My almost 9-month-old baby weighs around 17 lbs. and is starting to look uncomfortable in her Graco Snug Ride infant seat. I know she must stay in a rear-facing seat until she is 20 lbs. and 1 year old.
So should I buy a new convertable car seat now, or should I wait until she is a year old and 20 lbs. and just buy a front-facing car seat?
Also...which car seat is the safest? Or, where can I find such information?
2007-02-21 02:12:16 · 8 answers · asked by Jenna A 2 in Pregnancy & Parenting ➔ Newborn & Baby
I would recommend you buying a convertible seat. The bare minimum for forward facing is 1 year AND 20 lbs. Most convertible seats on the market can rear face to 30/33/35 lbs. The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends rearfacing to the limit of the seat. It is safest for your little one.
This video has great information on rear-facing to the limits of the seat: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y2DVfqFhseo
This website also has crash test videos of forward facing children vs. rear facing children: http://www.cpsafety.com/articles/StayRearFacing.aspx
The best convertible seat for you would be one that fits your child, fits your car, fits your budget, and one that will be used correctly every single time.
Depending on how much you are wanting to spend on a carseat, there are a lot of great convertible seats out there.
If you need help deciding which carseat would be best for your child, http://www.car-seat.org is a great website with many very knowledgable CPST (car seat techs) and CPS Advocates that have experience with a variety of different seats and cars. I encourage you to check out that website! :)
2007-02-21 02:27:24 · answer #1 · answered by CPS Fanatic 2 · 2⤊ 0⤋
Your daughter will outgrew her infant seat when the top of her head is within an inch of the top of the seat, and she exceeds the weight limit (either 20 or 22 lbs, depending on your specific seat.)
If you're getting really close to that inch, I would start looking for a convertible seat for her. The American Academy of Pediatrics has recommended for the past 5 years that children rear-face to the limits of a convertible seat, typically 30-35 lbs. This has been proven to be significantly safer for the developing bones of a baby. So, while your right that she *must* stay rear-facing 'til 20 lbs and 1 year old, that is really the absolute bare minimum, and keeping her rear facing beyond that is significantly safer.
There is no "safest" car seat. The safest carseat is the one that fits your child, your car, and your budget and that you'll use correctly every time. :-)
There are a number of seats that are fantastic seats and do tend to install well in most vehicles.
The Britax Marathon (abt 270). This seat rear faces 'til 33 lbs and then forward faces 'til 65. Most convertible seats only harness til 40 lbs, so this seat will last your daughter longer. It installs like a dream in nearly every vehicle, and is very stylish.
The Sunshine Kids Radian65 (abt 180). This seat rear faces 'til 30 lbs and then forwards 'til 65. This seat is significantly narrower than the Marathon, but does have some difficulty installing in certain vehicles.
The Cosco Uptown (80-100 ish). This seat rear faces til 35 lbs and then forwards til 40. It has very high harness slots to accomodate your daughter for a few years, but will not last near as long as the seats above. This seat is pretty well padded.
The Cosco Scenera (40ish) This seat rear faces til 35 lbs and then forwards til 40. It has very high harness slots to accomodate your daughter for a few years, but will not last near as long as the seats above. There isn't much padding, but it is a good seat for the price.
2007-02-21 03:39:15 · answer #2 · answered by starlight 2 · 1⤊ 0⤋
You can move her to a convertible now or wait until she has outgrown her infant seat by weight or height.
All seats sold in the US pass the same minimum safety standards - some brands/seats have additional safety features but all seats are safe.
As previously mentioned the AAP recommends keeping children rearfacing until they reach the max height/weight for their car seat - rear facing is infinitely safer so buying a seat with a higher rearfacing limit will keep your child safer, longer. The difference between 30-33-35 pounds doesn't sound like much until you consider how significally their growth slows after the first year - my first son was 30 pounds at 1 year but was not 33 pounds until he was 22 months old - that gave him 10 more months of being safer rear facing.
There are a lot of excellent seats on the market - some to avoid though are the 3-in-1 seats - they are adequate for all 3 features (rear facing, forward facing and booster) but not excellent at any. They often only harness to 40 pounds and most kids will outgrow the harnesses by height before they hit 40 pounds. They usually have lower weight limits for rear-facing and the boosters are difficult to use properly. There really is not a "the last seat you will ever need" on the market. Plan to invest in your child's safety.
The best seat for your child is the one that is installed properly in your vehicle and used properly every time. I can personally recommend the Britax Marathon. It can be found at Target, Babies R Us and many online retailers. Often it can be found online for a lot cheaper than in stores. The Marathon rear faces to 33 pounds (my 28 pound 2 year old is still rear facing) and forward faces to 65 pounds (my 45 pound, 42" 4 year old still fits comfortably). It has a rear facing tether, is easy to install and come it has lots of fun covers.
2007-02-21 05:39:56 · answer #3 · answered by amom 3 · 1⤊ 0⤋
You get a convertible car seat. These can be rear facing until the minimum requirements(or longer if you look into extended rear facing. Most convertible seats have a rear facing limit of at least 35 lbs.) and then turn forward facing from that point on.
2016-05-24 02:04:59 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Go ahead and buy the convertible. I did this at 10 months, and my son rode in it until he was three. By then he was big enough for a booster seat. I think you should go with what makes the baby comfortable.
2007-02-21 02:17:34 · answer #5 · answered by Amanda M 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Britix
I am not really any help all I can tell you is when 3 year old was ready we did a lot of research there is even a book can't remember the name ( I think it was best baby prodcuts maybe even consumer reports) and it was named the safest. I still have it and I love it.
There are several brands. it is one of the most expensive so check for sales.
http://www.consumersearch.com/www/family/car-seats/index.html?source=adwords&gclid=CIaZmfziv4oCFRU2UAodJlYLfw
2007-02-21 02:27:51 · answer #6 · answered by Sandra D 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I would go ahead and buy one. I recommend the Britax Roundabout. That is what I have for my boys and they are 2 now, and have used it since they were under a year old. It can be used up to 40lbs.
2007-02-21 02:24:53 · answer #7 · answered by Olivia 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
i would leave her in the old seat until she becomes too big to fit (which she sounds like she is almost there) but when u look to replace it with another seat check with consumer reports. it lists car seats by safety points, and gives pros and cons to each seat
http://www.consumerreports.org/cro/babies-kids/child-car-booster-seats/reports/index.htm
2007-02-21 02:16:20 · answer #8 · answered by jenivive 6 · 0⤊ 1⤋