Anyone go straight from Infant car seat to Booster?

Just wondering if anyone skipped the convertible car seats and went straight from Infant ones to booster. At 7 months mine STILL fit just fine in the infant seats, and aren't even close to pushing 20 lbs. I'm trying not to spend a ridiculous amount of money, cuz once we buy something other than infant seats we will have to buy 2 for my car and 2 for DH's car, due to day care issues.....

I'm going to ask the Pedi but I'm almost thinking my girls might make it to a year in their infant seats the rate they are growing. Not sure what the height requirement is for putting them in a booster, or if it goes strictly by weight, or if I can go by age as well, regardless of height/weight??

 

I think all the seats are slightly different based on model, but don't remember from when we bought ours. We got seats that would ride backwards, forewards, and you could switch to booster seats.

 

Didn't I hear that the minimum weight/age for boosters is 30 lbs, 3 years? I just don't see how you could skip that step. Good luck on your research!

 

The typical Graco infant seat is up to 22 lbs and 29 inches. Please be careful how long you keep your babies in those seats because they do become unsafe if you use them past the limits.
Also the typical Booster seats start at 30 lbs. Britax booster starts at 38 inches.

The Cosco High Back Booster Car Seat can be rear or forward facing with 5 point harness from 22-40lbs. And also turns in to a lap booster seat from 40-80 lbs. So it's a convertible and a booster when they are big enough. They are $54.95 on Amazon.com Walmart sells it for $48.84. Customer reviews are 4 1/2 out of 5 stars from 13 reviews on amazon. You might want to check consumer reports.

I hope this helps! Good luck!

 

I was just thinking about this issue for the twins. I'm so glad you asked. I look forward to hearing the responses.

thanks mommyto1+2: I'm going to look at those kind of seats!

 

yea our girls are short. They could probably make the height requirement when they're 3!! LOL

I'll look into the Cosco ones, but when I just went and searched after posting, it's looking more and more likely that we will have to buy convertible seats before the booster ones. Most booster seats age requirement is 4 yrs and 40 lbs. so we would be waiting quite a while for that. Don't think they can last in their infant seats THAT long!

Thanks for the helpful info. I wish I would've looked into that BEFORE the girls were born, I probably would've just bought convertible car seats from the getgo....

 

I think you can buy convertible car seats that turn into booster seats. Make sure you check the weights on them though.

 

There is absolutely no SAFE way to skip convertible car seats (and I can't even figure out how you could do it from a practical point of view). The minimum age requirements for boosters is 4 yo and 40lbs, although manufacturers sometimes have lower limits, but still well above 30lbs, it's not recommended since a 3yo is not capable of sitting well in a booster nor are their organs able to deal with the impact of the seatbelt while in a crash! Rear facing is safest as long as your convertible allows (often 33/35lbs).

Here's a list of convertible car seats, including cheaper options. If you buy the more expensive seats, your child maybe able to be in those seats up to 4/5 yo, harnassed, the safest way.

A few videos with a very important message:
- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y2LFo8vVi04
- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=azgBhZfcqaQ...ted&search=
- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y2DVfqFhseo...ted&search=

Please feel free to pm me for more information or better, visit the Car Safety Board on Babycenter. I personally believe, on all things we spend money on for our kids, car seats should be our top priority.

---

Convertible Seats

Fisher Price Safe Voyage Deluxe (FPSVD): RF 5-33 lbs, FF to 55 lbs. 17 inch top harness slots. Made by Britax, sold under the FP name - basically a stripped down Britax Marathon. Great seat being sold at excellent prices right now. Will last most kids to age 5-6. Supposedly discontinued due to poor sales, but Britax is still manufacturing them as of this month and they have been shipping with brand new DOM’s. ($129)

Britax Marathon, Decathlon, or Boulevard: RF 5-33lbs, FF to 65lbs. 17-17.5 inch top harness slots. Allow for RF tethering. Basically built on the same shell, all have lockoffs to replace locking clips, very easy installs, many bells and whistles that make them easier to use correctly every time. Boulevard has SIP wings. Boulevard and Marathon have separate LATCH straps, Decathlon has one long strap. Last most kids to age 5-6. ($220+)

Sunshine Kids Radian (65 or 80): RF 5-33lbs, FF to 65 or 80 lbs. 18 inch top harness slots, and allows child’s shoulders to go up to 1 inch above the top slots because it’s built on a steel frame. Allows for RF tethering. Excellent seat, but it has installation compatibility issues in some vehicles when installed with seatbelt. Lasts most kids to age 6-7. ($175+)

Evenflo Triumph Advance: RF 5-35 lbs, FF to 50 lbs. 17 in top harnass slots. Features infinite harness adjuster - no rethreading the harness! Should last most kids to age 5 or so. Has been found at Babies’R’Us and Wal-Mart. ($130-150)

Recaro Como and Signo: (Coming soon) RF 5-35 lbs, FF to 70 lbs. 19 inch top harness slots. Allow for RF tethering. Recaro makes seats for NASCAR. Built on basically the same shell, but the Signo will have SIP wings, an infinitely adjustable harness and separate LATCH belts. Will last most kids to age 6-7. ($249+) –Como set for release 2nd week of August, Signo 3rd week of September

Lower cost options... (for primary or secondary cars... they are still GREAT seats)

Cosco Scenera (5pt harness NOT Overhead shield): RF 5-35 lbs, FF to 40 lbs. 15 inch top harness slots. Very basic no frill seat. 34” minimum height required for FF in addition to 22 lbs minimum FF weight. Lasts most kids to age 3-3.5 due to low top slots and a short shell, but a good value at $40-50. Available at Wal-Mart, Target, K Mart and more.

Safety First Uptown: RF 5-35 lbs, FF to 40 lbs. 16.5 inch top harness slots making this is the ONLY 40lb limit convertible that may actually get a kid to 40lbs before it’s outgrown by height. EPP foam, super cushy. Very easy to use and with an 8 yr lifespan! (most seats are 6) Will last most kids to 40 lbs... age 3 or 4 depending on height. (about $100)

The Graco Comfort Sport, Evenflo Titan and Triumph, and all the Cosco/Dorel/Eddie Bauer 3-in-1 seats have low top harness slots and short shells and are usually outgrown the same time as the Scenera. You don’t get much for you money. While they are safe when used properly (like any seat), there are just other options that offer more for the same cost.

---

The importance of rear-facing

Why You Should Consider Rear-Facing Your Child Past the Minimum of 1 Year and 20 Pounds

Our favorite link:
“Rear-facing – Unmatched Safety” A fairly comprehensive article from CPSafety.com
http://www.cpsafety.com/articles/stayrearfacing.aspx

MSN Article “Child Car Seat Advice Questioned”
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/9916868/

You Tube Video “Benefits of Keeping Baby Rear-facing”
http://youtube.com/watch?v=kRP7ynNI8mI

“Why Rear-Facing is Safest” A fairly comprehensive article from Car-Safety.org
http://www.car-safety.org/rearface.html

Rear Facing Seats – Yet another fairly comprehensive article for thecarseatlady.com
http://www.thecarseatlady.com/car_seats/re...cing_seats.html

Pictures of How a Child’s Spine Develops http://www.windsorpeak.com/dc/dcboard.php?...e=full&page

AAP (American Academy of Pediatrics) Policy
http://aappolicy.aappublications.org/cgi/c...trics;109/3/550
Highlight of the policy - for optimal protection, the child should remain rear facing until reaching the maximum weight for the car safety seat, as long as the top of the head is below the top of the seat back

Why RF is Safest Even in Rear End Collisions
One Family’s Story of Being Rear-Ended While at a Stop by a Car Traveling at 60-65mph

http://myangelsaliandpeanut.tripod.com/id5.html

A childs' vertabrae do not fully fuse until 3-6 years old. Before then, he/she is at great risk for spinal injury. When rear-facing in a crash, the forces are spread out among the strong carseat shell and baby's strong back. The harness holds baby down in the seat and he/she is cradled and protected. When forward-facing, the harness holds babys' body back, and his/her head flies forward violenty, putting tremendous stress on the neck.

Here's the catch...the spinal column can stretch up to 2 inches, BUT the spinal cord can only stretch up to 1/4 of an inch before it snaps and baby is gone. This is referred to as internal decapitation. Babys' head will be slumped over like he/she is sleeping.

It's very important to keep babies rear-facing to 1 year AND 20 lbs. (both, not either/or) at the very least. It's actually much safer to rear-face to the limits of a convertible carseat, as recommended by the American Academy of Pediatrics. A forward-facing child is 4-5 times MORE likely to be killed or seriously injured in a crash than a rear-facing child of the same age...not a risk I'll be taking with my babies.

Check out this video for some great information and crash test footage...you'll see the HUGE difference: http://youtube.com/watch?v=kRP7ynNI8mI

And this one has lots of pictures of older rear-facing kiddos: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=psmUWg7QrC8

And here’s another great link:
http://www.childrestraintsafety.com/rear-facing.html

 

One more thing ... one of the cheapest, but still safe way, would be:

- Get the Cosco Sceneras (convertibles) for $40 each and keep them in those as long as possible (rf then ff)
- Then get the Apex 65 Combo seats (convertible; harnassed up to 65lbs and top slots are 17.5" = same as Britax Marathon) and it then converts into a booster, they're $99-$125 each.

http://www.walmart.com/catalog/product.do?product_id=4083774
http://www.walmart.com/catalog/product.do?product_id=4631191

 

We have the Cosco Juveniles (which are the ones the above poster linked you to) they were cheap, and have been GREAT seats for us. We switched to them at 10 months, and they are still in them.