At what age does baby come out of infant car seat?

amother

OP ↓

Wed, Aug 14 2024, 10:24 pm

im bh expecting and my baby is going to be 18 mo iyH when I am due. is he still gonna be in rear facing infant car seat? do I need to buy another one?

GrowingUp

Wed, Aug 14 2024, 10:25 pm

You can buy a convertible car seat that is both rear facing and forward facing.
Ideally babies should be rear facing until two years old.

amother

Springgreen ↓

Wed, Aug 14 2024, 10:27 pm

Rear facing convertible seat. You rear face until 2. Then you can either switch the convertible forward facing or keep him rear facing longer which is safer. An example of such a seat you can google convertible car seat and get any that you like. https://buybuybaby.com/product.....05wsp

amother

↑ OP ↓

Wed, Aug 14 2024, 10:32 pm

oh wow I can't imagine my baby fitting in his car seat for a whole nother year, don't their legs dangle out? where do their legs go in the car?

amother

↑ Springgreen ↓

Wed, Aug 14 2024, 10:34 pm

amother OP wrote:

oh wow I can't imagine my baby fitting in his car seat for a whole nother year, don't their legs dangle out? where do their legs go in the car?

He doesn’t have to stay in an infant seat until 18 months. Most babies move to a convertible seat at a year or less .They fold their legs or put it up the seat. Kids never sit with legs straight down in front of them why would they need to in the car? It’s safe and fine to put his feet however he feels like.

amother

↑ OP

Wed, Aug 14 2024, 10:39 pm

so when should I move him out of infant seat? he's 20 pounds rn

amother

↑ Springgreen ↓

Wed, Aug 14 2024, 10:42 pm

Does he have 1 inch above his head to the top of his seat? You can move him at any time. Either when he outgrows the height and weight, when he has less than an inch above his head to the top of the seat or when he seems uncomfortable in it.

amother

Garnet

Wed, Aug 14 2024, 10:45 pm

amother OP wrote:

oh wow I can't imagine my baby fitting in his car seat for a whole nother year, don't their legs dangle out? where do their legs go in the car?

A convertible car seat is a lot more comfortable for them at that age. Their legs can dangle it's fine. They can use that type of convertible car seat for a good 5 years.

amother

Mocha ↓

Wed, Aug 14 2024, 11:11 pm

Usually around a year old we switch to convertible car seat from infant car seat and keep rear facing until 4yrs old. You need appropriate car seats for all the children you have. 4 under 4 = 4 rear facing car seats .

amother

Aquamarine

Wed, Aug 14 2024, 11:19 pm

Do what you feel is right.
I switched my 18 month old from a doona to graco front facing. A month ago..

amother

Ivory

Wed, Aug 14 2024, 11:27 pm

My kids are big so I move them to a convertible seat once
A. they get too heavy to carry around in the infant carrier and
B. They can sit up really well on their own (so I don't need the infant carrier as a place to put them and they can sit in a shopping cart at the store).

I've done this any time between 8 months and a year. You can definitely move them younger, but you lose the convenience of a carrier.

amother

↑ Springgreen ↓

Wed, Aug 14 2024, 11:36 pm

amother Aquamarine wrote:

Do what you feel is right.
I switched my 18 month old from a doona to graco front facing. A month ago..

It’s not safe to forward face before 2. It’s not really a do what you want situation. We need to keep our babies as safe as possible.

amother

↑ Mocha

Wed, Aug 14 2024, 11:42 pm

Most states have pushed legal rear facing to at minimum 2yrs old

Brit in Israel

Thu, Aug 15 2024, 3:16 am

amother Springgreen wrote:

One like this is great. Using if for my 2.5 yr old now face forward but also great for younger rear facing and when they are older as just a back booster.
Highly recommend!

amother

Dandelion

Thu, Aug 15 2024, 7:49 am

Here is what I do:
I switch from an infant carseat to a convertable carseat at some point in the 1st year. Usually around 10-12 months.
Then they use the convertable carseat til around 4.
Eta they should be rear facing til at least 2. You can turn a comvertable carseat around at that point.

amother

Papaya

Thu, Aug 15 2024, 8:35 am

Check the height and weight specs on your car seat. That will tell you when your child is too large for it.
As many have said, the next stage is a forward facing/rear facing convertible car seat for a child under 2. Rear facing is recommended until 2 for safety and is not something to mess around with

amother

Magnolia ↓

Thu, Aug 15 2024, 10:46 am

So far all of my babies are miserable & shrieking in the car from around 6 months old. It's safer for us to put them in a forward facing car seat at about 12-14 months, then to drive with shrieking miserable children that get car sick from rear facing.

amother

Quince

Thu, Aug 15 2024, 11:00 am

Try keep them rear facing as long as possible, it's safer.

My 2.5 yr old is still rear facing, he is 35 lb. We have a convertible carseat that comes with an extender for the legs, so his feet aren't squashed. It also has excellent ratings and safety results.

https://www.amazon.com/Graco-E.....psc=1

amother

↑ Magnolia ↓

Thu, Aug 15 2024, 11:03 am

amother Aquamarine wrote:

Do what you feel is right.
I switched my 18 month old from a doona to graco front facing. A month ago..

Babies do not belong in the doona past a year tops! Keeping an older baby in a doona is just torture. They need to be switched to a bigger/convertible car seat at max a year. A doona is not meant for older babies.

amother

Diamond

Thu, Aug 15 2024, 11:08 am

amother Magnolia wrote:

Not according to the manufacturer I switched my baby out at 17 months, she still had plenty of room more than an inch above her head and under the weight limit. Dont spread misinformation