When did you switch from infant car seat to convertible car seat?

umdbride · August 2011

DS has really started to try and sit up (or lean forward) in his SnugRide and he is getting really heavy to carry in it so I'm wondering if we should consider switching to a normal seat (like the Britax Marathon). The Britax says we can use it as early as 5 lbs, but realistically, when did you put your DC in a normal seat? How did you know he/she was ready for it?

FWIW - At DS's 4 month appointment he weighed almost 16 lbs so I think he's probably close to 18 lbs now.

TIA!

Hey Jellisy · August 2011

With DD, we switched at 9 months, the carrier was getting heavy and it just seemed easier. DS is 18lbs and I've been thinking about switching him as well, but I need to buy a new car seat first.

LMH1209 · August 2011

We switched to the convertible at about seven or eight months. At that point, we'd been using the stroller without snapping in the car seat for a couple of months, and DS was heavy enough that we didn't really want to carry him in the car seat in and out of the house. (We did bring the infant seat back out when we flew to the Cayman Islands a couple of months later. The infant seat was a lot easier for travel -- lighter and easier to install.)

hollace · August 2011

Thank you for asking this! My 2.5 month son is only 11 lbs but man that infant carrier is heavy and I'm not a weak girl which makes it worse! Plus, Im only 5'2" and I feel like he's nearly dragging on the ground when I carry him to the car. My husband thinks we should wait until 20 lbs. I say if he was the one taking him to daycare everyday, sure, mister I'm a foot taller then my wife and a heck of a lot stronger.

CandKmomma · August 2011

DS around 4 mo, DD 5 mo

northernvabride · August 2011

One of the PPs said the same thing that we did, just stopped taking the carrier in and out of the car, but still used it as a car seat, since it was still good up to much heavier than DD#1 was. The one important (to me) benefit of this is that if LO did fall asleep, you could still snap the infant carrier into the stroller if needed, even though heavy and once you switch to a convertible car seat, you would have to wake LO or sit in the car while they slept. With DD#2 we switched her car seat at 1 yr since we wanted to hold off on buying 2 more convertible car seats as long as possible.

ch ch ch chia · August 2011

We switched at 5 or 6 months.

DCtoLowcountry · August 2011

Around 9/10 months.

vtkgirl77 · August 2011

I think I switched around 6 months. It just gets too darn heavy. DH still used the Snugride for a while in his car though since he can carry it.

Sofka · August 2011

we did it really late (closer to a year) b/c those seats are just sooooo convenient. The kids were close to 20lbs when we finally switched. I just love the convenience and when they fall asleep in the car now, I miss the car seat you can just remove w/ the sleeping baby inside.

Artslvr · August 2011

northernvabride:
One of the PPs said the same thing that we did, just stopped taking the carrier in and out of the car, but still used it as a car seat, since it was still good up to much heavier than DD#1 was. The one important (to me) benefit of this is that if LO did fall asleep, you could still snap the infant carrier into the stroller if needed, even though heavy and once you switch to a convertible car seat, you would have to wake LO or sit in the car while they slept. With DD#2 we switched her car seat at 1 yr since we wanted to hold off on buying 2 more convertible car seats as long as possible.

Ditto all the bolded stuff.

DS is 8 months and we're just now talking about doing it. But we don't carry him in the carrier - too heavy!

mssaint · August 2011

We're not planning to move him to a convertible seat until we have to! He's still so light, but he's getting tall, so he might have to move because of height first. He's 7 months now.

The carseat is heavy, but it's not a huge distance to carry it and it's so convenient.

umdbride · August 2011

Thanks ladies! I forgot to say that DS rarely falls asleep (or stays asleep) in his car seat much anymore. If he does fall asleep in it, he tends to wake up within minutes of being in the snap n go or going into the house or a store.

I was just thinking he was looking kind of uncomfortable in there nowadays and like he wants to sit more upright.

kafunder · August 2011

We stopped around 8 months when DS got too heavy and tall. We switched both babies at once, even though DD still fit in the infant seat. We got Britax Marathons, and we love them.

belizeitornot · August 2011

We're getting ready to switch her now (7.5 months) because of the same reason. I feel like she's always lifting her head up to look around because she doesn't like being reclined. (Our pedi actually noticed it at her 6 month visit and told us we should probably start investigating her next seat).

While she is getting heavier and it's rough carrying her in the seat up the steps to our front door, I find that 99% of the time she is awake. If she was sleeping in the car, she usually doesn't stay asleep long after being taken out of the car.... so for us the convenience of being able to take a sleeping baby from the car easily isn't a huge factor.

We're going to get a Britax (probably the Marathon) and she'll be more upright which I think she'll enjoy more but it also has a recline feature if we need it.

tomandcourt · August 2011

I think J was about 8 months when we switched him, and he was clearly just about busting out of the SnugRide at that point.

AgrippaRidesAgain · August 2011

Around 7 months old for both kids b/c they were complaining. I stopped carrying them around at about 4 months old though (when they started sitting independently) and just used the infant seat like a convertible seat.

DS would have fit into his carseat until he was over a year old. DD is only 16 lbs right now, but is 28 inches, so she'd be outgrowing the infant seat within the next month or two.

kastle · August 2011

We're just now switching Sprout @12 months. We had a Snugride 32 & he's only now starting to outgrow the height limit on it.

FWIW, the convertible angle is virtually teh same as the infant carrier so it's not like he'll really be that much more "upright" in a convertible. They need to be rear-facing until 2 now.

veruca5839 · August 2011

We just switched DD, so just before 8 months. We were using the infant carrier like a convertible (leaving it in the car) for about a month or two before that. She now weighs about 22lbs, and it was way too heavy to carry her in it. She also looked really uncomfortable and squished in the carrier. The carrier got pretty hot sitting in the car, so she'd also get upset being in there (normally it didn't bother her).

ak1234 · August 2011

We had a convertible in my car at 7 months...he still sat in the infant sit in DHs car.

Oct08bostonbride · August 2011

We have DD in a convertible carseat in DH's car, the SUV we use together as a family. We still have her in the infant carrier in my car and she's 16 months old! But she was a preemie and she's still only 20 lbs and within the height limit. I don't carry her in it though, I just keep it all in my car and take her in and out of it. I really only use my car to bring her to/from daycare.

Want a personalized experience?

When did you switch from infant car seat to convertible car seat?

Re: When did you switch from infant car seat to convertible car seat?

Choose Another Board

Search Boards