# Is it time to buy toddler car seat already?



## gorgorita (Feb 5, 2008)

DD is 8 mo old and doesnt really fit into her car seat anymore. She is not big or chubby ( she is a usual EBF baby girl weighting not more than 18 lb) but with warm clothes on I can't buckle her in. We have an infant car seat - Graco SafeSeat.
Should I buy a toddler car seat? or a convertible?
Which one would you recommend if not spending a lot of money?


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## butterfly_mommy (Oct 22, 2007)

I would say a convertible seat. DS had to move into his convertible seat at about 4 mons and he was much happier, me too because I did have to lug the stupid infant bucket around and it was easier to get him in and out. Another thing is you don't really want to have bulky clothes on babe in car seat because it can affect the straps from being able to be tight enough to hold her in if there is a crash. Fleece is good because it compress allowing for you to get the straps tight enough.

We have a sunshine kids Radian as it is one of the seats that has the highest weight and height limit.


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## syd'smom (Sep 23, 2008)

My dd is a petite munchkin so she didn't technically outgrow the bucket (weight wise) until after 18 mos - however, she seemed unhappy in the bucket (I think it was the reclining angle), so we bought a Sunshine Radian and put her in that (rear-facing) when she was 10mos. She sits a little more upright and now at almost 22mos, she is still happy as a clam rear-facing and looking out the side window.

As for bulky clothes, it is much better to have them in thinner clothes and put blankets on top, as that keeps the harness snug against her and doesn't allow the snowsuit to compress causing a potential hazard. It gets very cold where I live, and this is our solution: we put baby legs under a pair of pants (which means an extra layer for warmth but no extra padding to impede the buckle), a thin long-sleeved shirt and a thin sweater (as pp mentioned, fleece is great), buckle her into the carseat and put snuggily blankets on top.

I believe the rule of thumb from car seat techs is that the harness and buckles should be at the same position all year round, so up here in the great white north, we have to get inventive at staying warm!


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## want2bmoms (Feb 8, 2008)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *gorgorita* 
DD is 8 mo old and doesnt really fit into her car seat anymore. She is not big or chubby ( she is a usual EBF baby girl weighting not more than 18 lb) but with warm clothes on I can't buckle her in. We have an infant car seat - Graco SafeSeat.
Should I buy a toddler car seat? or a convertible?
Which one would you recommend if not spending a lot of money?

43.74 @ walmart.
RF to 35lb, FF to 40lb. Cheap, but a good carseat. Plus, no bucket to carry.








Thinner clothing, thermals alone or under if you're weary of the cold (baby legs over/under those too!), blanket over her OUTSIDE of the harness (while you're at walmart, there are some wearable blankets that you could buy, cut the back open/outso that it will fit around the harness, and put it on her after she's strapped in -slip the neck part over her head and pull her arms through, then tuck her feet into the bottom). Plus, DON'T forget the HAT==>














:<== or two! With ear flaps.
Before you leave, put the blankets in the drier or in front of the heater for about 10-20 minutes. that way they are nice and toasty when you cover her up.
Use a sling to carry her, that way you will share body heat and keep eachother cosy. (plus, easy access for feeding!







)


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## syd'smom (Sep 23, 2008)

oh - wanted to add that the first years Tru Fit (in Canada anyway) is rated to 35lbs rfing and 65lbs ffing. It is the cheapest one in Canada with those high weight limits ($150 on sale, so in the States I'm sure you could get it cheaper).


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## pixiepunk (Mar 11, 2003)

at that age and weight she has to be in a convertible seat. it is against the law to turn her around until she is a minimum of 1 yr and 20 lbs.

i agree with the recommendation for the Radian. We have 2 - one for DS and one for DD2. even though it costs about $200, you will not need to buy another seat until she's ready for a booster. my average-sized 5 yo can still fit in a Radian and probably would for another year, though we just graduated her to a high back booster, and those usually are about $50.

you could get a Cosco Scenera which is usually in the neighborhood of $50. as it's only rated to 40 lbs, you'll need something else before she's ready for a booster. you could maybe do something like the Graco Nautilus at that point, which is about $150 and converts from a harnessed seat (up to i think 65 lbs) to a booster.

and for anyone buying a carseat in the next two weeks, at amazon.com if you order from their baby store, use code 'visababy' for 10% off and you don't have to use a visa. with free shipping that's a nice savings.


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## sapphire_chan (May 2, 2005)

Of course a safer and cheaper option, although more work, would be to put her in fewer layers in her car seat and tuck blankets around her after she's buckled in. Winter suits are notorious at making seat straps seem too tight and then compressing to make them too loose.

Actually, I thought that was supposed to be one of the points of those infant seats, being able to bundle the baby into the seat indoors.


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## XanaduMama (May 19, 2006)

We had to get a convertible seat for ds by 4 mo, and moved dd over much earlier than that, so I'd say get one of those.

My recommendations, depending on your budget, would be a Radian (we have one and







it); a Britax; or an Evenflo Triumph Advance.

It's also not safe to strap her in over really puffy clothes, because in an accident the puff will compress and the straps will be too loose. Just fyi.


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## Brigio (May 18, 2008)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *gorgorita* 
DD is 8 mo old and doesnt really fit into her car seat anymore. She is not big or chubby ( she is a usual EBF baby girl weighting not more than 18 lb) but with warm clothes on I can't buckle her in. We have an infant car seat - Graco SafeSeat.
Should I buy a toddler car seat? or a convertible?
Which one would you recommend if not spending a lot of money?

We had a Safeseat for DD and she didn't outgrow it until a year- I can't remember the weight/height restrictions but I think its close to 30LBs and 32 in? Regardless your daughter should still fit- red flags go up when you say she doesn't fit with warm clothes. The most they should have on is a light sweater when in the carseat- with bulky coats and puffy sweaters you can not properly buckle them in.
If you do want to get a new seat you MUST get a convertible as the law is 1 year and 20 LBs to FF NOT either or and it is much safer for her to ride rear facing as long as possible- front facing children "75% more likely to be injured" in a crash ( http://www.carseatsite.com/rf.htm )

* a young child's head is approx 25% of his/her bodywieight. If that were true of adults, my head (I'm 220lbs) would weigh 55lbs! as it is, an adults head is only about 6% of their body weight. So, kids are very top-heavy.
* Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Finland recommend rear facing until 4 yrs old
* look on You Tube at the crash test videos of front facing vs. rear facing. you'll be amazed.
YouTube - Crash Test - http://babyproducts.about.com/od/car...ear_facing.htm

* if a young childs spine is "stretched" a 1/4 of an inch, it could result in total paralysis or death.
* and this is amazing! There was an article published in Pediatrics (the journal of the American Academy of Pediatrics) earlier this year that states: ""A recent analysis of the protection provided in rear-facing compared with forward-facing car safety seats has revealed that children under the age of 2 years are 75% less likely to die or sustain serious injury when they are in a rear-facing seat.2 This finding was true regardless of direction of the crash, even those crashes with side impact, which typically are the most severe."

"Parents may be helped to understand the importance of using the convertible car safety seat in the rear-facing position longer than 1 year if they are counseled that children are 5 times safer than when riding in a forward-facing seat into the second year of life."

I also want to add that the BEST convertible car seats are the Sunshine Kids Radian, Britax marathon and the Evenflo Triumph Advance (must say advance)- they will allow your child to rear face for as long as possible (most children outgrow the length of a seat before the height- these seats have a higher height range and will last your child much longer.)


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## SeaDoula (Jan 13, 2006)

My DD outgrew her bucket around 5mo length wise, the straps would dig into her shoulders/diaper area and I had to run out to get another seat because she was growing super fast.

I got a safety-first seat because it was cheap and I didn't have enough money for the britax seat I wanted, but the safety first convertible/booster is working pretty well for us. It goes up to 80lbs, and turns into a booster seat you use with the seatbelt instead of the 5-pt harness.

I only dislike the reclining feature, she sits more upright, and won't recline as far as the bucket seat did, so when she falls asleep her head slumps forward, and I can't do anything about it.

I don't know much about the Radian everyone keeps talking about, but if it kept dd's head from slumping down I would try that.

Also mine was only $150


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## kriket (Nov 25, 2007)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *want2bmoms* 
43.74 @ walmart.

Don't shop at wal-mart you can find that seat about anywhere for $45 Big Lots or it's equal often have them for cheaper.


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## milkybean (Mar 19, 2008)

My son outgrew his Graco infant seat by height BEFORE he was 4 months old. So he was in his Roundabout by that time. Sure made me feel silly for buying the Graco seat!


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## gorgorita (Feb 5, 2008)

I didn't put it right. The problem is that dd didn't really outgrew it, she fits there nicely but the straps are too tight even when she is in summer clothes. Now, when I need to put a thin sweater, I have a problem buckling her in. She is barely 16 lb to be exact.
I guess, I need to buy a new seat anyway.Radian looks nice


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## gorgorita (Feb 5, 2008)

BTW, a friend of mine is shopping for a car seat for her newborn ( 1 week old). Can she buy Radian and don't bother with the bucket?


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## syd'smom (Sep 23, 2008)

Yep - the radian has low harness slots and the premiere comes with infant supports (or you can buy them separately from Radian for the other seat). I may not use my bucket next time either as we have the radian.

That is really weird that she outgrew that seat - isn't the safe seat supposed to go to 32lbs or something (imagine carrying that around - yikes!)







Have fun shopping!


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## User101 (Mar 3, 2002)

Moving to family safety


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## xekomaya (Apr 18, 2007)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *gorgorita* 
I didn't put it right. The problem is that dd didn't really outgrew it, she fits there nicely but the straps are too tight even when she is in summer clothes. Now, when I need to put a thin sweater, I have a problem buckling her in. She is barely 16 lb to be exact.
I guess, I need to buy a new seat anyway.Radian looks nice


Assuming you already did this, but just mentioning it again. Did you double check in the back that the straps are fully released? There are a couple strap length settings. My guy is 27+ inches and over 17 lbs in the same seat and we have no trouble at all.


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## an_aurora (Jun 2, 2006)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *xekomaya* 
Assuming you already did this, but just mentioning it again. Did you double check in the back that the straps are fully released? There are a couple strap length settings. My guy is 27+ inches and over 17 lbs in the same seat and we have no trouble at all.

I was going to say this. The Graco seats have two different sets of loops for the harness--one for smaller infants so they get a snug fit, and one for larger babies who need a bit more harness.


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## Eris (Sep 11, 2002)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *SeaDoula* 
I got a safety-first seat because it was cheap and I didn't have enough money for the britax seat I wanted, but the safety first convertible/booster is working pretty well for us. It goes up to 80lbs, and turns into a booster seat you use with the seatbelt instead of the 5-pt harness.

I just wanted to tag this out and clarify with you that your seat "goes up to 80lbs", but that's _as a booster_- the harness is only good to 40lbs; and some of these seats have a bit of a gotcha that the very top position for the harness height adjuster is actually NOT for the harness at all, but is just rest for the adjuster when you've converted it to be a booster. The top usable slot is actually the second to top apparent slot. To check for that gotcha, look at the back of the seat and try to find where it says, with impressed from the plastic itself, "for booster mode only", or some similar words, up near that top adjustment spot. Since your child is still rearfacing (yes?), it should be relatively easy to look, and it's important to know about, for the future!


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## thepeach80 (Mar 16, 2004)

The Safeseat actually has 2 harness positions on the shoulder straps and hip straps. We didn't move Ilana out of her Safeseat till she was 16 mos (23#), Evan could've used it till 23 mos! They had plenty of strap room left. If you want a new seat though (you'll need one anyways), what's your budget? There's a wide range of seats out there, $40-$300+, some are better than others, but if you can't afford a certain amount it doesn't matter.


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## gorgorita (Feb 5, 2008)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *xekomaya* 
Assuming you already did this, but just mentioning it again. Did you double check in the back that the straps are fully released? There are a couple strap length settings. My guy is 27+ inches and over 17 lbs in the same seat and we have no trouble at all.

Da! You assumed wrong







I checked it today and was able to adjust the straps so my babe is fitting just fine.
The seat will be good for another 6 mo








Thanks all!


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## thepeach80 (Mar 16, 2004)

Yay!


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