Until yesterday. The conversation came up again, and I finally pulled up the Chicco Keyfit 30 manual online to revisit the height maximum (weight is easy to remember- 30 lbs- as it's in the name).
As it turns out, Michael is now one-half an inch too tall for the Chicco carrier that we've been putting him in since he was born, so the time to change was apparently last month (or the month before that, perhaps). Shame on me for letting it sneak up on me again (the same thing happened with Abby, when I discovered at her one year check-up that she'd reached a whopping 32.5 inches), but Michael is so much smaller than Abby was that it honestly took me by surprise this time, though I learned my lesson about height tending to max out before weight. I suppose a part of me really believed he'd fit in that tiny carrier forever...
We finally had occasion to leave the house today, for a birthday party, so Tom got everything ready this morning. When Abby came out of the house with me, a surprise was waiting for her in the van. She climbed in happily, all by herself, and was all smiles as I secured her in the brand-new seat. I'm really not sure which change she was more excited about- the new seat, or the new direction- but she was definitely a happy camper.
Perhaps the most excited member of the party was Tom, however, as he giddily announced to me, "Look! I can see her in the rear-view mirror!"
I'm uncertain how Michael took to the whole game of musical chairs. He was compliant enough while being put in the (new-to him) Britax, which was a good sign, as he often fights the process in the Chicco. However, once Abby entered the picture, as he looked over at her I could swear that he was envious of her forward orientation.
Sorry, Buddy. Maybe in another year.
So cute! But it makes me glad we are past the car seat stage and just have to deal with an occasional booster. My kids were all really long and it was painful for them to be all cramped in the rear facing seats and I always ended up turning them around early and then feeling panicked about it. (Of course my husband's mom told me she used to drive around with him in a cardboard box in the back, and he survived.)
ReplyDeleteOh, I can't wait to be past the car seat stage! More than half the reason I never want to go anywhere is because of the huge hassle involved in getting the kids in and out of the car. But it's nice to be taking baby steps forward. Getting Abby in and out has gotten exponentially easier now that her seat is turned and she is capable of getting herself settled in on her own before I secure the straps for her. Someday soon, she'll be taking care of the straps herself, too (which will be a plus and a minus, I suppose, since it will mean that she'll be capable of defiantly letting herself out...)
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