Sweet Baby Is Almost Too Big for Infant Carseat but to Young to Upgrade

It is ok to switch her up to the next car seat, you just need to face the carseat backwards. I am a mother of 3 and none of my kids have stayed in the infant carseat until the one year or 20 lb mark.

You might want to reconsider buying a convertible carseat used. You have no way of knowing if the previous owner had a car accident while using the carseat. According to my manual, you should never use one after a wreck. Something else to keep in mind.

there is a great shop in town pete or repeat great on prices too so you might find something there. M. a

Hi K.
Neither my children stayed in their infant seat til they hit 20 lbs...they outgrew it in height way before they would have in pounds...it is very important that you follow the manual for the seat...I think ours was something like 26 inches tall and they had to move up. If in doubt, call the fire department or something and have an officer look to see if it is still safe. We went with a convertible carseat and it is rear facing still(we kept it that way til they hit 18 months)and then we turn it around and I think it is good for up to 40 lbs. Absolutely, move her up...not sure what law you are referring to, but there are seats just for her size that are safer.

K.

HI,
I am sure you have heard this already, but there are several carseats out there that can face backwards and then turn around when your baby is ready. We had the same problem with our little guy when he was only 4 months!!! He was way too long and we switched to an Eddie Bauer edition. Find one that goes from 5lbs-100lbs and then you won't have to buy another one, it will last your baby all the way through.

I would try a convertible carseat which most are from 5-50 pounds and some are from 5-100 pounds.
Your daughter has to stay backward facing until 20 pounds and at least one year old.

Good Luck and i hope this helps.
M.

It looks like you have gotten a lot of responses about car seats-- we have the Britax Marathon which I believe goes from newborn to 60 pounds. We turned it backwards when my girls were too long for their carriers. If you are concerned about proper installation, you can call the Allen Police Department at the Premium Outlet Mall (or Plano Police station near the Davis Library) and make an appointment to have your car seat inspected-- they will "correct" anything about the installation so you can be sure you are safe. The hardest part for me when I switched car seats was knowing what to do with my not-yet-sitting babies at the grocery store! I kept the carrier in my trunk and still used it in the grocery cart, even though they no longer rode in it in the car. There are a number of consignment sales coming up-- that might be a good place to pick up a gently used, reasonably priced car seat. One of my favorites for good prices is the Lil' Lambs Sale at the Presbyterian Church in Allen-- I believe it is around March 24th this spring?

Good luck!
A.

Call around places like kid to kid to see if they have any on consignment. I had heavy babies too...it is actually a physiological reason why they should still be rear facing meaning even though they weigh a lot...their neck muscles, etc are not ready to sustain a front impact should their be an accident...it truly is a safety issue...and you can buy a car seat that is for bigger babies and still faces rear. There are lots of kid to kid places around...I'd really try them...or just keep asking to get one from a friend when they are finished.

good luck!

Hi Kristin. I was in the same situation with my now 14 month old daughter. At about 5 1/2 months she was VERY close to the 20 lb mark. My husband and I chose a convertible car seat that can hold all babies from 5lbs to 40lbs. This Graco seat works very well. It is a very nice carseat and pretty inexpensive as well. We love it. It converts from rear facing to when your baby is old enough to face forward. We purchased ours at walmart. Check it out. I highly recommend this one. Good luck!

OH BY THE WAY.....when your child's feet start to hang over the car seat he is now in, then it's time to switch. That can be very dangerous!

We also use the Britax carseat for our baby. He is one now, but he had to move out of the infant carseat due to weight and length at 6 months of age. We have loved this seat. He seems so comfortable in it and it is nice that it will last for all of the stages for carseat riding. We will be able to keep him in it until he is big enough to sit in a small booster with the seatbelt. It costs quite a bit, but I would definitely say that it is worth the investment. Especially if you plan on having any more children in the future.

K.,

My son was in the same boat. We had the infant carseat/carrier and then a toddler seat ready to go for when he was over 1 year and 20 lbs. I suggest a convertible carseat. It is rear-facing up to 30 lbs and then turns into a forward-facing toddler seat. Ours actually can also be a booster seat for up to a 100 lb child, but it was a bit pricey. We just purchased another convertible carseat for our other car at Wal Mart. It was less than $40. You may also want to try to find a consignment shop for baby gear. I know they exist, but I've never looked into one locally. You may be able to get a gently used convertible carseat there.

I agree with the other posters...you can get a convertible car seat and put it rear facing. It's not against the law to put your child into an upright car seat before 20 pounds only a recommendation. My son was out of his infant carrier by 6 months and could no longer sit in a convertible car seat by 2 years old. I had to get him a Britax Husky at 2 years old since it accomodates him up to 80 pounds which he hasn't hit yet and is 5 years old now.

I had my 3rd in August and she has been in an upright Britax since she was 2 months old. The Britax that she is in starts at 5 lbs and goes to 30 something. She faces backwards and there is no law that requires them to stay in the smaller carrier. The law is that they stay facing backwards for teh 1st year. She is also like your little girl. She is very tall and weighs somewhere around 18 lbs. The only problem that I have is that when she sleeps her head falls. It is not protected by the head brace that the infant carrier has. She fussed from day one in the infant carrier because she was so tall. I think that she felt crowded. She hardly ever cries in the car anymore because she is more comfortable. Good luck and be sure to check the minimum weight requirements on your son's upright car seat.

K.,

My son had that same issue, he was huge, the size of a 9 month old at 6 months. We had to get one of those 4-in-one car seats that its upright but doesn't face forward, but it can he still uses it to this day and will continue till he is over 100 lbs. He did pretty well in it, although his head would flop forward when he was sleeping. as far as the infant car seat and the weight limit on those things we pushed to about 21 or 22 lbs. but it made me nervous so we gave it up especially since it was so heavy to carry.

First of all, I'd say use the seat as long as you can buckle her in it. It may take longer than you think for her to reach 20lb because babies growth slows a lot after 6 months, but she'll likely get there before her first birthday. Our son was actually too tall for his before he was too heavy. We just kept putting him in until we couldn't extend the straps any longer!
There are "convertible" car seats that can go rear facing Graco and Cosco make inexpensive models -- check Target and Walmart. Kids can ride rear facing until they meet the requirements to turn around (20lbs and one year), then the seat goes forward facing until they're 40lbs or so (my tiny 3 1/2 yr old still fits in hers!). You might be able to find a used one at a resale shop for around $40. Reputable shops generally check for recalls before they accept car seats. Kid to Kid is a good one. You can also check it out yourself online. See if they'll hold the seat for a day while you check on it.

I think the law is the babe has to be weight AND age to move up. Now if your upright has the capability of being forward and rear facing then use it in the rear position. If not I think you can leave your babe in the car seat she is in. Mine always over grow their infant seat by length but not weight so I leave them in there for longer then they say too.

You can buy a convertible car seat that can face the rear until she is officially 1 years old and over 20 pounds. At that time, you can turn the car seat around to face the front. You can find these in all different price ranges, from fairly inexpensive to over two hundred dollars. I have used one from Toys R US that I only paid about $50 for, and it works great.

If you purchase a 3-in-1 car seat it will be rear facing and will have more room for her. After she is one it can be forward facing and even converts to a booster seat. We have two different ones that I really like. The most inexpensive one was the Graco, I think I paid about $80 for it. Also, I have a rear facing car seat that is a bit larger than a normal one. I am not using it at all and would be glad for you to see if it might work, I have no need for it. However, I'm placing it in a consignment sale in Keller this weekend so I would need to know soon if you might be interested. You can contact me directly at ____@____.com Graco site specifically says: "this seat is the perfect transition car seat for when your little one has outgrown their infant car seat, but should still be riding rear-facing." You can find it here: http://www.gracobaby.com/catalog/product.aspx?modelNumber....
I think we got ours from Target.