car seat, when to make the switch?

[atinygiraffe]

I was wondering at what point am I supposed to move dd from the infant seat to aconvertable, and when can she be forward facing? She's currently 9 months, 20ish lbs

[eclipse]

You can move to a convertable any time. She should stay rearfacing for a very long time - preferably until she reaches the rearfacing limit of the carseat you choose, typically 33 or 35 lbs. My son stayed rearfacing until he was 3 1/2 or so.

[Ianthe]

I think they just upped the rear facing recommendation to 2 years.

[buttercups.nest]

I am moving to a convertible the day the weather warms up! Its not bad right now, -15C, but its not unusual for it to suddenly drop back down to -40C! The bucket is so heavy!!! It'd be so much easier to 'sling him'!

With my daughter we went forward facing fairly soon after she turned a year. She hated rear facing, was getting to the point where I avoided car rides! With our son though we are going to try and hold out for longer. I have heard the longer you go the better...less chance of injury that way.

[an_aurora]

She can go into a convertible any time; my son started out in a convertible from birth! He's now in a bucket for the winter since DH and I do daycare switchoff.

She needs to stay RF at least until 2. RF is so much safer than FF!

[mamadelbosque]

I just switched DS2 to a convertible (Evenflo Triumph advance), a week or so ago after I got him another seat (originally I got *HIM* a truefit premier... but he hates it, so its now DS1's ). I was hoping i'd have more spce in my front seat with the truefit, but its essentially the same amount of room :sniffle: However, I'm still way happier, as I despised the puzzle buckle on his bucket (babytrend flex loc). I think we switched DS1 around the same 5-6 month period. I just know he's heavy enough that I was *not* going to be hauling around the bucket anymore. Their supposed to stay Rf till at least age 2 now, and thereafter as long as they fit.

[Alisse]

We just switched to a convertible today because our LO was getting way too big for his infant seat (4months, 20lbs). We got a britax roundabout -- our ds likes it so much better, probably because it's so much roomier. So it wasn't surprising that he didn't cry in his seat for the first time today, (well, hopefully today wasn't just a fluke).

[Llyra]

Be careful with the buckets-- some kids grow out of them by height before they get to the weight limit. There should be an inch of hard shell above baby's head, or baby is too long for the seat. However, it doesn't matter if baby's legs touch the back of the vehicle seat. That is not unsafe.

Like the PPs said, you can switch to a convertible at any time. You'll want to keep it rear-facing to the maximum limits of the seat you buy. The 20 pound/1 year recommendation is the bare minimum required by law, and is outdated and known to be unsafe. Look for a convertible that has a high height and weight limit for rear-facing, so that your LO can rear-face for as long as possible. Don't worry if the child's legs seem too long for rear-facing. Kids are flexible, and they learn to sit cross-legged or with their knees up. Rear-facing protects the head and neck and spine so much better than forward-facing.

[hotharmony]

I just wanted to add that you don't *have* to change over to a convertible just because she is 9 months or the bucket is to heavy to carry. The only time you have to change seats is if your LO has outgrown the weight and height limits of their current seat.

We love bucket seats in this house, my LO was in his until he was 13 months old when he outgrew it by height. We have the Graco Snugride 32 so we still had plenty of time weight wise.

Convertibles seem much cooler and like a new milestone and something new to buy, but they are just as safe as long as your LO still fits properly into her bucket seat.