Mammas of Bigger Babies - Car Seat Advice Please

Updated on April 10, 2012
J.P. asks from Wellington, FL
12 answers

My sweet baby girl is only almost 6 months and is already 22 pounds and has outgrown her infant car seat! I'm in denial and not ready to transfer her to a rear facing convertible seat since I still keep her in the car seat and use the snap n go so often. Curious what other moms of bigger babies did? I have a graco snap and go or my friend could lend me her baby trend snap n go, I would be willing to buy a new reasonably priced car seat that accomodates a bigger baby if I knew it would last me another 6/8 months, but the reviews are pretty bad, most people saying they claim 30 pounds but they still outgrew really fast and she does seem snug when I tested in the stores (shes 98% for height too prob 28+")...anyone out there have those bigger car seats wth a bigger baby and you like? Which one? I just don't think I'm ready for the convertible but I may have to!:-) Thanks!

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So What Happened?

Thank you so much everyone for taking the time to respond! So it looks like everyone is in agreement that it's best to just go ahead with the convertible seat, glad to hear that's what everyone did and love that there's lots of other big babies out there!:-)) Luckily the timing is good, my son is ready for a booster so I can move her into his britax marathon. Thanks again.

Featured Answers

A.G.

answers from Houston on

All my kids grow fast.... It's called commen sense exemptions . You have to move up to the next seat when they are hanging out of the others. It's not safe to keep them in seats too small.

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R.Y.

answers from New York on

My son was a bigger baby and he was just too big for the bucket style car seats around 6-7 months too. Invest in a light but sturdy, easy to handle stroller that you love. Also look for a car seat you can keep rear facing to a higher weight. It is safer to be rear facing and the recommendation is to stay that way to age 2.

3 moms found this helpful
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A.V.

answers from Washington DC on

Is she also tall? Even a Chicco Keyfit 30 has a height limit. If she's outgrown in height, get a convertible car seat. You'll get used to taking a stroller vs the carrier and you can use the convertible RF til she outgrows it and then also FF and get a lot of use out of it. We love our Marathon.

2 moms found this helpful
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A.A.

answers from Tulsa on

We had to ditch the carrier at about 6 months for our big guy. We switched to a rear facing convertible seat that goes up to 50 or 60 pounds. First we had a graco, and I HATED it. It was hard to clasp, and the straps that go over baby's legs were too tight and would leave indents in my little guy's thunder thighs. We gave it to Grandma since she only needs it occasionally and got an Evenflow symphony. I love it, if is so much easier to get him into and out of and much more comfy for him. We just have an umbrella stroller that I use when we are out and about. Bite the bullet and get the convertible, when they are growing so fast it's not worth the money to get another carrier that would just last you a few more months IMO.

2 moms found this helpful

C.C.

answers from San Francisco on

My older daughter has always been very tall. (She's 9 and is 5' tall... yikes!) She outgrew her infant seat at about 4 months, as I recall, and we moved her to a Britax convertible. She was able to stay in it until she was almost 4. The Britax seats are pricey, but in my opinion are totally worth it because they seem to be very comfy (neither of my kids could stay awake in the car when they were in their Britax seats, vs. the cheaper ones we had in DH's truck), and they have a great safety record. In fact, just after we had moved DD into the Britax seat, we were rear-ended by a full-sized pickup truck that had been going 60mph and didn't brake before hitting us... I was in chiropractic care for months, but DD was perfectly fine! Not a scratch on her! The police officer who responded was amazed, and credited her car seat (and our gigantic Expedition) with keeping her safe. Can't put a price tag on that!

1 mom found this helpful
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T.E.

answers from Minneapolis on

Look into the Alpha Omega convertible car seat. Pricey but you won't need to change it out as she grows. Toys R Us and Babies R Us carried it when I got mine. Not sure if they still do, though.

1 mom found this helpful
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C.M.

answers from Cincinnati on

We had the same problem. While not as convenient, we ditched the carrier for a convertible car seat. Definitely make sure to look at the height/weight limits and pick one with a higher limit. That was almost 5 years ago, so I don't have any recommendations.

1 mom found this helpful
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A.P.

answers from Tallahassee on

My little man has always been in the 95th and above percentile too so he outgrew his baby seat more quickly than his peers. I wasn't ready for a convertible seat at that point so we bought the Britax Boulevard CS since it is good for children up to 70 lbs and 49 inches tall. We really enjoyed that seat. We just recently purchased the Britax Frontier 85 that converts into a booster and should work until he is out of car seats. :)

1 mom found this helpful
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K.P.

answers from Dallas on

sorry but you really should go ahead and move to the rear facing car seat. My son outgrew his infant seat at 6 months as welll which was a real pain getting him in and out of my 2 door SUV but we mad eit work.

1 mom found this helpful
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M.G.

answers from Chicago on

Both of my twins and my daughter were all out of their infant carriers at six months. We bought a convertible car seat designed to be a booster, too, and will last up to 100lbs. I wanted to be sure I only bought one other carseat for each kid, which is great since all three are still in them right now and my kids all tend to be large and tall. It's hard giving up the ease of the carrier, but you have to do what's safest for your daughter. We went with the Alpha Omega Elite for all three.

Also, something to consider is the height limit. My kids were all too tall for the carrier (29 inches max) by six months. So, you may find another seat but your baby may exceed the height limit very soon.

1 mom found this helpful
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B.A.

answers from Orlando on

Sounds like it's time to break out the convertible. I don't think it would be worth the added expense to buy another infant seat just to use your snap-n-go.

1 mom found this helpful
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T.K.

answers from Decatur on

We had to ditch our carrier at 4 months because my son already weighed 20 pounds! We use the Evenflo Triumph carseat. I LOVE it!! The straps are super easy! No rethreading necessary when they get taller! Plus you can just press a button to make the straps larger - very nice this time of year when they need a coat in the morning but not in the afternoon......I just love this car seat. We used it for my older child (he is 3 1/2) and just took moved him to an Evenflo booster seat so my 4 month old could have that seat. It is rated for up to 40 pounds rear facing. I know you said you're not ready to give up the carrier yet. Is there anyway you could put the carrier in the trunk and use it when you need to take the baby out and about? That way you still have the carrier but while driving in the car you need the convertible car seat.

1 mom found this helpful
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