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okay...about those car seats...

2K views 13 replies 9 participants last post by  mamapixie 
#1 ·
Do tell, ladies! This came up on the other thread about what doctors know but I didn't want to derail it.

My understanding is that when a baby reaches the weight limit for a car seat (I believe our Peg Perego is rated up to 25 lbs), the chair is no longer safe for the child, regardless of age. I would think that age would not matter so much b/c children seem to grow at such different rates. Are you guys saying you should just squish your under-one-year-old in an infant seat regardless of how much they weigh or how long they are? Wouldn't it be unsafe to put a child in a seat they are too big for?

What I hear you saying is that even if your child weighs 30 or 40 lbs, if they are under 1 year old they must be in a rear-facing seat. I have not come across any rear facing seats that are rated for over...hmmm, I think 35 lbs is the highest I've seen (Britax Handle with Care, I believe). So if your kid weighed 40 lbs at one year, what would you do?

By toddler seats, I don't mean boosters. I mean the seats that aren't infant carriers, sit upright, and have harnesses. They are what you "graduate" to when the babe is too big for the infant seat. The Britax Roundabout is an example of what I'm talking about.

So what have I gotten mixed up here?

By the way, I'm installing our base this week and going to our local car seat inspection facility (the local police station) for my free car seat inspection.

thanks for the heads up!
 
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#2 ·
Piglet,

I am not familiar with the thread you are talking about, but I'm jumping in any way. All children must face the rear until they are 1 year old AND 20 pounds. Many of the infant carriers on the market, babies outgrow (by height or weight) BEFORE their first birthday. However, you still need to face the child in the rear position. So, you must buy a Convertible Car Seat. Most convertible car seats can rear face until about 35 pounds. Once the baby turns one, assuming they are at least 20 pounds, you may turn the baby forward.

I have not seen the thread where people squish their larger child into a tiny seat. I'll go look now.

~Laura
 
#3 ·
Right, babies who are under 1 year but over 20 pounds go in a convertible seat. We have the Eddie Bauer one that is rated for rear-facing to 40 pounds. Alec was in the convertible seat by 3 months--obviously he couldn't be forward-facing at that point!! Once he does face forward, he'll be able to use this convertible seat as a car seat and then eventually (to 80 pounds) as a booster seat.
 
#4 ·
We used a rear-facing Britax Roundabout (rear-facing to 30 lbs.) until our daughter was 2. Now nearing 4 she's still in one forward facing (to 40 lbs.)

Never used a 'bucket seat'--I know some disdain them for the 'detachment/isolation' potential--but we didn't want our baby's safety dependent on something that was supposed to come out at the 'push of a button!'
If they eject that easily, they eject TOO easily!

Child's head should not be above the back of the seat, and the shoulder straps should adjust properly to their shoulders if they are still within the approved weight range.
Harnesses should be 5-point as long as possible.

I know I posted on this recently elsewhere--I'll see if I can find it!

(edited to reflect that she was rear-facing until 2, although I think it was closer to 3)
 
#5 ·
This issue frustrates me to no end. I would like to keep dd rear facing as long as possible. As the mother of an infant that could very well be OVER 35 pounds before one year (she's about 28 lbs and over 30 inches now at 7 months) I don't have many options. I've been told to keep her rear facing in the seat I have even if she's greater than 35 lbs, but her feet are already touching the car's back seat... so I don't know what to do. I've tried to look into importing one from Sweden, but can't find any place online to do this.

Being told that statistically speaking, almost no babies are over 35 lbs at a year is small comfort. I also have the Eddie Bauer convertible... but it's only rated to 35 rear facing, not 40. It's rated forward facing to 40 lbs.
 
#6 ·
All three of my kids were over 20 lbs. at 3 months and extremely squished by 4 months. We bought a convertible seat which fits to 40 pounds, but their feet were smashed up against the back of the seat if rear-facing. We turned them around by about 4.5 months of age. By the way, all of my kids outgrew the convertible "up to 40 pounds" seats by age three. They sit quite comfortably in the booster.
 
#7 ·
NoHiddenFees, there is a different EB convertible (the one I have) that you might look into. It is rated for forward-facing up to 80 pounds. I thought that rear-facing was up to 40, but after reading your post I think maybe it's just 30 or 35. I know that forward-facing, though, is definitely 80. Maybe yours is, too, and you just don't realize it?
 
#8 ·
Thanks for clearing this up you guys. I forgot that the "convertible" seats tend to be rated for rear-facing at higher pounds than the infant seats. The reason I chose an infant seat is not for the carrier, but because it seemed to me that the infant seats reclined further and were more appropriate for newborns. Most people I spoke to preferred them over the convertible seats for very young babies.

I always planned that once Emily was too heavy for the infant seat that we would get the Roundabout. Now I know that we can use it rear-facing until Emily is one year old, if she is still under a year when she "graduates" from the infant seat.

Thanks for clearing this up you guys!
 
#9 ·
Piglet68, glad we could clear that up for you!


I just have to say that having the baby's legs touching or even squished up against the seat is NOT a reason to turn them forward facing. They are still MUCH safer rear-facing. The danger in having them face forwards is that in an accident, the baby's head will be flung forwards. At younger ages, a baby's bones are not yet rigid, and will separate, allowing the neck to stretch further than the spinal cord is able to go...snapping or permanently damaging the spinal cord. You are much better off dealing with bruised or even broken legs than a broken neck/damaged spinal cord.


Please go read all the info at www.carseat.org and see if you can find a certified tech in your area to check your seats and show you proper installation. The vast majority of car seats are installed incorrectly and thus are NOT protecting the kids sitting in them.
 
#10 ·
CanOBeans thank you for being the voice of reason. I was just going to say that about their bones before age one.

We had a "baby bucket" style seat till about 7-8 months when she reached 20 #. Now we have the convertable kind, it goes from 5 to 80 lbs because it turns into a booster seat too. So she'll be in it the next few years. It is the "alpha omega" model, don't know what brand. I think it it rear facing to 40 lbs...if anyone wants to know what brand let me know I will look...we got it at toys r us.
 
#11 ·
Unless something has changed in the last month, there are no convertible carseats rated at greater than 35lbs rear facing sold in the US, including the Alpha Omega.

TwinMomL: Yeah, we each have different EB seats. I know we'll have to get her another front facing seat in short order, but it's rear-facing I'm worried about in the meantime.

CanOBeans: I could have been clearer, but that is the source of my frustration. Large heads run in DH's family, and DD is blessed with one. I would ideally like an option to keep her rear facing longer than one year, but there's no way I can find to do this given her size.
 
#12 ·
Piglet, you may want to make sure your Peg Perego infant seat hasn't been recalled, there have been 2 recalls on them since they've been introduced onto the market.

For a current listing of carseats on the market(and this list WILL change in September, when LATCH becomes law, and all carseats will have to be LATCH compatible) go to http://www.aap.org/family/carseatguide.htm

Nohiddenfees, you may be able to keep your baby rearfacing to a year, remember that a baby's weight gain DOES slow down once they start moving. I know with my son, he weighed 20lbs at 9 months, it took him over 2 years(until he was 3) to reach 30lbs. He started walking at 9 1/2 months. Hopefully, your seat will be able to accomodate your DD. And, you may want to start saving up money to get a seat such as the Britax Super Elite/Husky(which is a forward facing only seat that uses the harness from 20-80lbs) so that when your DD does outgrow the Eddie Bauer seat you have, you can still keep her harnessed. You can see this seat at http://www.childseat.com
 
#13 ·
Thanks, benzmommy. I was aware of the recalls and our seat was manufactured after the recall. It was actually a pretty minor issue but ours is now the "new and improved" model. I actually wanted the Britax Handle with Care but they were sold out everywhere and before I could order one DH fell in love with the Peg Perego. He loves anything European, lol!
 
#14 ·
LOL, MY Dh is the opposite, he prefers US styled stuff. But then, he does already know that this baby is getting a Britax(technically European styled, but the US doesn't get the cool Euro seat covers) for a convertible seat(the new Marathon, which should be out in stores by the time he needs it, in the Fido pattern, so that it coordinates with big brother's denim fabric Britax booster seat). He doesn't have any say in the matter though, I know that the Marathon will be the best seat for this baby, especially if his body type is like DS #1's(long torso) because the Marathon will have a very tall back, and baby will hopefully be able to rearface in it until at least 2 years of age.

For an infant seat, I HATE traditional infant carriers. Being 5'1, the ones with the handle were always really inconvenient, and heavy for me to carry(never owned one personally, those were my observations from carrying them at seat checks) So, I bought the Fisher Price SIV. The handle is like a luggage strap, and the seat itself is very lightweight. I wanted this seat SO badly, I actually started calling Babies R Us's around the country, and managed to find one in Alabama, and had it sent to me. And then of course, an online store got some in for a close-out. LOL
 
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