When did they outgrow their Infant Carriers?

I was just wondering what age or size you switched to convertible car seats. I haven't bought them yet...any suggestions?

 

My son was 21lbs, 28 3/4 inches at his 6 month appt. We had the Graco snugrides, and they only went up to 22lbs and 29 inches. So we knew we had to buy convertibles, and fast! I wanted to have them in the same car seats at the same time, so we moved them together, even though my daugther was much smaller. But she would have ourgrown the snugride anyway by now, as she is 30.5 inches.

Anyway, we went with the Radian 80 car seats and love them! They are a bit pricey, but really safe and solid, as well as the only convertible carseat that goes up to 80lbs with a 5 pt harness. We got a less expensive car seat for our second car, since the kids are so rarely in it.

Good luck! Lots of moms on this site has experience with lots of different seats, so you will get lots of opinions and can figure out what works best for you!

Erica

 

Well, we lucked out and they didn't outgrow them until right around their first birthday! And that was for length...they still had a few pounds to go weight-wise!

We ended up getting them the Evenflo Triumph Advance DLX and I am loving this seat!

Easy to use, getting the girls in and out is a breeze and they're comfy in it. And it's rearfacing to 35lbs and then goes up to 50lbs/50".

 

I switched mine at 5 months because the weight with them in the seat was too much for me to carry.

And I needed to carry them around A LOT.

 

My kids are almost 7 months and we just made the switch last weekend. They had a few pounds to go to reach the max, but they seemed uncomfortable - squished in the old seats and they were so darned heavy to carry anywhere, they lost the convenience factor.

 

I just switched mine yesterday. at 5 months and 2 days.. DS is getting really big really fast and he is almost to heavy to DH to carry is the carrier.. He weighs about 17-18 lbs.

 

Heck...Ellie could probably still fit today! She'll be 2 in 17 days and she's probably just at 20 pounds. We gave up the carrier at 13mo for my nephew who was born 2 months later. He is now just about 10mo and is out of his carrier. It just depends on how the kids grow!!!

 

I switched at 6 months. Although they were big they did not hit the limits yet, but it was getting too heavy for me, and I found them "developmentally" ready for the next step. They liked the convertibles much better which made driving easier for me too.

 

We switched right around the 8 month mark. They still would have fit, althoug DS was a little uncomfortable, but I couldn't carry them in them anymore. We love our convertible car seats and the kids look so much more comfortable.

 

I switched one at about 5.5 months. He was just getting TOO heavy & TOO hard to buckle into the infant seat. My other little guy still has room, so I've kept him in the infant seat for the convenience factor. I definitely think the convertible seats look WAY more comfy, but I just can't quite figure out how to get around with 2 babies NOT in carriers & NOT sitting on their own yet! I'm not coordinated enough . Oh, we have the Britax Decathalons for my van & then the Evenflo Triumph Advance DLXs for our other, less used car.

Judging by your girls' age, you should have a little time left!

 

We switched at 7 months, they hadn't hit the weight limit but they were 28 1/2 inches and their feet stuck out. Also with winter in Cleveland we had them bundled up and they were crammed in those seats, and usually cried most of the car ride. We also switched to the Evenflo Triumph Advance dx and haven't heard a peep out of them since. They are soooo comfortable in them. The seats are really easy to install and take in and out but they are a little bulky and take up a lot of the back seat. That doesn't really matter to me but if you have a really small car they might be a little tight rear facing.

 

We haven't switched yet, but we will soon even though they aren't near the weight limit yet. They are just getting too heavy to carry for me... but I'm holding off as long as possible because I LOVE my sng!!!

 

I could have switched at 8 months but I pushed it as long as I could. I switched at 10 months... my guys were so huge they looked silly in them.

 

We switched somewhere between 2 and 4 months as DD screamed whenever we put her in. At 4 months DS was too tall anyways so I was happy we had switched. When we switched I could barely buckle DS in.......... he is a BiG boy!

So many people ignore the height limits. I actually saw a toddler in one the other day. I wanted to scream at the mother, but I minded my own business.

Friday night at the Peds we saw twins and the father was bragging about how at 6 months they were 20 and 22 pounds...... they were now 8 months old. They were in Snugrides which I know go to 22 pounds. They were surely too big for them so I asked him when they would be switching and he said oh at a year when they can turn around. He did not even know convertibles existed!

 

My girls are still in them at 10 1/2 months. They were still between 19-20 lbs about 3 weeks ago. I plan on keeping them in there until the weather starts to get warm HOPEFULLY! I would rather spend my time indoors strapping them in than outside in the cold. I have a toddler also and it's a lot easier running quick errands with the twins in their seats. I did switch them to Evenflo convertible seats for a long trip we made and after a week I switched them back. I originally bought the Evenflo Triumph DX car seats, but we had to return them for their smaller version because I couldn't fit 3 car seats in the backseat of my Tahoe.

 

We switched at 8 months. Just like pp, they were still ok on height and weight but i just couldnt carry them anymore. We got 4 of the Britax Roundabouts at our shower and we love them!!!

 

We just switched yesterday. The girls are exactly nine months old. They're only 17 lbs 6 oz and 18 lbs 2 oz as of this morning, so they aren't near the weight limit. I don't know how tall they are, but probably only 26 inches. However, they had started looking (and acting) uncomfortable in the Graco Snugrides. We switched to the Evenflo Triumph Advance DXs, and so far (one short test car ride) the seats seem to be great. I will miss the portability of the Snugrides it was time to make the switch.

 

I haven't switched yet...but really do want to. I just find it easier in the winter time to bundle them into their snug rides with tons of blankies, then expose them to -50 weather. Their poor skin can freeze in seconds up here. Hopefully the weather will warm up a bit in the next month and I would ideally like to switch them by the time they are 10 months old. They have to meet the age (1year) or weight (22lbs) requirements before I will switch. Safety first!

Juli

 

I was in a hurry as a new mom with the twins and switched them at 9 months. They were only 15 lbs at a year so they could have been in them a lot longer. Depending on the time of year I would keep them in them as long as possible. Nothing worse in the winter than having to bundle them and get them in/out of the car. With the infant carriers you can use blankets and the covers rather than snowsuits.

JMHO,
Tracy

 

I just ordered two Britax Marathon convertibles...becca and jake are 13 months. I think Becca is starting to exceed the height limit - neither is exceeding the weight. Since the kids aren't into the cars too much, it hasn't been a problem - even though they aren't that comfy.

We are keeping them rear facing for at least another year and don't plan to get boosters until much later.

Another interesting note, our backseat (Murano) you can recline it back a little to give kids more footroom.

Miriam

 

My DD switched her boys at about 7 months old. They were not even close to the height or weight restrictions of the infant carseats but both babies screamed like heck when they were in them, even when they were very little. When DD tested out her convertible seats (can't remember which brand she got), both boys stayed calm on the drive and she's never looked back. They seem to finally like being in the car!

She doesn't miss her snap-n-go after all. She bought an inexpensive and very lightweight Jeep SBS umbrella stroller and it works fine for the quick trips to the store or a stroll around the mall. Eventually she'll probably want to get something more substantial, especially when the weather gets warmer and she wants to go on walks in the neighborhood since the lightweight umbrella stroller isn't that great on streets and sidewalks. DD says it's been so much easier to plop them in the SBS umbrella stroller than it was to heave the infant carseats onto the SNG anyway, and the SBS is easier to steer.

The convertibles are big though and DD drives a Mazda Protege. With the convertibles rear-facing, she won't have enough room for the infant carseat for the new baby. I don't know if she's had a chance to turn them front-facing to see if they'll have room when the baby comes in May. The twins will be 13 months old by then but they're both tiny for their age so I know she would like to keep them rear-facing for another 6-8 months past that at least. I don't know what they'll end up doing.

 

Mine are 8 months and we are switching VERY soon. (Like in 2 weeks or so) We have the SnugRides. DS is about 21 pounds, and DD is about 20 pounds. They are shorties, though! DS is 26 inches and DD is really short - 24 inches! (though I think the nurse measured wrong!) I can barely strap in DS...It takes all I can to snap the buckle closed and I can see he is really uncomfortable. He can't move at all. With DD there is a tiny bit of room left, but I am going to switch them at the same time - to convertibles. Not sure which one yet...We are looking into the Radius that someone else mentioned. Pricey, but it looks like a great car seat that lasts a long time!

 

I switched at 6 months only because I could no longer carry them in the infant seats - they weren't even that heavy but I have severe carpal tunnel and lugging the carriers usually resulted in lots of pain!

 

We also switched when they reached the height limit of the infant seats. For Ainsley, that was at 6.5 months and we then moved Sierra at 7 months even though she still had about 1/2 an inch to go. Dax was out of the infant carseat at 4 months.

 

Mine never actually "outgrew" them by 12 months, but they got too heavy for me or the nanny to carry in the seat after about 10 months. So we switched at 10 months.

 

Switched at 8 months because we were getting close to the height requirement but no where near the weight. Love the Evenflo Titans!

 

Just this weekend for us...11 months. But I have little peanuts.

We now are into the Graco Comfortsport and so far I really like htem.

 

6 months for one because of height/weight limits. The other looks like she's got another 3 lbs to go. I'll keep them rear facing until they are about 18 months or they get too tall.

 

we switched this past weekend, though we probably should have done so earlier. The boys have been looking tall and smooshed in there for a few weeks. We got the Britax Roundabouts.

 

We switched Aubrey WAY early! She was in a convertable car seat at 4 months because she was so heavy. Our ped said that we did a great job switching because she was too big for the infant carrier. Her feet we about 1 inch from the edge of the seat. Aubrey loves being in her seat!

Avarey will stay in her seat a little while longer yet. She is only 16 lbs 6 ounces so I will be waiting until she is about 20 pounds too. Besides I have Aubrey that I can take out and carry while Avarey can sit in her car seat riding around in the stroller. I am now putting Aubrey in the back part of the double strooler sitting up with her seat belt on. Shw loves sitting up. God help me if for some reason I have to lay her down--lol

Lots of love!
Meshell

 

6 months. My boys are hefty (in a cute way).

 

QUOTE(Kyrstyn @ Feb 2 2008, 07:16 PM) [snapback]602673[/snapback]
I was just wondering what age or size you switched to convertible car seats. I haven't bought them yet...any suggestions?


We changed at 13m when one of the boys hit 20#. I cried like a baby when I had to retire the Snap N Go. :cray: