When Did You Switch Your Baby from Baby Carseat to Toddler Carseat?

K.:

I switched my baby boy Johnny to a front facing car seat when he was about 9 months old and almost 20 pounds. He too outgrew the infant car seat. Not sure why the age factor is involved in the manufacturers suggestions, but your baby girl will be just fine in the front facing one. Many of my mother friends have done the same thing, so I wouldn't worry!

It is really best to get a toddler seat that can face forward and backwards. I used the Britax Boulevard rear-facing from about 8 months till my son was almost 2, and only recently turned it around to forward facing. Although, it isn't actually law that you have to keep them rear facing until 1 year of age, it is HIGHLY recommended (and suggested to keep them rear facing for longer if you can). I am pretty sure you won't find a health professional anywhere that will condone you having a forward facing seat for a child under 1 year. But like anything else, this is a parenting decision that you need to make considering your child, your car, and your car seat. Good luck.

They are suppose to be one year old before they have enough control to withstand a frontal impact. I have 2 under 2 yrs old and it is a challenge. My big car seat goes forward or backward. The first big one I bought did not. My 9 month old is going to have to face the rear until 18 mos old due to drugs at birth. The birth mom was not a discrminate user and baby had a lot of issues. I guess I'll be buying another seat that faces forward and backward to accomodate her.

That would be my suggustion, get a large car seat that will turn either direction. Some of the big ones go from 5#-80#. Good luck.

It's the LAW in Texas that children must be 20 pounds AND a year old before they can be forward-facing. Keep your precious baby safe and go buy a convertible car seat. We have Britax and love it.

she has to be atleast one year old to be facing forward and atleast 20 pounds not sure about the weight read that up please.edna

When my son left the NICU the nurse stressed to me the importance of leaving them rear facing until 1 year. She said it has to do with the development and strength of their neck muscles. She also said it can be damaging to them to turn them too early, not just in accidents but every day driving.

I believe the law is that the child must be in a rear facing seat until they turn 1 year old. Can you return the larger seat and exchange it for a convertible front or rear facing seat for the same weight range?

My almost 7 month old got a new car seat for christmas. Its a convertable one by costco from walmart that cost $43.00. It goes to 40 pounds. I will keep it rear facing till he is one. I looked for one that has a five pt harness, and all car seats have to meet govt safety standards regardeless of price, so at 43.00 we bought one for my husbands truck too.

Keep her in the infant seat. Or, you could take that new carseat back and get her a convertible carseat. convertible carseats are for infants as well, so you can have a large infant still face the rear, and then switch her when she's a year. My son was 20 lbs at 6 months old, but I kept him rear-facing until after a year. My niece was not 20 lbs when she turned 1, and my sister kept her rear-facing. It's more important that she is snugly in and rear-racing than the fact that her feet are hanging out of the seat! With a convertible, however, she will still fit, but it allows for rear-facing, and can then be turned into forward-facing for older babies. New research is suggesting that babies are safer in the rear-facing until 2 years now! You definitely don't want to turn her around before 1!

I wanted to switch but did a lot of research and it all pointed to keeping my toddler (23 lbs) in a car seat until age 4. The main reason is where the lap belt hits and the vital organs it could potentially injur on booster seats. Don't do it. Stay with the car seat. My car seat (Britix Marathon) goes to 40 lbs and 40 inches I think. Maybe your car seat is an INFANT seat.

OK I just re-read your question... The Britix Marathon and the like are convertible seats. The go from rear facing to forward facing. Very handy and what you need. This seat if purchased properly will take your baby into and past being a toddler. Mine, mentioned above, will be in my daughters world until she's 4 or 5. I got it at BabiesRUs. it wasn't cheap but since she'll be in it for so long and it's rated the most safe I figured it's worth the expense.

Good luck!

You can do 2 things. Go ahead and use it. I know they push it differently now. But my youngest is 15 yr old and when he was a that age he rode in a toddler big carseat--not booster seat. I turned him around in the front but in the backseat he faced forward. That was obviously before airbags were so common.

I would say go by weight more than age. A child's weight is what will provide the momentum in a car wreck and throw them around. The age is determining how they can hold their head up, etc.

So do what works for you in your car. ;-)

You can put her in the convertable seat but rear facing. After she turns one you can change it to forward facing.

My son out weighed his infant seat at 5 months. We bought a convertible seat that can be changed from rear facing to forward facing at a year. Even though they may out weigh or be too tall (my son is 10 mon and over 26lbs & 33")for an infant seat they need to be rear facing until a year. The convertible seat is nice because it is big enough for big babies to stay rear facing as long as they need it, but you can also change it to a toddler seat when they turn one.

I had a similar problem, My daughter out grew the bucket car seat by 6 months (a very big and long girl). I bought a carseat that could be rear facing as well as forward. I had to look carefuly since I wanted it to last until she was around 60lbs. I bought the britax decatholon. We kept it rear facing until she was 1 year and then turned it around.

Hope this helps.

G.

I bought a toddler carseat for my daughter before she turned one. it converts to rear-face, forward facing and booster. i didnt put her foward facing until her first birhtday. since all the doctors told me i couldnt. but she did out grow the first carseat before she turned one. since you already bought one see if it can go rear facing. if not i have known plenty of moms use toddler carseats before they turn one. if she is big enough and can handle herself in forward facing i see no problem but i would talk to the doctor first if you are worried about it.

Hi K.,

There are conversion baby seats that are both rear and forward facing. Read the boxes. A child has to be 1 year and 20lbs. If a child is one and not 20lbs they need to stay in rear facing seat until they reach the weight requirement. Are you still using her 'carrier' car seat? They do out grow those before one year. Is your new seat one that can be rear facing too? Also USAA offers $50 for carseat purchase if you have USAA for your auto carrier.

Hope this helps. If you still are not sure ask your doctor.

The recs to keep a child rear-facing until the age of one isn't about size so much as it is about their neck muscles. Even though children may seem like they have strong neck muscles (how could they not with those huge heads of theirs!), if they're under age one, their muscles aren't strong enough to withstand an accident in a forward-facing seat.
All that being said, I put both of my kids in a forward-facing seat when they were about 10 mos. I did this knowing what the expert advice was out there and knowing that I would have to face my decision should we get into an accident while they were still under the age of one. The fact was, my car wasn't big enough to allow a rear-facing seat that wasn't an infant carrier. I figured it was safer for my kids at 10 mos to be in a forward-facing seat that fit properly in my car than it was for them to be in a rear-facing seat that was crammed up into the front seat of the car. Thankfully, we never got into an accident, so I didn't have to deal with any consequences. But sometimes, as parents, we have to weigh all of our options and go against the expert advice because it's what works for us. =)

Check to see if it will face the rear if not you may need to return it and exchange it for one you can still rear face. You have to rear face it untill she is at least 1 year old.

I was not even aware that they sold car seats that cannot be rear facing. I would double check the directions first then if it cannot be installed rear facing take it back receipt or not. They should exchange it for one that you can use. I moved my son out of this when he was 5 months old and my daughter when she was 8 months old. We have the Britax Marathon and love them they are a bit bulky rear facing, but it will only be for a couple of months.

Hi K.,

My daughter was 1 when I turned her forward. But since your daughter has outgrown her infant seat, I would suggest taking back that new car seat you bought and buying a convertible car seat.

Convertible car seats are for both infant and toddlers, and they face forward and backward. For the next few months until she turns one, she can sit comfortably rear facing - and safely. And when she turns one, turn her around.

Search for them on the BRU website under Infant-Toddler Carseats. The one we use and love and use is the Evenflo Triumph Advance LX (ours was called the Deluxe when we bought but it a year ago but now it's changed to Advance). My son is 3 months old and is already reaching the 20 pound marker. It won't be long before we switch him out of his infant seat too!

Good luck!

-Char

What you do is put the new car seat facing the rear. I am assumming that you had her in a carrier right? Now that she is in a carseat you should have her REAR facing until she's 1 year of age AND at least 40 lbsHope that helps you!:)

To be forward facing the child should be at least 20 pounds AND at least 1 year old. The best thing to do is to get a convertible seat, it will fit a larger child and can be rear or forward facing after she's a year old. We have the Eddie Bauer and the people at Toys r us told us that there is no difference in the Cosco and the Eddie Bauer except the name. the Coscos are about $160 normally, but we just got a new one for my husbands car for $80 at Big Lots, that was a great deal. These go from 5 to 100 pounds and can be rear facing for infants, forward facing for toddlers, and then eventually can be a belt positioning booster for older kids. So you never have to buy another car seat. Hope this helps, I'd take back the one you bought and reseach a 3-in-1 convertible seat.

-T.

You find your receipt and return the toddler seat you got or exchange it for one that is also rear facing that can be turned around at one year. You do not want to put an 8 month old facing forward in a car. It's dangerous, they are too young physically and plus it's illegal.

My son is BIG (96% percentil for weight and height) so I know your pain. He out grew his little carry on infant seat after a few months when he got too tall. In retrospect, I wish I had gotten one of the Britax convertable seats (I think it's the marathon) next for him -- they're good until 60 pounds and can be rear facing. I got a Graco instead that only went to 40 pounds. At about 2 - 2 1/2 I got a forward facing Britax seat that goes until 80 pounds. I could have saved $$ by just getting the Britax convertable. They are so much better built than the Gracos and worth the price tag imo.

A child must be at least 1 year old and 20 pounds before they can front face in the car. I too had a child that was within the weight limit to face forward before he was a year old. The reason for the 1 year as explained to me by the doctor and the car seat EMS checking station is that their necks are not strong enough nor developed enough muscle to help them in a front facing impact if there was an accident even small ones. I bought a Britax seat. They are the best as they exceed American saftey standards. They are from England - which have stricter standards than the US. They are also larger and wider and more comfortable which accomodated my child much better. Good Luck!

I know it is the State Law that your child has to be at least 1 yr old and 20 pounds for a rear facing carseat.
I would suggest to buy a convertible carseat that is from 5-100 lbs. I bought my son's and he is still using it and has a long way to go. He is 32 lbs and 2 1/2 yrs old.

Good Luck and I hope this helps.
M.

Return seat and buy a convertible carseat!

She should be rear facing until she is at least 1 yr old and 22 lbs. But that is a minimum requirement. And you should really follow the weight limitations on the convertible seat. The car seat will tell you at what weight to turn the seat around. Depending on the safety of your vehicle (size and airbags) you should seriously consider putting the seat in the middle seat if possible.

Do some research because you can purchase a convertible that goes to 65 lbs and beyond. My kids are in Britax seats that we used as infants and are still inthem at 4.5 and 3. We definitely got our money's worth...

Everyone thinks that weight will be enough for your baby to survive a crash but it is more based on her spinal strength and integrity and muscle tone. ALL CHILDREN SHOULD BE REAR FACING UNTIL AT LEAST 2 - imo. ANd in the opinion of all of the car seat technicians I know.

Return the seat, buy a convertible, check online to see which will fit best in your car so your little one can be in the safest seat and keep her rear facing until the seat says to turn it around. Kids aren't unhappy about being rear facing until you give them the opportunity to be forward facing.

I switched both my daughters at about seven or eight months. they were just too big for the baby seat anymore and adjusted with no problem. hope to be helpful--good luck.

I don't know if others pointed out but there is a weight and length limit on the infant carseat. You don't really want to use the infant carseat beyond the limit because it does not guarantee safety of your child at higher weight than recommended. So once your child out grows that, you have to get the convertible that can be rear facing. As people pointed out, it is the law. I got Britax Marathon and it goes from 5lbs to 65lbs. I kept it rear facing until about year and half for my son and then switched. He is tall but very light (32lbs at 3!) so he will be using that for a long time to come.
We love Britax because the adjustments are so easy when you put the child in and out of the car so many times a day. But I have read people complaining of it's size so get it from local store, check it out and make sure you can see out of your rear view mirror with it installed.
:) Good luck!

K.,

The box is correct on the timing. Even if your child is big enough weight-wise, she is not ready to face the front. At one year, their muscles are stronger and can handle a whip-lash much better. If you were in a wreck with her facing forward at this young of an age, the results would be so detrimental to her young body and musculature. So, my advice is to get one that is both rear and forward-facing so that you can just turn it around on her first birthday.

Sincerely,

Dr. E.

When your daughter's shoulders are above the level of the straps where they come out of the back of the seat, she is ready to move up. The next car seat that she could be in (I recommend) is a convertible seat. These are usually rated for children from 5-40 pounds. They can face backwards in the car (from newborn to 1 year AND 20 pounds) and then they can turn to face forward. Notice the AND. Your daughter has to be at least 20 pounds and one year old to face forward. It appears that she only has one of those requirements (weight). Once she outgrows the convertible seat (usually 40 pounds, some are 80) then you can start looking at boosters. Most booster seats are rated for 4 years AND 40 pounds. Some are 3/30. I also recommend a booster with a back on it. It moves the shoulder strap forward so that it's not cutting into little necks.

Now, for your question about the carseat you just bought. If it does not have the capability of facing backward, take it back. It's the wrong one. Your daughter needs to face backward while her little neck muscles and bones are forming enough strength to handle forward facing movements.

I hope this helps!
K.

I have always heard 20 lbs or 1 year. If she is not fitting in the infant seat no matter how much she weighs or how old she is, I would switch her to the larger car seat. Good luck!

K.,
I would suggest getting a 2 in 1 or 3 in 1 seat that can be used for rear or forward facing. The LAW (not a suggestion, a law), is that you have to keep your child rear facing for 20lbs and 1 year! My child was big! She was born at almost 10 lbs....so, needless to say she was larger than most babies, and outgrew her rearfacing only carrier by 11 months....I would take the seat you purchased back and get one that is more versatile. Good luck!

My ped is strongly recomending that we keep our daughter rear facing till 2, she states that they are going to start changing the laws. It is better to be safe, even if there legs cant stretch out, babies need to be rearfacing because their bones are not yet developed enough to withstand a crash, it does not have to do with weight as much, that is just a guideline.