When did you turn your child's car seat fwd?

TeagansMom609 wrote: Teagan still fits in her infant car seat at 10 months but I would like to buy her a regular car seat. I was told that they have to stay facing the back until their 1st birthday but im wondering if anyone did it earlier? I have a small 2 door car and it will be even harder to get a new big car seat and have it facing the back. (but if thats what I have to do I guess I will have to deal with it )

MommyToAshley replied: The recommendation (actually our state law) is 1 year AND 20 pounds. My daughter was 20 pounds before her first birthday but I still waited until she was 1 year old to turn her seat around. It was so much more convenient once I turned her around, but I didn't want to risk her safety.

I recommend waiting until she meets the guidelines to turn the seat around.

aspenblue1 replied: I waited until she was 1 year and 20 pounds also.

A&A'smommy replied: Alyssa fit in her carseat until she was a year old we finally changed it out around that time and faced it forward.

ctymom replied: My daughter is 14 months and I still have her rear-facing. I'll switch her forward when the spring comes. But I have a minivan so it's no problem keeping it rear-facing with the bigger carseat.

Pamela

loveydad replied: Not a good idea to do it before a year because they don't have that good of neck control just yet. My twins just turned 10 months and I'm just now getting their carseats, but and I STILL can't turn them around until 1 year.

Mommy2BAK replied: so what do I do? Blakely is 20 pounds now, so I went to Target to get her a new car seat since the rear facing one only holds up to 20 pounds, but the new one isn't rear facing.

loveydad replied: Well, I don't know. Maybe check the manual that came with your carseat. If she's too big for her old carseat, you may just have to return it (if you can??).

I'm no authority, I can't tell you what to do, this is just a suggestion I went and got the kid's carseats checked by a professional, and that's what he told me, that's all I know.

I hope you get it sorted out! It really is safer to face backwards where she's under a year. That's not to say people don't do it.

MomToMany replied: I kept mine rear facing for well past the 1st birthday. There is no need to rush it. The longer they stay rear-facing, the better.



I would take it back and get one that is a convertible, both rear facing and forward facing.

Maddie&EthansMom replied: One year and 20 pounds is when I did it with Maddie. I will do the same with Ethan.

I was given a convertible car seat as a shower gift when I was pg with Maddie. Ethan is still fitting in his infant carrier so I will just keep that until he is a year old and then I will buy a forward facing only. The convertible carseats are so much more expensive and you only need them for a couple of months (if that).

coasterqueen replied:
I agree with Mollie. Take that one back and get a convertible car seat that is rear and forward facing.

Kylie grew out of her infant car seat around 6 months and that is what we had to do is get a convertible one.

We turned her around at a year, but I would have preferred to wait longer. DH outruled me.

CCTandME replied: Many infant carseats are only good to 26inches. My girls all outgrew their seats at 4mo due to their length. My DD, Teagan, is almost 10mo, 20lbs 11oz & 29in. Even at 1 I probably won't turn her around, unless she is miserable. I would buy a convertible carseat to finish out her rear facing. Britax makes great seats. There are many great deals on www.babyage.com and www.babyuniverse.com
If you can't fit a convertible seat in the middle in the back, then put it behind the passenger seat w/ the passenger seat moved forward.

mom21kid2dogs replied: I didn't turn Olivia around until she was 2.5 and 31 lbs. She had reached the rear facing limit of her Fisher Price Safe Embrace (our spare seat) and was inching close to it on her main seat (at the time an Eddie Bauer 3 in 1). Here's a link to some info on extended rear facing if you are interested.


http://www.cpsafety.com/articles/StayRearFacing.aspx

FWIW convertible seats can be purchased in a variety of price ranges. A Cosco Touriva can be purchased at most Walmart/KMarts for $48 and are among the highest rear facing weight limit seats at 35lbs. A Graco Comfort Sport is around $100 and has more bells and whistles like better padding. Britax makes wonderful seats (I've owned 3 of them) but they are very pricey and have all the bells and whistles and a price to match~the Roundabout convertible is around $200 and they go up from there.

The price or maker of a seat is not what makes it safe. All seats on the market must meet the same government safety standards. When choosing a car seat you should look at your child (do you think he/she will be tall, short, heavy, light, longer in the torso?) and decide what will fit him best. For example, if your child will be taller,look for a seat with a high top harness slot. Next consider your car. It is recommended that you try before you buy(Babies R Us will let you do this and you could try them there and purchase them cheaper somewhere else) because not all car seats fit easily in all types of vehicles. It is extremely importantant that you choose a seat YOU can install easily and well each and every time you use it. For most of us, price is a factor as well.

Your child has outgrown their infant seat when one of these things happen~there is less than 1" of hard plastic above the head, they exceed the manufacturers height limit, they exceed the manufacturers weight limit. Many people thing that their leg length is important but it has no bearing on car seat fit. Legs bend but heads above the top are seriously dangerous!!

Sorry this got so long . . .I became a total car seat freak after my daughter was born and was horrified by the 20 years of putting kids in car seats at work erronously because I thought it was a no brainer (Ohio now trains CPS on this issue but that training is brand new!!). I'm not a tech (although I've tried to get into tech class twice now) but I do frequent a car seat board that is primarily techs on IVilliage. I have tons of links on different things or I can hook you up with the car seat board directly and you can ask a "pro" your questions!!

DansMom replied: Stay rear facing as long as possible---that's my advice (agreeing with the previous post on this one).

mom21kid2dogs replied: I just saw the post that you were in an accident. It sounds amazing that you weren't hurt! What kind of car do you have? I was hit last year in the rear by a Jeep Wrangler going 50 miles an hour(I was stopped). Luckily I was in a Toyota Tacoma and wasn't even hardly pushed against the belt but my truck frame was bent on both sides and the truck had over $3000 worth of damage! The state highway partolman thought I could have been killed in a smaller car. Be sure you don't sign anything releasing the insurance from medical liability until you are sure you have no injuries!

Anyway, why I posted this under your car seat question was to let you know that if Tegan's car seat was in your car it will definately need to be replaced immediately. If it was, you might have some luck getting the party at fault's insurance to replace it which might be of help to you, especially ith all you've got going on right now! Just thought I'd mention that possibility to you!

party-of-six replied: I agree with the others, rear facing as long as possible. I turned my girls when they were Year and 20 pounds...looking back, I should have kept them rear facing until they met the limits of the seat. My seats go up to 35 pounds rear facing....and that is exactly how they should be sitting, but at 26 months and 26 pounds....I just cannot do it.

MyBlueEyedBabies replied: I am definately the minority here but both my kids were turned real early...
My FIL (who yes is a safety expert for those about to flame me) told me that once they have good neck control it doesn't really matter. He said the accident that would make a difference is one where everyone else in the car is killed and said child would be so badly injured that they would most likely never have a *real life*
Katy was so awful rear facing, she screamed every time we were in the car from the time she was 2 days old and we brought her home from the hospital until she was 6 months and we turned her arround. She loved watching movies or just being able to see.
Matt we turned arround at 8 months because he also was pretty awful, but the final straw was getting a new car and his seat just didn't fit rear facing in it.

MomToMany replied:
Wow, a safety expert said that? Hmmmm....I thought it was about where the impact was absorbed and distributed instead of just the neck control.

And to turn it around just because it made them happy or didn't fit your car is wrong. I wouldn't compromise my child's safety like that.

mommy2mylittleangels replied: Mine was 1 year and 25 lbs. I could have done it sooner but thats the law. my son was so big to carry in the infant car seat and now it is so much easier. I kept him in it as long as i could for saftey.

loveydad replied: Wow the kid on the picture at that link sure doesn't look at that comfortable! his little legs are all scrunched.

I agree with MTM here- A safety expert said that!? I think there's special classes you have to do to be certified in carseat safety. What I was told was that at 1 year, babies really start being able to hold their heads up during a crash. They don't get bonked forwards as much I guess.