When to switch to a car seat??

Blake's almost seven months old..and is getting HEAVY!!  He's 17.5lbs and his infant carrier seat feels like Im lugging around a millions pounds.  The only thing I really like about it is that it keeps him really warm from home to car and thru the parking lots to all his dr apts.  But my question is when to switch to a rear facing car seat?  I know it's a 20lbs weight wise, but when has everyone switched.  He is getting too long for it, and I dont want his feet to be squished!  Just looking for some suggestions and insights to what everyone else did!  Thanks, Melissa

[AndiJ78]

He can go to a rear-facing convertible one that is rated 5-40 lbs right now if you wish as long as it is rear-facing until AFTER he has turned at least a year AND 20lbs. If he passes his 1st birthday and it still under 20lbs, he needs to stay rear-facing until he hits 20lbs. One he passed both of those marks, you turn it around until he is 40lbs, then he goes into a Booster seat.

[cantwait4baby]

I moved my dd into the rear facing Britax car seat at 7 months.  She is now 9 months.  She too was about 17lbs then and very uncomfortable in her infant seat.  The convenience is great but the comfort is minimal once they reach about 15lbs.  Since I put her in the new seat she is much happier in the car.  My dd is 19lbs so once she turns 1 she should be over 20lbs and I can then turn her to face forward.

The best place for the seat is the middle of you back seat.  I had the infant seat on the passenger side rear for some reason.  I think I thought that was where it was supposed to be but a police officer friend of mine said no way, middle is best.  Makes more work getting her in and out but it is safer.  I also find the bigger car seat easier with her winter coat.

[jenstam]

Hey-I feel your pain. My son is about 18 lbs and is 7 months. Just last weekend we started taking him out of his car seat when going into stores and such. He is just too heavy to lug around  in the seat anymore! He will sit up in a cart now, so we either do that or carry him. No forward facing until like Andi said, 20 lbs AND 1 year. Both of those criteria have to be met first.

[girliegrl1723]

you can absolutely switch him to a rear facing convertible car seat now. i switched edward over to a rear-facing car seat pretty early, i think around 4 or 5 months, because he was a big boy and also very long. he is 13 months now and 23 1/2 lbs. and we just turned him around to forward facing recently.

[JJety]

Yep - what everyone else said.  The 20lb rule is for them to be forward-facing.  He can be rear facing immediately home from the hospital in an upright if you want.  DD is 20 lbs and 10 months old.  I want to switch her to her upright soon but just haven't gotten around to it.  You're right, it's nice to keep them snug in their carriers this time of year.

[GNicole]

We just switched my daughter about a month ago when she was 8 months old. She was too big for the infant carrier. It was so hard to get the straps fastened anymore. Now it is much easier to put her in her seat. She is already 20 1/2 lbs. so as soon as she is 1, we will turn her carseat around. I think it will be easier to get her in and out when her seat is forward facing. The infant carriers were nice when she would fall asleep because now if she is asleep she usually wakes up when I get her out of the car. :(  Good luck with the new seat! :)

[maddysmommy]

Thanks everyone.  I know the 20lb 1year rule from my dd.  I was just curious when everyone switched their infants to a rear facing seat.  Thanks again for the input..we are going to shop for one tomorrow.  He does not mind his infant seat at all in the car..but I dont want him to be uncomfortable.  So, Ill try him in the seat and if he does not like it he can go back to the infant seat for a bit and I suppose Ill suffer lol.  Thanks againl

[SeeingSpots]

We didn't switch my ds over until he outgrew the weight requirements of his infant carrier.  Yeah, it does get HEAVY, and I really built up my left arm (for some reason I always carried it on that side, and I still carry him now around on that side too... guess it's because I'm right-handed).  I never carried it with my hand/wrist, but rather would loop the carrier over my forearm into the crook of my elbow.

I think the main reason that we kept him in it as long as possible was for the convienience that those cariers offer... it was easier to bundle/strap him in while in the warm house, versus carrying him (and all the gear- diaper bags, stroller, purse, etc) out to the car and having to strap him in to a rear-facing in the cold; but the main advantage of those carriers was that whenever he fell asleep, it was sooooo nice to be able to just unsnap the carrier from the base and carry him in to wherever we were going without waking him.  I still miss those days, because it seems that whenever we get in the car he's out in a matter of minutes-- and then 5 min. later when we get where we were going, I have a cranky little boy when I wake him up!  Not to mention that it made shopping a breeze if he was sleeping and I could just clip his carrier in to a shopping cart... now I've got to first fasten in one of those cart covers (I'm paranoid about all the germs from people/meat/etc that are on the seats and handles of shopping carts), then deal with a tired boy who can't get comfortable since he has to sit upright and can't go back to sleep-- or else spends the entire trip trying to grab everything that we pass! :)

Anyway, the plus with moving him up to a rear-facing seat is that he can now look out the side window of the minivan and does seem more comfortable.  He's now 1 yr and 23 lbs, but we still have him rear-facing.  We had our carseat installed by licensed safety staff at the local fire department, and they said that despite the fact that it's legal to turn your child around at the 20lb/1yr mark, it is SAFEST to keep them rear-facing as long as possible (rear facing offer the most protection from side impacts).  Since our ds is still comfy facing rear and his legs aren't squished by the back of the seat yet, we're keeping him rear until he starts kicking the seat and having to bend his legs.  I think it is all in the design of whichever seat you chose for how soon you really need to turn it around-- and of course how long your child is!  Also, if you don't have a "middle position" like we don't in our minivan with captain's chairs, they say the safest spot is for the child to be on the passenger side.  If you have 2 children (like I will be soon), then they suggest that the rear-facing child go on the driver's side, and the front-facing on the passenger's... since the front-facing offers less protection, so should therefore be in the safer of the two spots available.

[kjbutcher]

I switched AJ to a convertable car seat at 4 months.  He just hated the carrier.  As AndiJ said it starts at 5 lbs. I went for the one that goes up to 50lbs though (evenflo triumph advance, $140).   also instead of threading the belts through pre determined holes, it slides up and down with the turn of a knob, which is nice for big jackets.  You can loosen it, put him in and tighten it perfectly.  It is definately worth it.  Oh and advise on jackets.  Get the ones that have two zippers and zips all the way to the feet.  They are so much easier.  Make sure you have your camera when you put him in the new one.  It seemed like AJ knew it was a "big boy" thing and he looked so proud.  

[mum2beagain]

I kept my son in his infant carrier until he was nearly 13 months old, I had the graco one that has a 30lb weight limit, he was 23lbs and 13 months when we moved him to a forward facing seat as he had just about reached the height limit for his infant carrier.
Also it is fine for their legs to be a little curled (this is a natural position for most babies anyway) or touching the back of the seat, it is when the height of thier head reaches the top of the infant carrier that it is time to switch.
A rear facing infant carrier is the safest place for a baby to be provided they are still under the weight and height limit for the particular one you have, if not switch to a convertible car seat that can be rearward facing.