Outgrowing rear facing car seat?

[fljen]

Well, we had a lovely son on St. Patrick's day this year, born at 8lbs
11oz, not to shabby He outgrew his britax companion at 3 months, it went to 22lbs. He's currently over 27lbs at 5 months and I'm not sure how far he's going to go before slowing down. He's currently in a britax roundabout that goes to 33 lbs rear facing and I'm having some concerns that he might outgrow that before a year as he's only got 5ish lbs to go and 7 months to get there

Do you ladies have any recommendations on what we should do if he does outgrow the roundabout? Are there any seats that go higher lb-wise rearfacing? Fwiw we checked our older son's marathon and it only goes to 33lbs rearfacing as well...

TIA

[soygurl]

Well, many children's weight will dramatically slow down when they become more mobile; crawling, walking, etc. So hopefully you won't have to deal with this issue at all.

However, if you do, Cosco and Safety 1st car seats rear face to 35 lbs. I don't normally recommend them, but their Scenera is a really good bare bones seat that will give you a couple extra lbs. The Safety 1st Uptown is slightly more cushy than the Scenera, but still won't brake the bank, and also RF to 35 lbs.

If he goes over 35 lbs before his 1st birthday, you don't really have any good options. There are NO U.S. car seats that rear face over 35 lbs. You can try to import a seat from Sweden, where seats RF to 55lbs, but not only is would that be very expensive, but there is a ton of legal red tape to go through. Importing car seats from other countries is illegal unless you have a documented medical need, and while being over 35 lbs, and under 1 year IS a medical need, it's really hard to get it documented and get approval to import a seat.
You can turn him forward facing early, but that is EXTREMELY DANGEROUS because spinal bones aren't strong enough to protect the spinal cord in an accident at that age (nothing to do with weight or strength).
The only other option, also illegal, and potentially dangerous, would be to take your Britax marathon, have it installed by a tech, tether it rear facing, and brace it against the front seat, and keep using it after he's over the RF weight limit. Totally against manufacturer's directions, and not crash tested, and I would NEVER recommend this for a child who is under 35 lbs or over one year of age.

Maybe there are some options I haven't though of.... I'm not a CPSTech, just car seat obsessed. I'd highly recommend asking at car-seat.com, or PMing one of the CPSTs that are on MDC.

*I only linked to "evil-mart" because they have the cheapest price on the Scenera, and are the only web site I know of that shows the Uptown.

[bobandjess99]

Yep, soygurl pretty much has it....
First, I was in your situation, and my dd DID outgrow the seat we had for her prior to 1 year, it was a comfortsport, which only has a RF limit of 30 lbs. Dd was 31 pounds at 9 months. So, I've been there.
Second, I am now a tech (mostly due to the extreme research and learning I went through trying to find carseat big enough to fit my Ginormous dd...)

The part about growth slowing down is also RIGHT ON. (Note, at 3 yrs old, dd is STILL 31 pounds!) chances are you will see a marked reduction in growth, possibly even a plateau where baby gains nothing, or even a small loss, as baby becomes mobile and burns more calories. (And if your ped is not educated in this particular nuance of some BFing babies, find someone who is before you listen to stupid opinions/recommendations!!!)

So, it is quite likely that the 33 lb RA or Ma will last until at LEAST a year...however, the PP was right, if it becomes necesary, you can purchase any cosco/Dorel seat, the scenera being an economical choice, and they RF to 35 pounds.
Now, your BEST bet is to KEEP a child RF until 35 pounds....for many kids, this isn't until 3 yrs old or so....now if your child continues growing, this might happen significantly earlier for you, but hopefully still after at LEAST a year old. If you are getting right up there to the 35 pound mark, and he is STILL not a year old, you really don't have any options. There are NO seats that rf over 35, like the pp said. The options at that point, as she described, are NOT good.
Hopefully, you will NOT have to be in that situaion!
Odds really are against it!
Best wishes!

[Synchro246]

Another seat that RF's to 35lb is the new Recaro Como or Signo. They also harness to 70 so you'd likely be able to use one of them until your babe is 5 or more. They are priced a bit more than a Britax Marathon. They aren't 100% out yet (Only certain colors of the Como have been released).

I wanted to add my two cents about your RF options. Like the PPs said--with the way *most* babies gain you will *probably* be able to keep your LO RF until at least a year. However, if it were me and my baby went over 35lb before a year I would be importing a seat in a heartbeat Then keeping him RF for as long as possible

Good luck.

[fljen]

Thank you all for the replies!

We'll keep the seats that go to 35lb in mind and cross our fingers that he slows down a bunch real soon

He definitely seems to be a touch above the curve growing wise

And all mama-milk too *sniff*