car seat graco nautilus

Stage 2 car seat question.?

Josiah is 10 months old, 22 lbs., 30 inches. On carseat.com it says that as long as he is at least 20 lbs, 29 inches, or 1 year old, he may ride in a 2nd stage car seat.
He is hanging out of his 1st stage, rear-facing car seat now, so we went and bought a Graco Nautilus. It’s made for 2nd and 3rd stage. I was reading the manual and it said that he had to be all three requirements (not just one) to be in the car seat with the harness, which is what he would be using.
My question is – what happens at 1 year of age that makes him developmentally okay to ride in the car seat??? He can sit up by himself (he could 5 months ago), he is crawling, has awesome head control, almost walking – why do we have to wait until 1 year old? Could we just put him in the car seat? The one that he is in is no longer safe for him because he is over the requirements for it.
Any ideas?

Legally he cannot sit forwards if he’s under a year old, even if he weighs more than 22lbs. It’s simply not safe. Since the Graco Nautilus doesn’t face backwards, he shouldn’t be turned around, so no you shouldn’t put him in the car seat. He’s not ready for it yet.

The requirements are 1 year and 20+lbs because originally they thought that neck control to help protect against neck damage developed enough to allow a baby face forward at a year old. The fact is that the AAP is pushing to increase that to 2 years and something like 30lbs because tests have proven that their necks are still not strong enough to handle accidents, and in more crash tests they’ve shown that until 4+ years (when their head and body becomes more proportional) the danger of an accident is 5x greater if they’re facing forward.

What I would recommend doing is returning the car seat. First, the IIHS identified it as one that doesn’t work in every car and isn’t safe in every car when it reaches the booster stage (see the link below.) So there’s no guarantee you would want to use it when he gets that big. So really your car seat is really only good until 65lbs. Second, the cost of a Nautilus is more than say a Graco My-Ride which faces rear to 40lbs and forward to 65lbs. They run $159 at the highest, though Wal-mart and Target have them for $129-149 normally, and it would keep him safe and legal.

Add: Check it out. Wal-mart has marked it down to $115 now. It’s not my favorite pattern, but still…

Graco Nautilus 3 in 1 Convertible Car Seat PINK VALERIE ~ 1794335 ~NEW $187.96

Graco Nautilus 3-in-1 Car Seat, Lagrange $115.00

Graco Nautilus 3-in-1 Car Seat (Matrix) $119.95

Graco Nautilus 3-in-1 Car Seat, Valerie $204.53

BRAND NEW Graco – Nautilus 3-in-1 Multi-Use Car Seat, Matrix Bravo 8J00BRV $66.56

Graco Nautilus 3-in-1 Car Seat Matrix 8J00MTX $140.00

Graco Nautilus 3-in-1 Car Seat Booster Safety Carseat Kids Childs Child Baby New $179.99

Graco Nautilus 3-in-1 Car Seat Booster Safety Carseat Kids Childs Child Baby New $179.99

Graco 8J00MTX Nautilus 3-in-1 baby Car Seat Matrix $79.99

BRAND NEW Graco – Nautilus 3-in-1 Multi-Use Car Seat, Matrix Bravo 8J00BRV $61.00

Graco Nautilus 3-in-1 Car Seat Matrix $162.63

NEW Graco Nautilus 3-in 1 Convertible Car Seat baby child booster $179.99

Graco Nautilus 3 in 1 MultiUse Car Seat – LaGrange $145.00

Graco Nautilus 3-in 1 Convertible Toddler Car Seat New $169.97

BRAND NEW! Graco Nautilus 3-in-1 Car Seat – Steel Reinforced Frame (Matrix) $147.48

NEW Graco Nautilus Graco 3-in-1 Car Seat Matrix Model 8J00MTX *QUICK SHIP* $225.00

Graco Nautilus 3-in 1 Convertible Car Seat $115.00

Graco Nautilus 3-in 1 Convertible Car Seat $110.00

Graco Nautilus 3-in 1 Convertible Car Seat $112.00

Graco Nautilus 3-in-1 Car Seat, Matrix $173.85

Graco Nautilus 3-in-1 Safety Car Seat Baby Booster $163.97

BRAND NEW! Graco Nautilus 3-in-1 Car Seat – Steel Reinforced Frame (Matrix) $141.56

New Graco BRAND Nautilus 3-in-1 CONVERTIBLE BOOSTER #8J00MTX Car Seat Matrix $163.95

NEW! Graco Nautilus 3-in-1 Car Seat with Head SupportCup Holder (Valerie) $187.26

BRAND NEW! Graco Nautilus 3-in-1 Car Seat with Head SupportCup Holder (Valerie) $187.26

Graco Nautilus 3 in 1 Booster Car Seat LAGRANGE ~ 1758196~BRAND NEW $176.96

Graco Nautilus 3 in 1 Booster Car Seat GAVIT GREEN ~ 1759245 ~BRAND NEW $208.96

Graco Nautilus 3-in-1 Safety Car Seat Baby Booster $147.37

Graco Nautilus 3 in1 Car Seat Matrix NEW! $218.48

Graco Baby Nautilus 3 in 1 Carseat in Valerie 1794335 $180.99

New 3 In 1 Graco Infant Toddler and Child Car Seat and Booster Nautilus Safety $184.50

NEW & SEALED! Graco Nautilus 3-in-1 Car Seat – Steel Reinforced Frame (Matrix) $147.97

Graco Nautilus 3-in-1 Baby Child Car Seat Matrix NEW! $154.99

Graco Nautilus 3 in 1 Car Seat Matrix NEW! $158.99

Graco Nautilus 3-in-1 Car Seat Matrix $168.93

NEW Infant Toddler Graco Nautilus 3-in-1 Car Seat Lagrange FREE SHIPPING!!! $172.99

NEW Graco Nautilus 3-in-1 Car Seat Booster Color ~ Lagrange *QUICK SHIP* $225.00

Graco Nautilus 3-in-1 Booster Car Seat – LaGrange $189.99

Graco Nautilus 3-in-1 Car Seat – Breakers $179.99

GRACO Nautilus 3-in-1 Car Seat 8J00MTX, Matrix $136.00

Graco Nautilus 3-in 1 Convertible Car Seat $105.00

NEW Graco Nautilus 3-in-1 Car Seat Booster Color ~ Gavit *QUICK SHIP* $225.00

New Graco Nautilus 3-in-1 Baby / Child Car Seat Matrix $151.62

Graco Nautilus 3-in-1 Car Seat Booster Safety Carseat Kids Childs Child Baby New $168.50

GRACO Nautilus 3-in-1 Car Seat 8J00MTX, Matrix $135.00

2011 Graco Nautilus 3-in-1 Convertible Baby Kids Infant Car Seat Matrix 8J00MTX $135.95

Graco 1758196 Nautilus 3-in-1 Car Seat-Color: Lagrange $276.63

GRACO NAUTILUS 3-IN-1 MULTI-USE CONVERTIBLE CAR SEAT 8J00BRV BRAND NEW $145.00

2012 Graco Nautilus 3-in-1 Convertible Baby Kids Infant Car Seat Matrix 8J00MTX $134.99

NEW! Graco Nautilus 3 in 1 Car Seat – Booster Pink Color 20-100lbs 5 pt. harness $110.00