 36 pounds in first grade!  I am all about safety but is there something I am not considering?  Should we go with a lower weight limit and upgrade the carseat sooner in order to be forward facing sooner or go with the higher weight limit and be rear facing until 35 pounds?  What's everyone else doing and why?  Thanks!

EveryNameIWantIsTaken

With the 35lb weight limit, the child will likely be throwing a fit about being in a more laying down position than rear facing until that weight.  Essentially, the APA recommends rfing until 2 years.  We moved ds to a convertible car seat rear facing when he was 6 months old because at that point he hated laying down all the time and not being able to look around.  Really, unless the kid is really car sick, kids generally aren't bothered by rear facing.  That being said, ds is just around 30 lbs now, and there is no way he would go into an infant carrier like the snugride without a huge fight.  My suggestion, go with an infant carrier with a lower weight limit, and invest in a good convertible seat when the time comes and baby is ready to sit up more.

renogaw

We'll use a rear facing infant carrier (Graco Snugride) until it is no longer comfortable to lug her around in it.  At that point, we'll get a convertible car seat (probably a Britax Roundabout) and have it rear-facing until she's as close to 2 years old as we can stand it (we made it to 22 months with DD #1).  Then we'll flip it to forward-facing and use it until she's ready for a booster seat (as close to 40 lbs or the height limitation as we can get). 

Rear-facing is safest and is recommended until age 2.  People sometimes worry about the child's legs being injured in a crash, but better a broken leg than a broken neck. 

GoldenPeaches

Well in most (all?) states you must rear face until age 1 and 20 lbs. The current recommendation is to rear face until at least age 2, but preferably as long as the seat will allow. I suggest you spend a few hours now researching the benefits of extended rear facing. For me, hearing stories of internal decapitation and that babies are more likely to die in an accident when forward facing was enough to convince me to rear face for as long as the seat will allow. 

As for baby's comfort, children are much more flexible than we are as adults. Sitting with scrunched up legs is a natural position for a child, and actually quite comfortable for them. You can see just as much rear facing as you can forward facing, but IMO this shouldn't be a consideration here at all. It should all be about safety when it comes to car seats.  

This website has more information and has crash test videos of forward and rear facing children. To me the videos are worth a million words:

https://www.cpsafety.com/articles/stayrearfacing.aspx 

We have the Chicco Keyfit 30 and plan on buying the Britax Marathon 70 later on. Chances are, your baby will outgrow the height limit way before he outgrows the weight limit on your Graco Snugride. At that point, to keep him safest, you'll want to get a convertible seat which will rear face and then forward face much later on.

RadicalDreamer143

1) I have the Snugride 35 - you can install it forward facing, though I did not, because it is STRONGLY recommended by the AAP as of this year to have your child rear facing till age two if not longer.

2) My son used his Snugride 35 until he was 16 months old, and then went into a MyRide 65.  Supposedly you can use this carseat from birth, but it is HUGE, and when rearfacing, isn't quite as stable as the Snugride, plus I doubt it snaps into any strollers.  My Snugride 35 fits into my double stroller, the Baby Jogger City Select, so I am pleased with my choice.

By the way... I just put a mirror that sings in three different languages on the back of the seat my son is (still) facing.  He has never, ever had the urge to look forward, because I never faced him that way - how should he know if it is better?  I'd rather him be safe.  I've seen videos of children forward facing younger than two  who became internally decapitated in an accident, the cause being the way they were facing... sorry, but I'll rear face as long as I can.

Why are you so against the idea of rear facing?

WyWysMommy

My DS who will be 3 in a few weeks isn't even 35lbs yet. However, he is 40ish inches tall. You child will most likely outgrow height wise the infant seat way before he/she his they weight limit.  The 30lb weight limit one should be fine until you are ready to buy a convertible seat to RF.

So I say save money now and get the one with the smaller weight limit because in 6-12 months you will need a new one anyway more than likely.

katcarls

When it comes to car seats you can't just look at weight limits.  The vast majority of babies and toddlers will outgrow their seats by height long before weight.

The Snugride 30 would be sufficient and it should last you 9-12 months+.  When the infant seat is outgrown, you will switch to a convertible car seat but your LO still needs to be rear facing.  They are not ready to go from an infant seat straight to a forward facing car seat.  Our convertible car seat is a  Britax Boulevard 70 and DS will stay rear facing until he reaches the rear facing limits of the seat.  I'm guessing that will be sometime between age 2 and 3.

rebeccaontherocks

Your kid will reach the height limit before the weight limit in most cases.

lageorgiapaperie

We just went with the Graco Snugride infant seat, up to 22 lbs I believe. After that we'll get a convertible seat that will last for a long time,

BeccaMarie

Radical - the snug ride 35 should NOT be used forward facing (read the recommended use section)

 

https://www.gracobaby.com/Products/Pages/ProductDetails.aspx?ProductID=1761417

MissBHaven1024

We got the Chicco Cortina Keyfit 30 for LO, and haven't decided what seat we will use past that point. DH and I are tall and thin, and DD is the same way (She is 5.5 years old and weights about 36lbs; I weighted 32lbs when I was 5, so we knew our kids would be lanky). 

 

I just learned about all of the new recommendations as far as keeping kids rear-facing until they are 2 years old now, which I can understand, but I also think that's a little odd when I think about their poor legs being squished. So we will have to research what carseat to use after the infant seat. 

authorofdreamz

It is not only a weight requirement but also a height and age requirement. Most likely your child would outgrow the height limit on the infant seat before reaching 30 or 35 lbs. My nephew is almost three and still under 35lbs but he outgrew the infant seat at about 8 months. The recommendation for rear-facing is until 1-2 years of age and at least 20lbs so no you do not have to RF until s/he is 35 lbs and no you will not still be RFing when your child is in second grade. Most likely regardless of how long you decide to RF your child will not be in the infant seat until 35 or even 30 lbs so it doesn't really matter which infant seat you get.

JMack1117

MissBHaven1024:

We got the Chicco Cortina Keyfit 30 for LO, and haven't decided what seat we will use past that point. DH and I are tall and thin, and DD is the same way (She is 5.5 years old and weights about 36lbs; I weighted 32lbs when I was 5, so we knew our kids would be lanky). 

 

I just learned about all of the new recommendations as far as keeping kids rear-facing until they are 2 years old now, which I can understand, but I also think that's a little odd when I think about their poor legs being squished. So we will have to research what carseat to use after the infant seat. 

Would you rather fix a broken leg or a broken neck?  Also, there are no documented cases of broken legs due to kids RF'ing.  In addition, kids are actually more comfortable with somewhere to put their legs--they are flexible, and they usually just cross their legs or put them up on the seat behind them.  DD RF'd until she was almost 3, and she's really tall for her age.  It can be done comfortably, and the peace of mind that she was 5x less likely to die in a car accident was worth it to me.

arcook0307

 I didn't mean to sound like I was against it.  It's just I know nothing about common issues (if any) of a child being rear facing for so long.  I just wasn't sure.  Hard to think about it from an infant/toddler perspective, that's all.  I know safety is the priority, just wondering if there were issues with trying to maintain safety as well as mommy's sanity.  Thanks for the info!

RadicalDreamer143:

1) I have the Snugride 35 - you can install it forward facing, though I did not, because it is STRONGLY recommended by the AAP as of this year to have your child rear facing till age two if not longer.

2) My son used his Snugride 35 until he was 16 months old, and then went into a MyRide 65.  Supposedly you can use this carseat from birth, but it is HUGE, and when rearfacing, isn't quite as stable as the Snugride, plus I doubt it snaps into any strollers.  My Snugride 35 fits into my double stroller, the Baby Jogger City Select, so I am pleased with my choice.

By the way... I just put a mirror that sings in three different languages on the back of the seat my son is (still) facing.  He has never, ever had the urge to look forward, because I never faced him that way - how should he know if it is better?  I'd rather him be safe.  I've seen videos of children forward facing younger than two  who became internally decapitated in an accident, the cause being the way they were facing... sorry, but I'll rear face as long as I can.

Why are you so against the idea of rear facing?

MrsG.060708

I didn't pay much attention to the weight limit of our infant seat, to be honest. DD1 was out of it at 6 months and she was still well within the weight and height restrictions.

At that point, we moved her into her convertible seat (Britax Roundabout) and she was kept rearfacing until just after her 2nd birthday.

I highly doubt that you will keep your LO in the infant seat until they reach the weight restriction...they get incredibly heavy to lug around and once they can sit up pretty well, most kiddos seem to like the convertible better since it sits more upright (at least that was the case with DD1).

RadicalDreamer143

BeccaMarie:

Radical - the snug ride 35 should NOT be used forward facing (read the recommended use section)

 

https://www.gracobaby.com/Products/Pages/ProductDetails.aspx?ProductID=1761417

I did NOT use it forward facing, lol, and regardless I told her she shouldn't.  I thought it allowed for it, but I can't find my manual at the moment, unfortunately. 

RadicalDreamer143

arcook0307:

 I didn't mean to sound like I was against it.  It's just I know nothing about common issues (if any) of a child being rear facing for so long.  I just wasn't sure.  Hard to think about it from an infant/toddler perspective, that's all.  I know safety is the priority, just wondering if there were issues with trying to maintain safety as well as mommy's sanity.  Thanks for the info!

RadicalDreamer143:

1) I have the Snugride 35 - you can install it forward facing, though I did not, because it is STRONGLY recommended by the AAP as of this year to have your child rear facing till age two if not longer.

2) My son used his Snugride 35 until he was 16 months old, and then went into a MyRide 65.  Supposedly you can use this carseat from birth, but it is HUGE, and when rearfacing, isn't quite as stable as the Snugride, plus I doubt it snaps into any strollers.  My Snugride 35 fits into my double stroller, the Baby Jogger City Select, so I am pleased with my choice.

By the way... I just put a mirror that sings in three different languages on the back of the seat my son is (still) facing.  He has never, ever had the urge to look forward, because I never faced him that way - how should he know if it is better?  I'd rather him be safe.  I've seen videos of children forward facing younger than two  who became internally decapitated in an accident, the cause being the way they were facing... sorry, but I'll rear face as long as I can.

Why are you so against the idea of rear facing?

I've had no issues with sanity, lol.  I can imagine if a parent wants to turn their child around once or twice, the child might cry if not facing forward - but I think that's just parents projecting their own feelings on what their kid might want.  "If it were me, I'd want to look forward.  If it were me, I'd want to see mom and dad.  If it were me, I'd want to watch the car DVD player."  Kids don't need that, at least not toddlers.  We've done seven-hour trips with our son rear facing - he had soft toys to play with, we stopped often in order to let him run around, it was fine.

lewis514

DD's infant carrier went to 30 lbs but we switched her to her convertible (Evenflo Triumph Advance) rearfacing at 8 months old. We switched seats bc she was getting squished in the carrier &  was getting heavy for me to use the carrier (easier to carry her).  We kept her RFing until 2 years old and now she is FFing in the same seat. She did not have any issue with RFing and would bend her legs. DH wanted to switch her to FFing and I let him. He had wanted to switch her earlier but I showed him the research to keep her RFing until 2.

FTR, DD is 2.5 and is only 26 lbs.

memali26

We the SnugRide 32 (was produced briefly before the 35 was introduced). DD1 stayed in it until almost 13 months - at that point she was only an inch from the height limit, so we switched her to a convertible seat (Evenflo Triumph). She only weighed 19 lbs then, so we kept her RFing. DD1 is on the taller side, so while we didn't need the high weight limit, I liked having a higher height limit on the infant seat because it gave me more time to research and choose a convertible.

Now, at 19 months, DD1 is only 23 lbs. She's still RFing in the Triumph, and I have no intention of turning her FFing until she hits the weight or height limit of her seat. Which won't be for quite some time, and she is very comfy RFing. She just crosses her legs or hangs them over the sides of the seat, sometimes even props them on the seat back, almost straight up in the air  

jenb_99

I'm going with a Baby Trend jogger system whose infant carseat is rated up to 30 lbs. I don't think the weight limit is going to matter much, though, because babies tend to outgrow infant carseats lengthwise months before they reach the weight limit. We'll probably have to switch to a convertible by the time he's 6 or 7 months old.