car seat concerns?

Question

my son is almost 8 months old and weighs around 23 pounds. his feet hang over the end of his car seat, we put him in rear facing, like the experts say. but what do we do now that hes too big and long for rear facing car seats but too little for front facing? hes over 20 pounds but not old enough yet any helpful suggestions ?

Answer 1

Get a good convertible car seat. Cosco Alpha Omega is one that works well for my family. I have also heard many good things about Britax brand seats. They are expensive, but perform very well in crash tests.

Your child should stay rear facing as long as possible for maximum safety, keep him rear facing until he reaches the height and weight limit of the convertible seat. Under NO circumstances should a child be turned forward facing before one year old! The whole point of a car seat is to protect your child in the event of a crash. No seat can protect a child whose body is too young to be forward facing, and who has been turned too soon.
Please read this article:
http://www.cpsafety.com/articles/StayRearFacing.aspx

Watch these videos of what happens to a small test dummy in forward facing and rear facing tests:
http://www.oeamtc.at/netautor/html_seiten/kisitest_2002/videos/test2002/frontcrash/maxicosipriori.mpg
http://www.britax.fi/quicktime/TWside240.AVI
http://www.britax.fi/quicktime/TWoh200.AVI
http://www.oeamtc.at/netautor/html_seiten/kisitest_2002/gesamt.htm

Ask yourself: which looks more likely to cause severe injury or death to a small child?

Having the legs folded is not hazardous. Having their skull yanked forward and then snapped back during a crash is. My fourth child stayed rear facing until he was two. My youngest is only 4 months, but I assure you she will stay rear facing until I have to turn her around due to the height and weight limits of the carseat, even if that means she's still rearfacing at age 3. She's far too valuable! :-)

Answer 2

My son is 10 months old now and just about to outgrow his infant carrier. We purchased the cosco eddie bauer deluxe 3-in-1, which you can use rear-facing for now and then converts to front-facing and then to booster up to 100 lbs. BJ's sells it for $99 (a great price, we did a lot of research). I just have one problem with it. It comes with an infant head support which is supposed to be removable, but it seems to be permanently attached to the seat. My son is too big to use the head support. I read the manual, but can't see any way to get the support out other than by tearing or cutting it. Has anyone else purchased this seat and had this problem?
By the way, I read some responses that said to have your son front-facing. Laws may vary by state, but here in MA your child must remain rear-facing until 1 yr, regardless of weight.

Answer 3

I asked this question a week or so ago....your son needs to be out of his infant carrier car seat thingy and into an upright one....they make upright car seats that are rear facing....a convertable car seat is good for your purpose, I found a really nice one in the internet, but I can't remember what it's called, I think it was a cosco...I'll come back and let you know as soon as I remember. Remember to see if the store will let you try the car seat in your car before purchasing it...also, put your son in the floor model to see how he fits it....you don't want to have to return a car seat....babies'r'us is a good place to go...Target has some, and Wal-Mart has a few.

Answer 4

You may have to buy a new car seat. My son is now 9 months old and we are having the same problem. I am looking into buying a new one, the kind that he can stay in, until he is big enough for a booster seat. I am going to check out the graco website, and some other sites of companies that make car seats and see what they have to offer. Good luck!

Answer 5

You need a convertible car seat. Most are rear facing to 30 or 35 lbs. Do not worry about the legs hanging over the end, you need to worry about the babies neck and head being supported properly. Please, leave your son rear facing till at least a year.

Answer 6

My oldest was big like that.. we had to end up putting her in the seat with the bar and forward facing... he may not be old enough but it goes by the weight of the child.. because she is still big and by laws here in PA she is out of a booster seat because of her weight not her age.. here it is a certain amt of pounds or age whatever comes first... go to your state homepage and check the laws in your area.. I would assume, since he is too big, it is time to face him forwards in either the bar kind of seat or the harness. He may fit in them rear facing length wise too.. read the weights and mesaures on the seats, some say a certain length too... good luck hope you find a seat that keeps him safe

Answer 7

You need to get a bigger seat, and still put in rear facing...EddieBAuer makes a seat that is a 3 in 1...I use it for my son

Answer 8

You have to put away the infant seat and put your son on a convertible seat like this one http://www.amazon.com/Cosco-Alpha-Omega-Elite/dp/B000A3YHWY/sr=8-1/qid=1156860340/ref=pd_bbs_1/103-6639611-1605420?ie=UTF8 . It's not safe for your baby to stay in the infant seat when he has exceeded the max weight..

The convertible seat can accomodate babies. It can be rear facing, and can recline slightly. This will hold your baby firmly and don't worry. Your son should be able to hold his head like a pro now. When your son hits 1 year old, you can turn the seat around to face forward.

My son was 20 lbs at about 5 months so I got the covertible seat and he started using it.

Answer 9

I have an 8 month old that is 24lbs and 28in, she fits in a regular 5 point harness car seat fine. Sounds like it is time for a new seat. Babies R Us has a large selection.

Answer 10

You probably need an intermediate car seat. I have a tall, slim boy and he keeps growing out of stuff quickly. We had to get him a seat and we finally turned it facing forward around the year mark.