Should I move 8 month old to next stage car seat?

[BenRoo]

DS is 8 months old,weighs approx 19lb 7oz.
He's getting a little bit cramped for his 1st car seat, but I know the next stage recommends that he should be 9 months old or 20lb.
I have a forward facing stage 2 group 1 seat ready for him....
Should I start using it or wait until he's 9mo or 20lb??
Your thoughts please...

I put dd1 in a stage 2 seat early (she was a porker), i would try and wait until he's 20lb if you can but i know its hard even more so when its hot and it gets so stuffy in a little car seat.

No don't use it yet. He needs to be at least 9kg (20lbs) at the very least anyway as if you move him before this you risk the straps not working properly - he could "submarine" under them if you had a crash.

But TBH even at 9kg I wouldn't (personally) move an 8 or 9 month old forward facing, because the strain on their necks would be massive in an accident. I'd keep him rear facing for as long as possible, so in his baby seat until his head meets the top of the seat edge, it doesn't matter if his legs are off the end. If you really want to move him to a different seat then I'd consider either one of the combination seats e.g. the Britax first class which will allow him to be rear facing until 13kg (probably around 18 months - 2 years) or you can get extended rear facing seats which will keep him rear facing for a lot longer.

In the end what I did with DS was managed to keep him in his rear facing baby seat until 18 months, even though I thought he was going to grow out of it a lot earlier, and then we moved onto a Kiddy Infinity Pro, which is forward facing but has an impact shield. I'd probably do the same again although I am aware of the benefits of rear facing for longer. I think I'd like to keep a baby rear facing until at least 15 months or so.

Your insurance would be invalid if you had a crash with him in the group 1 seat I think. I agree it's too early in terms of neck strength. Babies' spines are more flexible than ours so a sudden stop is much more dangerous for a baby than for an older child when the bones have started to fuse together. I'm actually surprised you think he's too big-my niece was about the same weight at the same age and she still fits into a group 0 seat now (2 months later). She went into an extended rear facing seat at 9kg but I put her in my group 0 seat the other day and she was fine. You may be surprised at how little weight he'll put on from now on. Especially if he starts crawling or already has-my daughter has only gone up 1lb in three months of crawling. I'm wittering now so I'll shut up!

I'd say he's more snug than cramped but definitely has more room head wise so will veer on the side of caution and keep him in the 1st car seat for as long as possible.
After reading a bit up about rear/forward facing car seats I'd wish I'd got a rear facing stage 2 now,oh well...
Thank you all for your replies

You could always return the ffing seat or ebay it or keep it as a spare seat for taxis/grandparents/friends to take your son out in and then get a rfing group1/2 seat. Just an idea.

I wouldn't risk it, I kept my DS rf unil about 16mth then also moved into kiddy seat with impact shield. He will have grown out of that just in time for his ds/db to fit in it around 16mth :)

DD is still in her cabriofix, she's 11 months and probably over 24lb now. Her head is still a few centimetres from the top, so she's staying in it for the time being. She has a forward facing seat in my dads car and doesn't complain about being in the rear facer, so she must still be comfortable.

read this

Wait until he has outgrown his current seat. Most first stage carseats are for babies up to 29lb weight or their head is over the top of the back of the seat.

BenRoo, you are not the only one unhappy with the Group 0 infant carrier seat. My DD is not even 18lb, so much too small to even think about a Group 1, but I hate her seat. She just doesn't seem to fit in it properly, I've no idea why as she is well within the weight range...

I'm not happy to wait another couple of months until she can go Group 1, so I am going out this weekend to buy a combination Group 0+ / Group 1 car seat which is suitable from Birth to 18kg (approx 4 years) prob either Britax First Class Plus or BeSafe IZI Combi.

Maybe Group 0+/Group 1 might be the answer for you too?