Hi moms. How long does a baby stay in the infant car seat? I get our diapers from diapers.com and just got an email from them saying: "your 5-month old is ready to graduate to a convertible car seat!" Bear with me, this is my first one... do I need a new car seat already???
thanks moms! it seems like ages ago since we took that car seat safety class before our little one was born! I thought I remembered the weight limit for our infant seat being 25 or even 30 lbs. I just saw that stupid email and panicked, like oh my gosh, I'm a bad mom - I didn't think I needed a new seat yet! ;-) He definitely still fits in his seat - he's about 14 lbs but he is already getting SO heavy for me to lug around, so maybe we'll think about switching over in the next couple of months. Good to know we have the option though!
They can stay in the infant seat as long as they fit, but they can move to a rear-facing convertible any time you're ready to move them. You have two safe options right now.
Personally, we've never owned an infant seat, and my boys did fine in the convertible from their first car trip.
no. I didn't get a convertable until my son was about 9 months old because his head was over the top of the car seat.
Per recent regulations/guidelines, children should face backwards until 2 years old. convertable switch, however, is bassed on weight and height.
Check the safety rating of your seat and if your child is not over the weight limit and their head is not taller than the back of the infant seat, you are fine to leave your child as-is. FYI - feet, not a big deal if they stick out - just the head:)
Hope that helps!
Change over should happen about the time that your baby reaches either the weight or the height limit, whichever happens first, or you just get too tired of carrying around the infant carrier.
For most babies, that is between 6 and 9m. Some babies reach close to a year, but seldom do.
For both of my kids it was around the 6m mark, because I am not a very strong person, and lugging 30lbs around was killing me.
M.
S.,
The best advice for you is to call your local police department, make an inspection appointment (FREE!) and take your car, your seat and your child with you.
Some unbelievably high percentage (like 65%!) of people either use the wrong seat, improperly install/adjust, etc.
This is not a question for which you should seek "opinions" from a forum, you should get FACTS from your local inspector! It could save your child's life.
A blanket email like that from diapers.com is irresponsible!!! Kids are ALL different so the seat needs to fit the child!
You can also see state specific laws at www.seatcheck.org
We didnt change ours over until our DD was almost 12 months. She still fit in the other seat and we received the new car seat as a gift close to her birthday (we knew it was coming) so we just waited. She was just starting to grow out of the other seat at that time.
My infant seat technically goes up to 30 lbs. BUT I switched my DD when she was 7 months old. She just looked sooo cramped, and the convertible seats sit farther back than the infant carriers. She also was sitting up more, and seemed generally comfortable. I would switch your baby when she is either uncomfortable looking, or reaches the height/weight limits... whichever comes first. Personally, I am glad I switched her a little earlier, because by then I wasn't really carrying her around in the seat any more. It is a LOT easier to pull them in and out of the convertible seat than the infant carrier!!!
No, not necessarily. How big is your 5 month old? If he is still within the weight limits of your infant carrier and his head does not come within one inch of the top of the seat, then you are fine. Assuming you don't mind lugging the carrier around, lol. My son has always been a little guy. We just switched to a convertible seat about a month ago, at around 16 months. I would have done it sooner, but with the winter we had it was just a lot easier to bundle him into the carrier than to worry about keeping him warm and then making sure to remove the bulky stuff to keep him safe in the carseat. It got tough to lug that carrier around, but that's what Daddy is for ;) If you do get a convertible seat now then you'll be set for awhile, just a matter of your baby's size, your preference, and financial situation.
my doctor said to keep the baby in the infant seat as long as possible. The rear-facing infant seat is the safest option for kids until they don't fit anymore, basically - if their legs have to be scrunched up to sit in the seat, or if their head comes up higher than the back of the seat... OR if they exceed the weight limit on the seat... then it is time to switch them over.
My daughter switched over at about age 1 (she was 17 lbs) - she was getting too tall to fit in the seat.
Switch over when baby doesn't fit, or ask your pediatrician. They usually stay updated on that sort of safety information. Keep in mind that stores want you to by the next seat WAY before it is necessary or even recommended, and if you followed their advice you would be switching every few months!
Once your baby is in the convertible car seat- follow the same rule of thumb- as long as they fit! It will have similar recommendations for weight an height somewhere on it if you are trying to decide on which to get!
-M.
wait- actually I was wrong... I switched her over at 20lbs... the day the she weighed in at that- we BOUGHT the seat when she was 17 lbs.... so technically she was a few months older than one LOL- mommy brain!
As long as your baby's head is not higher than the top of the seat , or he/she has not outgrown the max weight limit them it is fine to carry on with the infant seat. I'd say on average they are around 9 months old and weighing about 20lb when most people switch to a convertable , and then they still need to be rear facing.
Infant carseat should go up to 20 lbs. Im assuming he/she isnt 20 lbs yet. A convertible carseat is one that can face forward or backward in your car. Convertible carseat can be used for a newborn to a toddler, but if you dont currently have one, you dont need to rush out and buy one just yet. They are now suggesting baby be rear facing for two years, so when she outgrows her infant carseat you probably need to go to a convertible then.
WOW that is early!!! The lastest recommendations say infant seat to 2 years old!!! You have lots of time.
