STM- when did you switch car seats?

honeybeee3 · October 2014

Right now my DS- he is almost 9 months old- uses the Graco Fast Action Click Connect infant car seat. I have a convertible car seat that I got at my shower last year, but I haven't used it yet. I know convertible car seats say they can hold a baby as little as 5 lbs, but I was told that it's safest for them to ride in a rear facing infant car seat until they reach the weight limit(35lbs). Is this true?

When did you switch to a convertible car seat? Do You suggest I buy a second infant car seat for this LO? Or can switch DS to the convertible car seat and use the infant seat I already have for my LO?

Sorry if these are silly questions. I've tried Google but it wasn't very helpful.

Lanatir · October 2014

We had the Graco Snugride 30. DD had less than an inch to the top of the seat by about 5 months. But my kid has been 99th percentile since her 8 week check up for height. (And at 2.5 she is now starting into 4T clothes... omgwtf.)

We switched her to the Britax Marathon at around that time and she was able to stay RFing until just after her 2nd birthday. She's still in the Marathon, but I'm also constantly searching and on the look out for taller backed seats with good safety ratings that might fit in my car and at a good price for her age/skeletal developmental stage because I'm afraid she is going to out grow the Marathon before safety guidelines say she's ready for the next type of seat.

CanukMam · October 2014

If your convertable can take a 5lb baby, then it must be rear facing. So in that case, it should be just as good as your infant car seat. It is recommended to be rear facing as long as possible.

We have the graco click connect infant too and my 18 month old just out grew the height limit. We have a convertible rear facing car seat for him now.

I wouldnt bother buying a second infant car seat since it is only used for such a limited time. Your kid will be 1 yr by the time this LO arrives and by then he won't want to be in it and the infant car seat is not really used to carry them around anymore at that age/weight, which was the main appeal for us.

BackseatDriver · October 2014

I have a Chicco Key Fit 30 and moved DS to a convertible seat at 4 months. My son HATED the bucket seat but was completely happy to ride in the car once he was in the convertible car seat (rear facing). He will be 2 in Dec and we plan to keep him rear facing until 2.5 or so.

This time I'm getting the Graco 4ever seat. I will use the bucket in my car and we'll put the convertible in DH's car. Hopefully she will tolerate the bucket better though.

I would switch your son to a rear facing convertible seat and use the bucket seat for the new baby.

Jellybean707 · October 2014

Car seat info can be such a jungle! We switched DS to a rear facing convertable seat at 8 or 9 months. I would not buy an additional infant seat I would just switch your DS to a rear facing convertable seat and save the extra money for something else!

You are right, it is safest to rear face until at least age 2 but preferable until they outgrow the rearfacing limits on the seat(usually 40lbs/40inches) It does not have to be an infant seat, just a seat designed to rear face.

Here is some more info on rear facing:

https://csftl.org/why-rear-facing-the-science-junkies-guide/

Here is a linky on convertable seat reviews if you need suggestions:

https://csftl.org/recommended-seats/#convertible

LaBellaVida · October 2014

I just switched my lo (16 months) from his infant seat to a convertible seat. I bought the graco 4 ever seat. He will be rear facing until he turns 2.

He is little, 19 lbs and 30 inches.

honeybeee3 · October 2014

Oh wow I really had no idea that the convertible seat could be rear facing! :P derp!

The convertible seat we have now is a Graco My Ride 70 and it's still in the box, so I could always exchange it for a different one. Although, it sounds like it will be safe for my DS which is great.

Thanks for all the advice

llambrose · October 2014

Yep, your convertible should be just fine for him rear facing, no need to buy a new infant seat, just switch him over and use the infant seat for new baby.

southernyankeegirl · October 2014

@Lanatir‌ - there's a Graco convertible on Amazon I was eyeing. My mom wants to have a car seat for her house, and since we will likely fly to visit there only 1-2x before his 1st birthday, a convertible seems to be the best option. I liked it because it is affordable and had fabulous reviews, but especially because it is supposed to be really good for tall children, and I think that is a good guess for our kid as both DH and I were tall as children.

csjsmom · October 2014

I switched my kids from the carrier to rear facing convertible car seat when they were too heavy to carry. Probably around 9 months!

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Maebb · October 2014

We had DS in a Snugride until about 10 months when he outgrew the height limit. Then we did Britax Marathon rear facing. We got the Marathon on clearance at BRU when the new year models came out.

AlfiesMOM · October 2014

I swiched her at 1 because she was walking. E is still only 26lbs so she technically could still be in the infant seat but once she could walk I really didn't see a need to keep her in the infant one!

Samiantha101 · October 2014

I switched at 6 months. The switch had nothing to do with outgrowing the heigh and weight measurements. The car seats are so freaking heavy to lug around.

nah82 · October 2014

We switched from infant to RF convertible right around a year when he hit the weight limit. Used the same infant seat for both of our boys, but it is now about to expire in February so we have to buy a new seat for the new baby. I'm having a real conundrum about what to buy because we have to fit 3 seats side by side. I might have to skip the infant seat altogether this time and go straight for a smaller profile convertible, and that will make me sad to not have the option of using the carrier ever.

liladelphia215 · October 2014

As long as you get a convertible that's rear facing, you are good. I think we switched my daughter somewhere around 8 months? The infant seat was starting to get heavy to carry her around in, and the convertible was easier to get her in and out.

britb618 · October 2014

My daughter is big..although she's only 15 months she is about 28 lbs I would say (going to peds today so will know later on) and she is very tall. She couldn't fit rear facing in the Britax Marathon so we had to turn her around. I know this is frowned upon but her legs legit would not fit at all. My husband is a police officer and asked the safety person there the best option and they said turn her. So she is forward facing. My son will use her old Britax infant seat and eventually both will have the Marathon. I love that seat

moonfaerie · October 2014

DD1 outgrew the infant seat at 4 months. DD2 fit in the same seat until 12 months. I have a different infant seat with a higher weight limit that I used for DD3 and will use for baby boy. DD3 fit in it until 18ish months. After a while, I stopped removing the bucket and just left it installed in my car, like any other car seat.

I haven't looked up the My Ride 70, but if it's the latest & greatest version of the My Ride 65, I recommend that seat. We have used a number of convertibles and the My Ride 65 is my favorite, if you have the room for it. It's wider than some other seats, but lighter to move, easier to install, and great for taller kids. (Which mine tend to be.)

moonfaerie · October 2014

@namcgee I had to fit three in a row in a Nissan Sentra, before getting my minivan. It worked ok with a Baby Trend Flex Loc infant carseat. Not sure what vehicle you need to fit, but it might be worth checking out, if you want a bucket seat first.

nah82 · October 2014

moonfaerie said:

@namcgee I had to fit three in a row in a Nissan Sentra, before getting my minivan. It worked ok with a Baby Trend Flex Loc infant carseat. Not sure what vehicle you need to fit, but it might be worth checking out, if you want a bucket seat first.

Thanks! I appreciate any and all tips on this! We were going to buy my cousin's used Graco infant seat from her (I have no idea what model) but went and tried it in our G6 with the boys seats and it was a no-go. If it didn't fit in the G6, no way would it fit in my Vibe. It seems that all the ladies on carseat.org recommend the Diono Radian convertible. I also thought maybe put my 2 year old in a Radian to make room for an infant seat, but then I would be buying 2 seats, so I don't know. 4 (almost 5) year old is in a booster.

LuckyPenny1231 · October 2014

I would switch to a rear facing convertible and use the infant seat for the new baby. I switched DD around 9 months? She still fit fine but started fussing in the car and stopped when she was in the convertible.

nah82 · October 2014

ExcitedMama2 said:

namcgee said:

We switched from infant to RF convertible right around a year when he hit the weight limit. Used the same infant seat for both of our boys, but it is now about to expire in February so we have to buy a new seat for the new baby. I'm having a real conundrum about what to buy because we have to fit 3 seats side by side. I might have to skip the infant seat altogether this time and go straight for a smaller profile convertible, and that will make me sad to not have the option of using the carrier ever.

You could always keep the infant seat that you currently have in the trunk and use it as a carrier when you want. You'd still have to switch baby in and out of the seat, but at least you'd have that as an option.

That's true, accident safety is not an issue if it's only being used to snap into the stroller to push around the mall or put into the grocery cart to go in the store.

LadyXaverian · October 2014

I moved Nora into her convertible at 10-11 months. She stayed RF until she was 2.5 in one seat and 3 in the other. I would have liked to keep her RF until age 4, but she is in the 95th%ile for height and has a long torso.

I hear the "Graco 4Ever" has the highest RF limit for height. I'll probably look into that for 2.0.

Nora has been in a Graco Snugride 35 (infant), Graco My Ride 65 (convertible in my car), and Radian RXT (convertible in DH's car).

cabbeeby · October 2014

Would anybody (besides @ExcitedMama2) recommend skipping the infant seat entirely? We are discussing convertible seats and I'm wondering if it's worthwhile to buy an infant seat for the first 6-9 months.
We will be using (family, in-home) nanny care, so we will not have to do the daily drive to and from day care. Is it worth the convenience of removing him in the carrier just for the times he falls asleep in the car?

moonfaerie · October 2014

I like having the option of carrying the baby in a bucket seat, so I wouldn't skip the infant seat. I especially wouldn't with a winter baby, because in the infant seat, it's easy to throw blankets on top to keep baby warmer as you transport to/from the car. But, I know other families who have skipped it and were happy with their decision.

@namcgee The other car seats I had in my Sentra were two Radians and the Baby Trend Flex Loc. I highly recommend the Radian for its narrowness. It's a heavy seat and more of a pain to install than some other convertibles, something to keep in mind if you need to move the seat frequently. Some cars will need an angle adjuster to RF the Radian, as it doesn't have the flippy angle part that some other car seats have.

The other narrower convertible I've had is the Evenflo Tribute, which is an ok seat for the littles, but will be outgrown much faster than the Radian.

llambrose · October 2014

I would still want an infant seat especially during the winter plus their portability is nice.

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honeybeee3 · October 2014

@cabbeeby‌ I would recommend getting an infant at seat. Most babies fall asleep in the car, so it's nice to not have to take them out of their car seat and just let them sleep, especially in those first few months. Plus like PP mentioned, it's a little easier to bundle up your LO and layer blankets in the infant car seat.

longcat07 · October 2014

i was going to say that convertibles can rear-face too, but about 10 other people beat me to it, lol.

our infant seat is a maxi cosi mico. DS rode in that till he was about 7mo, when it was easier to pull him in and out of a seat (there's something to be said for the convenience of just pulling the whole seat out, baby and all). he was still within the weight limit and his head was still below the top, but it's a little narrow at that top and it was starting to squeeze his shoulders in. his convertible is a first years...something. i can't recall now. he rear-faced in that until he was 2 and it was getting to be too difficult for me to put him in his seat in the middle position (and it wouldn't fit rear-facing behind a seat in my teeny car). i would have loved to rear-face him longer. one of his convertible seats (we have one for each car) will be expired by the time beanie is here, so we plan to replace it with something that will fit better behind a seat while still rear-facing.

AggieMom0809 · October 2014

TRexsMum said:

britb618 said:
My daughter is big..although she's only 15 months she is about 28 lbs I would say (going to peds today so will know later on) and she is very tall. She couldn't fit rear facing in the Britax Marathon so we had to turn her around. I know this is frowned upon but her legs legit would not fit at all. My husband is a police officer and asked the safety person there the best option and they said turn her. So she is forward facing. My son will use her old Britax infant seat and eventually both will have the Marathon. I love that seat
Not sure the law where you are, but in Canada, once they're both over a year old and at least 20lbs its recommended that they face forward anyway.

In the US, they now suggest rear facing as long as possible. I don't agree with their logic and will just abide by the law which isn't as strict.

OP: As for convertible vs infant seat, it's not that one is safer than the other assuming you are using them correctly. The law in the US is that you aren't supposed to put the child forward facing until they hit the max weight and height of the rear facing seat.

We are going to use an infant seat again for the ease of not waking the baby especially for quick trips in and out. We'll switch to the convertible once we hit the height or weight limit.

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