Car Seat Question

At what point did you all switch from the infant carriers to a rear facing car seat? or did you just stick it out in the carriers until they were old enough for a regular front facing seat?

I am in a predicament. Jack now weighs 17 lbs and James weighs 16 lbs. They both fit fine in their care seats, they are just too heavy for me to carry both at once anymore and it is getting more and more difficult to lift them into and out of the car.
The boys car seats (the Graco safeseat) will accomodate them up until 30 pounds and it is very easy for us with the carriers since I drop them off at daycare and DH picks them up. I just don't know what to do, part of me just wants to switch, but part of me really likes the convienience and thinks we can stick it out for a few more months.

I would just like any thoughts about when you switched and if you wish you had waited or wish you done it earlier and any pros or cons you can think of with the switch.

 

we switched the girls at 8 1/2 months because they reached the 22lb limit of our graco infant seat. they are in rear facing britax convertable seats now and they seem more comfortable. they were getting too heavy for me to carry in the infant seats already and getting out the snap and go was getting to be a pain anyway. we have a side by side light stroller that I can get out easily from the trunk and get them into it quickly.

one down side of switching out the infant seats is that when you get to where you are going you have to find a safe spot for them right away. When they are in the infant seats you can put them down and you know they'll stay put for a few mintues while you get organized, but with no infant seat you have to put them on the floor and of course they immediatly look for trouble

also, it's harder in the winter without the infant seat because you can't get them all bundled and situated in the house and then just carry them out, you have to stand out in the cold and get them situated in the car, so maybe you might want to wait until it's warmer (depending on where you live


if you decide to switch it won't be as bad as you think.... HTH

 

QUOTE(1stTimeMom26 @ Jan 6 2009, 01:57 PM) [snapback]1135448[/snapback]
we switched the girls at 8 1/2 months because they reached the 22lb limit of our graco infant seat. they are in rear facing britax convertable seats now and they seem more comfortable. they were getting too heavy for me to carry in the infant seats already and getting out the snap and go was getting to be a pain anyway. we have a side by side light stroller that I can get out easily from the trunk and get them into it quickly.

one down side of switching out the infant seats is that when you get to where you are going you have to find a safe spot for them right away. When they are in the infant seats you can put them down and you know they'll stay put for a few mintues while you get organized, but with no infant seat you have to put them on the floor and of course they immediatly look for trouble

also, it's harder in the winter without the infant seat because you can't get them all bundled and situated in the house and then just carry them out, you have to stand out in the cold and get them situated in the car, so maybe you might want to wait until it's warmer (depending on where you live
if you decide to switch it won't be as bad as you think.... HTH



Thanks for your comment. It has helped me as well. Mines are 20 pounds now. I probably will change seats by the end of February.

 

I just stuck it out until the girls turned 1 and then put them in the front facing. A big reason was b/c my parents were willing to buy the car seats for the girls birthday so I wanted to wait.

 

We changed from the infant seats because ours were getting too tall and the straps on the seat were getting to be too tight for them, I think we did this when they were 10 months old (around Oct/Nov).

 

I think it was sometime during their 10th month or so. They they stayed in their rear facing seat until they were about 1.6 (Knowing what I know now, I would have left them rear facing longer).
I would suggest if you can wait a little longer for the winter to be over, it may be easier for you. Winter is a PITA when you do not have infant seats!.

PS: Stick to rear facing as long as you can!

 

I think we switched our twins about 7-8 months. I was actually happier with the convertible carseats and adjusted quickly. The girls were more comfortable as well. This time around, we haven't made the switch yet. I think it's partially laziness on my part.

 

I switched mine at around 5 months. They were able to sit up with assistance and I was tired of carrying their infant seats. We are out and about ALL the time and don't have any problems. I either throw them in their stroller or put them in a shopping cart when available. They seem to like the convertible seats better also.

 

I switched the girls at 10.5 months. Here are some things to consider before making the change.

1. The weather. It is a lot easier in the infant seats in cold weather.

2. The convenience - with the infant seats, I could take one baby out, set her in the garage, grab the other baby out, bring her in the house, grab other baby from garage, never taking an eye off of either of them. Now that they are both in convertible seats, I have permanently placed an exersaucer by the front door. One baby gets put there, while I buckle the other baby in the car, run in and grab the one out of the exersaucer, and bring her out. (Reverse that when we get home). You always have to have a safe baby proofed place to put them when there is no infant carrier. It is also not as easy if you have day care/ multiple cars. I actually ended up buying 6 convertible carseats. 2 for my car, 2 for the babysitter, 2 for DH's vehicle, so that we did not have to switch the carseats at every location.

3. Vehicle size vs. size of your family. When we moved to convertible seats, all of a sudden my DS's booster seat did not fit in the car as well. At this point I now had to buckle in 3 children instead of 2, because DS could no longer buckle himself.

Personally I would use the infant seats as long as they still fit your children in weight and length, I think they are easier to deal with.

 

We switched mine at 8 months. In theory they could both still be in the infant seats, but I'm glad we switched.

For us it was a pain to have to take the seats up and down the stairs, and a buckle was getting stuck all the time in the back when tightening the straps... both our seats did it although they were manufactured 2 years apart... we had to lift the seats and bend them forward and it was a real pain to deal with. I'm never recommending the graco snugrides again. And carrying both seats to the car was HEAVY.

They like their new seats better too as they have more room to move. For us their gated play area is in the living room with the front door so there's no problem finding a safe spot to put them in while we buckle in the other. Our new stroller is smaller than the snap'n go too so we suddenly have much more room in the trunk also... and it really takes one minute to strap them in and out really.

On a side note, because I think it's important to note, it's recommended to have babies rear-facing as long as possible, as it's much safer for them. So it's best to switch to a convertible seat, and just turn them forward at 35lb.

 

We switched at 8 months because they outgrew their infant seats. But I vote for keeping them in the carriers as long as you can. It is such a pain now, especially bundling them up in this weather. I hate standing out in the cold fumbling with the straps on the carseat, and again on the stroller.

 

We switched them at around 5 months, in November. Jon was getting too tall. They were soo much more comfortable in their rear facing convertable seats!

 

So what type of car seat do you recommend?..

DH is tall and the infant car seats are tight... so we decided to buy the convertible for his car since when we go out together we can use the
stroller ( I'm keeping them in the infant seats- althugh dd does notlike it--- because it is easier with the snap and go)

 

Thanks so much for the responses. I think that for now we will keep them in the infant seats....at least until the weather warms up a little bit so at least we won't have to deal with it in the cold. I'm thinking probably April and then we'll switch them into the rear facing seats and they will be about 10 months old then.

 

QUOTE(Gimena @ Jan 6 2009, 08:38 PM) [snapback]1135885[/snapback]
So what type of car seat do you recommend?..

DH is tall and the infant car seats are tight... so we decided to buy the convertible for his car since when we go out together we can use the
stroller ( I'm keeping them in the infant seats- althugh dd does notlike it--- because it is easier with the snap and go)


I would recommend the Britax Marathan or the Fisher Price Safe Voyage. The FP is based off of the Britax and is a less expensive seat but with the same features as the Marathan. The Marathan should be the only carseat you will ever need. It goes from 5-65 pounds, is rear and forward facing, and has a 5 point harness. My 5 year old could still fit in the Marathan and be safe but we have a Britax Regent for her (can't be rear facing in the Regent). Britax is an excellent carseat. Very user friendly but very pricey too.