Well, I just found out that the car seat I have doesn’t meet safety standards. So, I have to buy a new one.

I’ve been looking online, and I’ve found that I can buy a convertible car seat for around and it fits a baby from 5 pounds all the way to 40 pounds. Or, I can buy an infant car seat for that only fits a baby from 5 pounds to 22 pounds.

Really, the only thing I can see that I would miss out on if I got the convertible seat would be the carrier option. To save money (now as well as later when I would have to buy a new one) I was thinking it would be better to just buy the convertible seat.

So, I wanted to hear opinions from women who have been through this. Which do you think is better?

Thanks in advance!
Thanks for the helpful answers so far. No, I don’t already have children. I have the car seat because a friend gave it to me (that’s why I’m in this situation–not because I’m just "cheap" or something). I took it to the state police to be inspected because I do think that safety is the most important thing–but it would be nice if I could save a little bit of money too.

I’m going to be a SAHM for the first 7 months (until I go to nursing school) so I really don’t think I’ll be in the car much. I am thinking it would be nice to have the carrier though for the grocery store and things like that….

Is a baby too big for their infant seat when their feet hang over the end? My 4 month old is very tall and his feet already reach the end. I love having his infant seat so I can snap it onto carts and all that, but if his feet start hanging over the end, do I need to move him up to a convertible seat? When did you consider your child too big for the infant carrier? Probably a dumb question, but I realized I really have no idea lol

Posted a question yesterday and found this car seat online today…trying to find some ideas before I get to the point of actually needing to transfer our son from his infant seat to a convertible seat.

http://www.target.com/Safety-1st-Convertible-Car-Seat/dp/B001078S92/ref=cm_reviews_dp_seemore/602-8066521-0070233?ie=UTF8&coliid=&frombrowse=1&alt%5Fview=custReviews&asin=B001078S92#R36J2BIVA8K5U8

He’s only 12.5 lbs now (almost 4 months old) so I still have some time before I actually have to change him over…he’s just getting really heavy to carry in his car seat (I have lower back problems).

Just wondering about this seat…what is the height of the straps like? Can he actually stay in this seat till he is 4 years old? Or do the straps not go up high enough for that…

THANKS!!

A 6yo and 4yo in 5pt harnesses and a 1yo in a convertible seat. Which car seats do you recommend to fit three in a row?
Something bigger would cost too much right now. Not willing to spend more. Could the oldest move to the front seat in a car seat, assuming the airbag is turned off?

My six month old has started to try to try sitting up while she’s in her car seat, swing, ect. I’ve noticed over the last two weeks, while riding in the car. she is lifting up her head and looking ll around in the car. She will not sit back most of the time. The straps are pulled as tightly as possible without her being uncomfortable. Should I go ahead and switch to the convertible seat? The seat she’s using now is the Graco Elyse from Babies r us.
Oh yes everyone. I would definately be keeping her rear facing until she is 1 year old. I just figure it can’t be very safe for her to be sitting up like that in the seat while we’re driving.

Is this for the car seats you carry? Or all car/booster seats? We live in northern Canada, where the temperature gets to the -30′s with wind chills in the -50′s or more. My son is in a convertible seat now, Am I supposed to put a coat on my son to get to the car…take it off before I put him in the seat, and put it on again before we get out? Or should I just be worried about my next baby and the carrier seat? I’m unsure about this…and I wouldn’t want my son’s safety jeopardized because I didn’t know what was correct …thanks for advice!
RN: Well we do warm the car, but taking him out in a blanket is just not possible because he is in the independent stage now and must walk himself to the car. Even though it is not a long walk, at -50 for him is extremely cold. We’ll work it out though. I wish we had a garage.

I want one that has very high safety ratins, and is small enough to fit in a toyota corolla that will allow for two more seats to also fit in. Plus, it has to be comfortable enough for long trips, and preferably, be a convertible seat that he can use for a few years. Any suggestions? What do you use? Thanks!

My baby is 8 mos old and weighs 20 lbs. The car seat that he is currently in is a rear facing infant only carrier/car seat combo with a weight max of 22 lbs. Obviously he is to young to be turned to a forward facing car seat. My husband has an extra car seat in his car for our 2 year old to ride in his car that is a convertible seat. I want to move it to my car for the baby (rear facing of course). But then our 2 year old wouldn’t be able to ride in "Daddy’s truck" (xterra) without us having to move car seats around. Not to mention, my husband wants to wait a little longer before we move the seat to my car. I’m afraid we may be putting our baby in jeopardy because he is approaching the car seat max, he says he’ll be fine (the baby that is). My husband wants to wait a few more weeks. So this leads me to my question. What could happen if an infant exceeds the weight max on a car seat? Am I being a little ridiculous here?

Did you do it until your child reached the car seat weight limit?
I plan on it but have a question. My son is a tiny boy. Only about 19 lbs at 10 months old. His convertible seat is rated until 35 lbs rear facing. With how little he is, he may be rear facing well into his second and possibly third year of life.
Did any of you moms have a child rear facing this long? I worry he will see others sitting forward and start to give me trouble about RF. Am I needlessly worrying? Did your children show a distaste for RF at a certain age?
Yes, I am the parent, I make the rules – but we all like a happy baby. A happy baby makes traveling a lot easier.
If any of you mommies have tips for making RF easier for older children, please share!!
Thanks Sarah, but I have already made my decision based on reports I have read. In my opinion, it is safer. I’m not as concerned about his feet as I am about his head and neck.

I have an Evenflo Embrace 5 rear facing infant carrier for my son and I’m confused on the "requirements" for height/weoght. I know that BY LAW he must remain rear facing until he is 1, but according to the owners manual of this carrier, the weight requirement is "5-22 lbs" and the height requirement is "19-29 inches".
NOW…does this mean that if he is ABOVE either 22 lbs OR ABOVE 29 inches, that we have to change carseats?? Or…does he have to be 22 lbs AND 29 inches??
We will be moving him to a convertible seat once the time comes, but we just want to make sure that we have it right…

Had I know this BEFORE having him, I would have bought a convertible to begin with…(stupid of me I know)

thanks for the help!!!

I currently have two Graco infant seat bases for our one infant car seat. Our daughter is about 19lbs now and I believe the limit is 20lbs for her car seat, so I am researching the best convertible car seats for her and trying to figure out if they use the same type of base or if they have a base at all. She rides in three vehicles M-F on a regular basis and I’m trying to save as much money as possible without having to buy 2-3 seats. Also, if anyone has any suggests for a good convertible seat please let me know, trying to stay around 0. Thanks.

roundabout, blvd, marathon, etc…i want a britax for sure, but i am so confused as to which one is the safest….i have a very petite little lady that is 4 mos old…so my ?s….anyone know which is the safest of the britax line? do you possibly have a link that explains which and why? is four mos too young for her to be comfortable in a convertible seat? i know they are rated for that weight, i just wonder about if she goes to sleep will her head flop? thanks for all your info in advance….

My baby girl is currently 16 lbs 8 oz and 27 inches at 9 months old, so she is still well within the height/weight requirements of her infant seat. However, she is starting to fight, cry, and struggle every time I put her in her infant seat (or lay her down in the infant tub or changing table for that matter). A few friends told me that switching to the convertible seat will help because they can sit up (which is what she wants to do). I’m researching car seats, and it seems like the big kahuna on the market right now is the Britax Advocate. Does anyone have one? If so, what do you think? I drive a Toyota Corolla–do you think it would be too big? Is it really heavy to move between cars (my husband is deployed right now so I would have to move it myself if I choose to drive the other car). The price tag is steep, but I’m not basing my decision off of that because I saved money when I was pregnant for a convertible seat some day. I just want the best possible seat. Also, are the side cushion thingys on the Advocate effected by side curtain air bags on your car? Our Scion xB has side curtain air bags

my husband insists it’s fine, but i’m concerned..
we got our convertible car seat (a britax) so that it has no side to side movement, but it still moves front to back… mainly it can be lifted up at the head & pivots at the seatbelt toward the back of the seat…
we don’t have the latch system, it’s just held in by the seatbelt, and there’s nothing else in the car to attach it to (nothing on the floorboard like one option in the manual shows)
the manual says nothing about front to back movement…

i’m going to get it checked out, but i have to wait till our appt & i just want to know until then…

is this safe???
yeah, it can rock.
but it’s a convertible seat, not an infant seat.

(side note on not being able to leave without them checking the fit–the stupid hospital i delivered at required us to bring the seat for them to checked how the *baby* fit in it, and REFUSED to come out to help us check the fit in the car–and after taking it out to bring it up we couldn’t get it back in right!! we were there for an hour until some random lady helped us!)
yeah, i have a towel under it now (otherwise there’d be too much slack in the seatbelt due to the buckle placement & it had side to side movement) but it still rocks front to back. the seat in front of it is back all the way, but the issue is still that it can be lifted from the front edge of the seat, so the head of the car seat can be tilted toward the rear of the car…
it’s *tight* in there, it *pivots* at the seat belt…

(hard to explain i guess!)

the car seat has a tether to hold it down, but my car doesn’t have anything to attach it to… the manual treats the tether as an option…? but it’s not entirely clear…
our fire stations don’t check car seats anymore. we called them all & they don’t do it! one particular police station does it by appt only. it’s so frustrating!
without the towel, the buckle is too close to use the locking clip on the seat and has too much slack.

WITH the towel (in the "crack" of the regular seat), it raises the seat edge (also creating a better incline) so the belt has further to travel and the buckle stops short of the lockign clip–*eliminating* excess slack that allowed the car seat to move side to side.

My daughter is 12.5 months and only 20 lbs. Her infant car seat holds up to 22lbs. I plan on keeping her in the infant carrier for a few more weeks until she pushes closer to 22lbs. I need to buy a new convertible seat that still can be rear facing. Which one should I buy? What has the best safety rating? I have some gift certificates from her birthday to Babies R’ Us plus a 15% off coupon so I guess I have to buy it from there. Any suggestions for one from that store?