Snugride 35 is too tight for 10 m.o.

[McGucks]

What am I supposed to do?  Our sweet baby's straps are almost too tight to close.  He weighs around 27 pounds...big for a 10 month old, but way smaller than the 35 pounds I thought this carseat was good until.  He is not unusually tall...about 75%.  Any advice?

[love4bob]

 

I would just buy a convertible. They are easier(for me at least) to get the baby in and out, and my babies liked being able to sit up more. Plus it was last a longer time.

[NorthernPixie]

Are the straps set on the small size?  Look at the back of the seat where the two shoulder straps connect to the H-shaped metal splitter plate. There are two settings and those seats usually come set on small  -- look in your manual for how to move the webbing to the larger setting.  I believe you can also adjust at the hips, just make sure to follow the directions in the book (it's not hard).

[McGucks]

Thanks to you both for writing back.  I thought this one was a convertible, though???  And of course I lost my manual already :(

[love4bob]

 

Oh, maybe I'm wrong then.... I thought all the Snugrides were the infant carseats that can only rear face? A convertible would be able to rear face and forward face.

[mama2soren]

A Snugride is an infant seat, not a convertible.  A convertible doesn't detach from a base, like the infant seat does.  A convertible seat can be installed rear-facing and forward-facing.  Children should remain rear-facing until at least age 2 (RF is MUCH safer than FF, especially for young children), so your child will eventually need a convertible seat installed RF.  

Check the manual (look online) for how to adjust the straps to the larger position, like a PP said.  That might buy you some time.  It would be wise to order a new manual from Graco, too.  It's important to have all the info when you need to check something like this.  However, it is likely that your child will outgrow the Snugride well before he reaches 35 pounds.  Most car seats are outgrown by height before weight.  You will know the seat is outgrown by height when your baby has less than 1 inch of hard shell over his head.

Convertibles can be more comfy for big babies who are on the verge of outgrowing their infant seats.  Some good ones to look into would be the Graco My Ride, Safety First Complete Air, Evenflo Triumph 65, and the First Years True Fit.  Any of these seats will keep the average sized kid RF until at least 3, and will fit FF until 4-6+ years.  The range of price is from about $120 (the Graco My Ride) to $175 (Complete Air).  For the many years of use you'll get from these seats, they're a good deal!

Check back in on this board if you want more help choosing a good convertible.  All are not created equal!  Some are outgrown too early, and are a waste of money.

(Note: I just did quick Google searches for the links to car seat prices.  With a little more time, you might find different websites that would have them for a little less!)

[chattyprincess]

are you putting him into the seat in a snowsuit?

[McGucks]

Mama2soren--that was great info.  Thanks!  And Chattyprincess--good question, but no, we only put him in it with a single layer or sometimes a sweatshirt.

[Mom2M]

We have a Snugride 35 and I did find that the straps had to be moved to the larger setting pretty quickly but now it has fit great for a long time. DD still has plenty of room by height too and she isn't short so hopefully all you need to do is move the straps.

[an_aurora]

Double check to make sure that the straps are on the bigger-kid setting.  There are different harness loops for smaller babies versus larger babies, and you can let the harness out at both the back and the underside, at the hip area.  But more than likely you'll be moving to a rear-facing convertible soon anyhow, since I can't imagine it's comfortable to carry a 27lb kid in a bucket ;) and he will probably outgrow it in the near future.

[outlier]

You can get the manual online here: http://babycare.manualsonline.com/manuals/mfg/graco/35.html

[McGucks]

Originally Posted by outlier 

You can get the manual online here: http://babycare.manualsonline.com/manuals/mfg/graco/35.html

Thank you outlier!  DH just got home from a long work day and is hard at it.  Also, thanks to an_aurora and other PPs, who mentioned the "big kid" setting.  Car seats are a wonderful invention and a pain in my bottom!  Mama2soren--thanks for all that info.!  It really helped us understand the whole enchilada.