Convertable Car Seats

[MrsK]

When do I have to switch my baby to a convertable car seat? We use the Graco 32 now. It's supposed to be suitable until he weighs 32 lbs. But we have to keep him rear-facing until he's a year old and I'm concerned that he'll become too long for the carseat. He weighs about 16 lbs now so it will be a while until he exceeds the weight maximum. However, when the carseat is rear-facing, his feet almost touch the back of the car's seat. I'm worried that his legs would break if we were in an accident. Do I switch to the convertable seat now? Can I use the Graco 32 front-facing later? And if I switch to the convertable, do we need to buy one for each of our cars? And which convertable seat fits in cars best? DrK is big and he's unable to drive with the Graco 32 behind his seat.

[SuzySunshine]

Infant seats are never to be forward facing. My pediatrician once told us a story of seeing an almost 3 year old in an infant seat, rear facing because his head still not extend over the top and she said that is the most important part. We moved Adele out of hers at about 9 months because I felt like I was twisting her like a pretzel to get her very long arms under the straps. With R we didn't have that problem but due to a long car trip we chose to go ahead and switch him to the rear facing Convertible seat.

The convertible, rear facing, will be your next seat unless you choose to leave him in the 32 until he's 1 and then you have several seats you can choose from. Which fits best is always a loaded question because every car is different but we love our Britax Roundabout which is what both of our kids had after their infant seats. The Roundabout does not stick out quite as far as the infant seat.

[MrsK]

We drive an Acura and a RAV4. Do I have to switch him to the convertable if his legs are touching the car? And do I need a convertable for each of our cars?

[HouseofWool]

The Graco 32 is rear facing only. With a Convertible, you should be able to use it rear facing and then turn it around at a year. (hence convertible). I love my roundabout, it is one of the smallest convertible seats out there. It is only 24" from the back seat to the front of the carseat.

When Caleb was an infant, his legs were all scrunched up against the back seat. But - I was told that it was still safer than having him facing forward.

It is certainly easier to have a carseat in each car, but the roundabout can be safely installed in about 3 minutes with the latch system.

[madeintaiwan]

Yes, infant seats are NEVER to be used forward facing. The feet touching doesn't matter. It's the head and the top of the seat that matter. What is the height maximum on the seat? It should be listed in the manual. All car seats state a minimum and maximim weight as well as height. As long as he within the weight and height, you are fine.

Whether you buy two convertible seats is entirely up to you. We have always had two because we do not like to undo the seats and transfer them. The Radian [which I absolutely LOVE] is heavy and can be a pain to move back and forth. We have two spare car seats too. In my car, Eo and Ai-Lan are both in the Radian 65 and Jasen is in a basic booster seat [though he could probably go without one now]. In DH's car, Ai-Lan has a booster seat and Eo has a Graco Ultra Cargo Booster Car Seat. When we travel, we have a newer Graco Platinum Cargo Booster Car Seat for Eo and a Graco Turbo Booster for Ai-Lan.

The Graco Cargos are not convertible infant car seats. They are forward facing 20 lbs to 40lbs, 1 year and up. The Radian is a convertible, 5lbs to 65lbs, rear and forward facing.

[Vanquisher]

Legs are no big deal. Keep them rear facing AS LONG AS POSSIBLE! Which, coincidentally, is a lot, lot longer than you think.

http://www.cpsafety.com/articles/StayRearFacing.aspx
http://www.car-safety.org/rearface.html

[Michele]

Re: Convertable Car Seats

I'm planning to keep Kai (18mo 25# and about 31 inches tall) rear facing until he outgrows the rearfacing limits of his seat (Britax Boulevard). He bends his legs just fine. . He has such a melon head that I worry about whiplash and spinal/brain stem injury if we were to get into an accident and he was front facing.


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[Vanquisher]

I kept Alexia rear facing until she was nearly 4 years old in her Britax Marathon. When Ryan was little we put him on a blanket on the floor (kidding, but it was different - 3 point harness, for example). She is still in a booster and will be for a few more years.

[MrsK]

When Ryan was little we put him on a blanket on the floor (kidding, but it was different - 3 point harness, for example).

LOL You know, my mom still talks about a traffic accident she had when I was in a bassinet on the back seat. I was about 5 months old. I fell out and rolled under the driver's seat. I was wailing and she couldn't reach me. Needless to say, she never gives me a hard time about the carseat.

Ok, so keep him in the Graco 32, rear-facing, until he gets his own driver's license. Got it.

Seriously, thank you for your advise. I don't know why I thought the Graco 32 could be turned around after the baby was a year old.

[alison]

I shudder when I think about how much poop and vomit we have had to hand wash out of the Britax Marathon. That mofo is a b*tch to take apart. 45 minutes into cleaning it in a hotel bathroom, I wanted to just chuck it out and buy another one. Why don't they make this particular brand machine washable? And why are there half a million parts to it?

[Deebs]

I moved my babes to the convertible, rear facing, when they started to get bored in the infant seat. The convertible seats tend to sit up a bit higher so the babes can see out the window a bit better, IMO. We turned DS forward facing at about 18 months, and only because he would scream in the car and I was afraid I'd get into an accident from the distraction. If DD's personality keeps up, she will be rear-facing until age 4 (or maybe longer, she's the tiniest of my kids). Don't worry about the legs. The way crash forces work, it would be unlikely he'd even get pressure applied to them - regardless of how squished they may look.

Also, don't feel silly that you thought an infant seat was to eventually be turned forward. DH has seen many kids come in from crashes with forward facing infant seats, so apparently many people think to do that. Unfortunately, all of those cases I can think of had really bad outcomes.

I shudder when I think about how much poop and vomit we have had to hand wash out of the Britax Marathon. That mofo is a b*tch to take apart. 45 minutes into cleaning it in a hotel bathroom, I wanted to just chuck it out and buy another one. Why don't they make this particular brand machine washable? And why are there half a million parts to it?

LOL! I feel your pain. We have the Britax Boulevard, and I love it for many reasons, but there are lots of places for puke to get stuck. The cover is machine washable, though (or at least, I've washed mine!).

We switched our kids to front facing as soon as they reached 20 pounds after they turned a year old (all our kids are small) because they were happier that way. If they had been content to be rear-facing, we would have left them that way longer. We went ahead and put them in Britax Boulevards, rear-facing, because they outgrew their Gracos before they turned 1. As a rear-facing seat, the Boulevards aren't the best, space-wise, but once they're forward-facing, there's no problem with hitting the seat in front. You wouldn't have to have car seats for both cars, especially if both of your cars have the latches that can be used with a car seat's latch system. The Boulevards aren't "easy" to switch out, but the latch system makes it a lot simpler. It sounds like the Britax Roundabout might be a better option for you, but in general I've felt like Britax has been good quality, comfortable, and easy to use.

One thing to consider when choosing your next car seat is how long it can be used before you have to switch to a booster. We wouldn't have to spend the money on boosters until a year or so after DH is in attendinghood - except that the littlest one is going to need to move up into one of the Boulevards within the next year.

[Tenacious_D]

I shudder when I think about how much poop and vomit we have had to hand wash out of the Britax Marathon. That mofo is a b*tch to take apart. 45 minutes into cleaning it in a hotel bathroom, I wanted to just chuck it out and buy another one. Why don't they make this particular brand machine washable? And why are there half a million parts to it?

Horrible, horrible memories.....I can't even comment or I may throw up!