Changing my baby's car seat

[Isabella20]

I have a 6month old baby girl and was wondering how old your babies were when you changed their car seat from the standard new born on to the next stage? I’m struggling to find anything anywhere that tells me when to change it over x

My eldest was well over 1, closer to 18 months. My youngest is 12 months and is nowhere near growing out of his seat. Everyone seemed to be changing over 9m+ when our eldest was that age but the shop assistants in a few shops said that people do it too early and it’s much safer to stay in the infant carrier until their heads go above the seat (I think).

Group 0 car seats are up to 13kg/29lbs. Then move her into a group 1 - or you could get a 1,2,3 car seat which will grow with her.

Mine grew out of the infant seats around 12-15 months and stayed rear facing until 2. They will probably outgrow the infant seat by height long before reaching 13kg.

DD went from the infant carrier to a rear facing seat at 12 months. I couldn't bear the screaming in the baby seat any longer. She's 3.9 and still rear facing.

DS is a fairly large 13 month old and there's still a good few cm to go before he needs to come out of the baby seat. He can then go into DD's rear facing seat and she can go forward facing.

If the top of their head doesn't come to.the top of the seat they're fine. At 6 months old you likely have a long time before you need to worry.

Even a larger than average baby should manage in an infant carrier until 12 months. If the seat is visibly too small (i.e. if she looks squished, her head is approaching the top of the seat or the straps are struggling to go over her shoulders) then it’s time to change up. For a group 1 or 1-3 seat then look at the weight guide and make sure she’s at the minimum weight which is usually around 9kg. You can also get group 0-2 or 0-3 seats (the Joie stages seat being a popular example) at which point they’re suitable from birth so you could swap right away as long as you kept it rear facing.

DD1 moved up at 17 months. DD2 was much bigger and we changed seats at 15 months.

DD is 14 months and we are just starting to look at new car seats now. She would probably fit in her group 0 one for a bit longer but we are going to need it for DC2 imminently.

If you think your baby is starting to look a bit squished in their group 0 at 6 months check you have removed any newborn inserts (just padding) that may still be in there. Usually they just pull out.

Which reminds me I need to find ours...

15 months for DD1 (quite tall) and 18 months for DD2 (quite short). IIRC the guidance is to change when the top of their head is at the same level as the top of the seat.

If you feel the baby needs more space but isn't ready for forward facing you can get group 0/1 seats which can rear face till 18kg but then turn round and forward face if you want.

Oh and yy about removing the newborn insert! I forgot our car seat had one and poor DD was squished for a couple of months till I realised!

An infant carrier seat (Group 0+) can be used until the baby reaches the weight limit which is generally 13kg or their head reaches the top of the seat.

9kg is the absolute minimum weight for the next stage (Group 1) car seat and in the unlikely event that your DD grows out of it before this then you'd need a group 0/1 seat which has more space but would allow her to continue rear facing.

Extended rear facing is worth researching at this point so you can make an informed decision on when to switch and what the benefits are.

Oh, sorry. I rambled and forgot to answer the actual question

DS was 8.5 months when we switched to forward facing but I was clueless then and was encouraged by family/friends so thought it was the norm. Thankfully we used it occasionally as didn't drive!

DD was 16 months and went into a Joie rear facing seat which lasted until she was 4.

Dd moved out at 8months to a rear facing. She was so squashed in her seat. She's in 12-18 months clothes and is a very big baby!

We switched out of the infant carrier to a 5 point harness erf group 0+ seat at about 7 months when DD was consistently wriggling her arms out of the 3 point harness. Weight wise she would have been 2 before she was too heavy but no way would an infant seat have contained miss Houdini...

DD1 was about 14 months and went into am extended rear facing seat until 3.5 years and now in a booster with a back (sure there must be a better term for it). DD2 was 12 months and went into her sisters extended rear facing and will stay in that until around the same age DD did.

First stage goes up to 13kg I believe and you work out whether they're ready to move up based on weight rather than age.

We went to the in car safety centre in Milton Keynes and they said to try and keep your DC in the infant car seat for as long as physically possible as it's absolutely the safest option. DS was small ish and we managed to hold on until he was over 18 months IIRC. Then he went into an ERF seat.

Infant car seats are the safest option so she should be in it until it's outgrown by car weight or height (head is at the top of the seat, legs overhanging does not mean it's outgrown).

Then you should ideally rear face until at least 4 so you need to track her weight and height in her red book. If she is above the 50th centile, it's much better to go for a 25kg ERF seat which will last a lot longer than an 18kg seat. Good options are the Axkid Minikid and Britax Two Way Elite- but you won't need either of these for a good 6 months!

Official rules here: www.gov.uk/child-car-seats-the-rules

As PP have said, use rear-facing for as long as you can.

Best thing for you to do is head to Halfords or Mothercare (or some other shop that will help you choose and fit a suitable a car seat) and get them to talk to you about the options.

We moved DS at 9 months because he became 9kg and so could move up into the Group 1 but the law states you can keep them in Group 0+ till 13 months (but imo our DC was really very squished and since moving him to his big boy car seat he doesn't cry in the car anymore!)

www.gov.uk/child-car-seats-the-rules

The UK government website states that if you choose an i-size then DC must be rear facing until 15 months. Choosing a weight-based one (i.e. Groups 0-3) then you can have rear or forward facing ones from 9kg (approx. 20lbs).

About 18 months for DC 1 and 2 - DC 3 is 14 months old and still in his infant carrierz

If OP has the standard newborn car seat, as she stated, I imagine she has a Group 0/0+ car seat, so OP you can move over once your girl reaches 9kg (approx. 20lbs) into a Group 1+. Babies tend to reach that weight at around 9 months old.

Twitter Infant carriers have a maximum weight of 13kg so no need to move at 9kg. It's best to stay in a car seat until you get close to the maximum rather than the minimums.

Op There's also a big difference between what's legal and what is safe. People assume that's the same thing but when you do some research, the legal minimum standards for car seats are shocking, truly terrifying. Well respected brands like Axkid, Britax, Maxi Cosi, Joie etc do additional testing on their seats that goes beyond the legal minimum and the toughest testing is done by the Swedish Plus Test which only a endless number of seats have passed. It's worth reading up on!

Sorry Twittle (autocorrect!)

*small number of seats have passed!!

teaandbiscuitsforme we moved ours though as he was squished and his head was now starting to creep over the actual car seat?

OP, what teaandbiscuitsforme is saying is correct though but of course some babies will be ready to move sooner. Really recommend you seek advice from a car seat specialist from Mothercare or Halfords. Ours was brilliant.

Also Group 1 car seats still can often remain rear facing, like ours does! We got the Joie Spin 360. Highly recommend it