Car Seat for 11 Month Old

You can definitley get the next size up, just keep it rear facing until he is a year old. I did this with my older son and it worked out just fine. Actually it will probably be safer since he is now exceeding the weight of the SnugRide. Hope this helps!

Children should NEVER wear their coats while in a carseat. The jacket will collaspe in an accident leaving the straps loose and can eject a child from the seat.
This video is a good demo on what can happen and shows the safe way to keep your baby warm.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UM1LJaOIu34

I did the same thing when my child was younger, I wish carseats came with clear warnings about putting a child in a carseat with their bulkier jackets.

Also look into extended rearfacing One year and 20 pounds is the min. I would get a convertable carseat that has the higher weight limit on rear facing.

We were in the same situation as you a couple of months ago. It doesn't matter what car seat that you have, it just has to be rear facing until the child is 1 and 20 lbs. And it is best to have them facing back for as long as possible. My daughter is 14 months and we just changed her to forward facing just because I was probably going to get in an accident with all her crying. Now she is so content to sit and look out the window.
We also have an Evenflo Triumph and love it. It was rated best value. The Britax are good but pricey. If you don't want to spend the money, get the Evenflo.
Also, fire and police departments will install your carseat for you.

You can switch him to a convertible car seat. They usually hold babies starting at 5 lbs - toddlers around 50 lbs and up.

We have an Evenflo Triumph and love it! You can do the Evenflo rear-facing too. Britax is another good brand, though a little pricey.

I agree with the previous poster. Never wear coats in the carseat and rear-facing is best for as long as possible, and definitely until he's at least 1 year old. The law is 1 year AND at least 20 lbs. My daughter turns 2 in January and we just within the last few weeks turned her around forward-facing.

J.,

The law is one year and at least 20 lbs before you can face them forward. There is no law regarding the type of carseat to use. You can go ahead and purchase a dual (back and foward facing seat) that will hold a child up to 100 lbs. You can use this until he's one and at least 20lbs then face it forward.

we did this with our daughter and she is three and still using the same carseat (it will turn into a booster when the time is right)

Hope this helps.

The clue word is the child should be ATLEAST 20 pounds and 1 year old.That is the law and the way the state it makes it confusing.Now as far as safety the child should rear face as long as possible.I would definately get him a bigger carseat and I would definately rear face the seat.I don't know where you live but my Husband actually is a liscensed car seat tech and he installs carseats at his work.His FD is in Raymore,he could answer any more questions you have about carseats.Which ones are the best for your baby and car etc...And he could install it or check it for you.I am glad to hear you want to do what's safe for your child!I see and hear about too many parents that are lazy when it comes to their children.

My pediatrician told me that a child physically needed to be rear facing until they could walk, this is when they have the muscle strength to be forward facing. Of course that doesn't help with the car seat laws, so you need to find a bigger seat that can still be rear facing, pay attention because there are not too many of them. We just went for the cheap forty some dollar one from Walmart for my granddaughter.
As for the coat issue, I'd be more afraid of getting him out of the seat in an emergency situation than having the coat compress that much in an accident, it looks to me like you would just need to make sure the top safety latch was in the correct position.

You actually are not supposed to put a child in a car seat wearing a coat. They cannot be strapped in tight enough, and if there were an accident, they are loose in their seat. That said, I don't know how to avoid it myself since it gets so cold here, and I can't warm up the car without worrying about it getting stolen! However, we use the flattest warm coat we can find. As for turning the seat around, new recommendations (although they are not law) are to keep children rear-facing until they are three years old. It may seem nicer to have them front facing, but they could be much more seriously hurt in an accident, even after one year old. Whatever you do, please don't turn him around early.