car seat question

djm31012 · October 2013

im too lazy to search right now so apologies if this has been asked. whats the rule for forward facing car seats? is it one year or a certain weight depending what comes 2nd? DS cant fit in his infant car seat with his fall/winter jackets. we have the britax marathon in my car but DH needs a car seat because he does drop offs at day care in the morning, and i do pick ups. The only other car seat I have is the Graco Nautilis but that cant go backwards. Poor DS...so giant and squeezed into his itty bitty baby car seat every morning!

wifeofadam · October 2013

AAP recommends holding off until AT LEAST the second birthday. It's advised that you wait as long as possible, until your child outgrows the seat requirements for RF, ideally when they are ready to transfer to a booster at age four and 40 pounds.

You're going to need a new convertible seat. Your baby can't turn FF yet, even if you were going by the old recommendations of one year.

Karla CS · October 2013

If fall/winter jackets are bulky enough that it changes the way he fits in his seat, they're too bulky to be worn in the seat as they're affecting your ability to tighten the straps. This is for an infant seat or a convertible seat.

Here's a quick/easy reference: https://www.thecarseatlady.com/tips_and_tricks/tips_and_tricks_8.html

musicalmama5 · October 2013

It's not just about weight. One reason for RF is because a child under 2's head is still disproportionately larger than his body, and what for an adult would just be whiplash could mean the head separating from the spine in a baby/toddler. Definitely keep him RF. It is worth buying another carseat IMO.

djm31012 · October 2013

oh i am definitely keeping him rear facing...i just didnt know if it was 1 year or 2 years...if one year we would try to make do with just the one convert car seat

Drea926 · October 2013

If you're in the market for a convertible, I really like our Graco My Size 70. We ended up getting 2, so DH and I would each have one because there would be way too much switching around! DS seems to really like it and I found that they were pretty affordable!