2nd time mom's- when to make the switch to convertible seats?

imimahoney · July 2012

We have a britax b-safe and we are very happy with it but it's heavy. It has a weight limit of 35 lbs (I think) but I can't imagine getting Ari into it when he is that big. Right now he is around 11 lbs and 23 inches.

I've heard around 6 months from some and as late as 11 months from others. Amazon has the Boulevard on sale for $219, down from $319 but I don't know if it's silly to buy it so early if he will be in the bucket seat for almost another 8 months.

Thoughts?

Patella1129 · July 2012

We stopped taking the infant seat out of the car when he was 6 or 7 months old, but he still rode in it for a while after that. I remember using the infant seat when we went on vacation last year and he was 8 months old then. We made the switch sometime between 8 and 9 months I think.

katcarls · July 2012

Almost all babies outgrow their seats by height well before reaching the weight limit. The 32" height limit on your seat will probably get you to at least 12 months. We left DS in his infant seat until he was too big for it (when the top of his head was 1" from the top of the shell) and I'm planning to do the same for DD. His seat had a 30" height limit and he was about 13 months when we made the switch. I didn't have any trouble getting him in and out of the seat and he was still happy in it. I didn't find it too heavy to carry either. If it does get too heavy for you, just leave the bucket in the car and use it like a convertible. That way you still have the option to carry him in the seat once in a while when necessary.

I would also wait to buy the convertible because the Boulevard isn't great for young babies. Your baby might not be ready for that seat right now because the lowest shoulder strap height on the Britax Boulevard is pretty high. If you really want to buy now, try your baby in it at a store and make sure he's tall enough for the straps to be below or just at the shoulders and not above. Britax also has a newer generation of their seats coming out soon, so the one you're looking at will probably only get cheaper.

ETA: Good call by the others, I completely forgot about the winter thing. You definitely want to use the infant seat through winter if you can. I really, really missed it when having to deal with the convertible this past winter.

Mrs.Teddy · July 2012

We switched L in our main vehicle around 10 months, in the spring. For a bit before that we just used the seat as a convertible and left it in the car. In our second vehicle we left the infant seat until we bought a second convertible. He fit in it until about 16 months, we took it on vacation with us one last time then! I'm hoping to keep Ellie in hers thru the winter, it's so much easier to be able to get her in the seat in the warm house and cover her with blankets or a poncho then to carry her into the col and unbundle her to fasten her in the seat (as they can not be in a thick jacket).

PinkPeony6210 · July 2012

We switched Ella when she was 10 months old. I wasn't in a rush because the infant seat is so convenient, plus I wanted to wait until winter was over.

WildcatPrincess · July 2012

DD was 13 months, DS was in one from the start. If it's a good deal you can switch early.

kkfeb04 · July 2012

We switched DS at 5.5 months because he outgrew the length on his Snugride (29"), he was super tall though for his age, 29.5" at 6 months old. At 2 months old he was 24.5" tall so that you can determine how much taller he was. He was almost 16 lbs when we switched him. I didn't find that he was too heavy and would have preferred that he stay in the seat a bit longer but unfortunately we didn't have the Snugride 35 and honestly it would've bought us only about 2 more months anyway. We switched him in August and when he wasn't sitting up real well it was a pain but as soon as he was able to sit on his own it made shopping and things much easier. As far as winter goes, we had a crapton of snow that year I'm talking feet more than what we typically get, and we had a fleece coat that we would put him in once we would get to our destination otherwise he went into the car wrapped in a heavy baby blanket and had that on top of him while in the car. I feel it was easier his first year since he wasn't walking than it was getting him to the car in his light coat since he wanted to play outside.

With the way DD is growing, she will be out of the bucket probably about the end of September, she was 25" at 3 months old. Oh I don't even want to think of that yet. It's bad enough carrying him and her in her bucket seat during daycare pickup/dropoff that I will have to do it with both of them. I may need to invest in a "leash" for DS.

imimahoney · July 2012

Thanks for the advice!

I think I will watch the price and if it goes down anymore within the next month I'll probably just buy it and store them. I would rather them sit around for 8 months than have to pay full price on the new version. Hopefully amazon will still have old ones once the new ones are released.

NeverLostHope · July 2012

Just wanted to make sure you noticed in your manual for the B-safe seat you need to move the crotch strap out to the outer slot once your baby reaches 11lbs. I just noticed it in mine the other day.

We had infant seats with lower weight limits for my older kids so I stopped using them well before a year. I hope to use out B-safe for at least a year, but I will probably stop using it as a carrier once she is able to sit unassisted.

starbound6 · July 2012

Patella1129:
We stopped taking the infant seat out of the car when he was 6 or 7 months old, but he still rode in it for a while after that. I remember using the infant seat when we went on vacation last year and he was 8 months old then. We made the switch sometime between 8 and 9 months I think.

Exactly this with DS1. Probably sooner with DS2 because he's bigger.

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2nd time mom's- when to make the switch to convertible seats?

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