I called Graco yesterday to see if I could buy longer belts for our car seat. I’ve had M-Cat in a child carrier car seat (with the detachable bucket I can carry her in) since her birth, but in the last few weeks I’ve noticed it getting too tight for her around her chest and shoulders. The belts are so snug that she can’t wear a coat or a heavy sweater under them; I’ve been using a car seat cover to keep her warm. Even sometimes when I undress her after we’ve gotten home, I can see red marks on her chest where the car seat chest clip was a few minutes earlier.

Poor thing! I know she’s a big girl and all (though not the biggest I’ve seen her age), but this is ridiculous! I can’t remember when I had to move the boys out of the same car seat, but four-and-a-half months seems a little early to be maxing out.

I certainly didn’t want to move her to a regular car seat that I can’t carry wherever we go. She has been getting heavy to carry around, but it is so convenient to let her sleep in her carrier.

I was a little in denial when I heard the customer service lady at Graco tell me that there were no belt extenders for that car seat, and that M-Cat had reached the maximum height for our seat. My daughter’s height wasn’t the problem, I argued; she’s just chesty! (I have noticed considerable differences between her and her brothers’ physiques; this girl has got curves!) The lady on the phone seemed non-plussed, but offered to tell me about the other carrier car seats that would fit Fat Cat now … for over $100.

Looks like I’m out of luck on this one. I’ll be installing the bigger, less convenient car seat. And using a stroller all the time to give her a place to sit and sleep … and to save my back from carrying her growing girth.