Nedra
Car-Seat.org Ambassador
First the question: Would you flip a kid FF 9 months ahead of your goal in order to avoid buying another convertible?
Now the details:
So my plan was always to space my kids 3 years apart. That way, when the older one hit about 4 years old, the younger one would be ready to move out of the bucket seat and so the older could go straight to a combination and pass down the convertible. This way, as long as I was careful about expiration dates, I'd be able to get away with only one set of carseats for two kids.
Well, plans changed. We are now expecting a 2y3m age gap. So when the younger one hits about a year, the older one will be only 3y3m. Is that too early to move a kid FF just for convenience and cost reduction? I've always assumed I would RF until 4 because we buy high-capacity seats and my daughter (so far) is fairly small, so I figured it would be awhile before she outgrows her seats.
Totally aware that there are tons of variables that are unforseen at this point (second child's size, accidents or other reasons to need new seats in the interim, etc). But if it does come down to a simple matter of needing the bucket for the baby....is it worth it to avoid having to buy another convertible? We have smaller cars and so have to be very picky about RF seats, which is why I'm hoping to get as much use out of the ones we have (Britax Roundabout G4 and Chicco Nextfit) rather than buy more.
I'd love input, experiences, advice.
Now the details:
So my plan was always to space my kids 3 years apart. That way, when the older one hit about 4 years old, the younger one would be ready to move out of the bucket seat and so the older could go straight to a combination and pass down the convertible. This way, as long as I was careful about expiration dates, I'd be able to get away with only one set of carseats for two kids.
Well, plans changed. We are now expecting a 2y3m age gap. So when the younger one hits about a year, the older one will be only 3y3m. Is that too early to move a kid FF just for convenience and cost reduction? I've always assumed I would RF until 4 because we buy high-capacity seats and my daughter (so far) is fairly small, so I figured it would be awhile before she outgrows her seats.
Totally aware that there are tons of variables that are unforseen at this point (second child's size, accidents or other reasons to need new seats in the interim, etc). But if it does come down to a simple matter of needing the bucket for the baby....is it worth it to avoid having to buy another convertible? We have smaller cars and so have to be very picky about RF seats, which is why I'm hoping to get as much use out of the ones we have (Britax Roundabout G4 and Chicco Nextfit) rather than buy more.
I'd love input, experiences, advice.