Hi Ladies! I just have a question for you all. I have a 9 month old who is still in her infant travel carseat, the one that you can just pull in and out of the car? And she keeps kicking the back of the seat and is very long. I was told by a few people that it was up to me if I wanted to change her to a forward facing carseat. I was also told that it would do more harm than good in an rear-end accident if she was rear facing and her feet were against the seat. Like her legs would get broken because she was too big for the seat. But, she is only 9 months old and I am nervous to get her a big girl carseat. She is 19 lbs, so I thought it wouldnt be too bad, but needed other mothers advice. Help?!
I had a similar situation with my first born being really tall. We made the decision to go ahead and switch him around even though he was still techinically a little under the requirements. But ultimately, it's your judgement call.
The forward facing 5 point carseats are all very well made and you can put the neck rolls around them if they are having problems with their heads. But overall, I think she will probably be more comfortable being able to stretch her legs (especially on longer trips). PLUS, she now has the added bonus of being able to SEE you which will keep her entertained as well.
Hi Cindy,
My little guy is 9 months old and VERY long. He's in the 97% for height. We actually had to move him from the pumpkin style carseat at 6 months because he exceeded the height limits on the seat. We bought a larger convertible seat which can be rear or forward facing. They are supposed to remain rear-facing until 1 year of age and a certain weight requirement. I'm not sure what the weight requirement is, but you could ask your pediatrician. Good luck.
Only 1 of my 5 was small enough to stay in an infant seat longer than that - she sounds ready.
My daughter is in daycare and the local cops pull parent's over on a random basis just to make sure the carseat is instead correctly. By law you cannot turn your child around until they are over a year old and weight more than 20-30 lbs. You get to pick the weight. Length does not matter. Babies neck muscles are not strong enough to stop their head if you should be in an accident. I would buy a convertible car seat that you can turn around in a few months.
Our doctor wanted our children facing a the rear until atleast a year old. Both of my kids had to graduate to a bigger carseat that was either rear or forward facing. If you turn it around too soon and you are in a car wreck their next is not strong enough for their big head and it is dangerous.
The next step is to get a convertible carseat. They are made to be rear-facing for the latter part of the child's first year and up to 20 or so pounds. At the one year check-up talk to your Ped.Dr. and confirm that your child is large enough and strong enough to face forward if that is what you choose. The convertible carseat is usually bigger and their legs are not as jammed into the back seat. Please do not keep your baby in the infant seat and just turn her forward. You are risking serious injury.
I also recommend getting a convertible carseat. They are great because they allow considerable more freedom than the carrier. That way when she hits the year mark you can turn her around. My little guy is over a year and still rear facing because of weight. We took him out of the carrier at 4 months b/c we felt he was starting to lookin to crunched due to his height.
Good Morning Cindy - as I understand it you shouldn't turn your child around until they are one year old AND weigh at least 20 pounds. This is when it will be safest to turn them around. Ultimately they are safest in a rear facing seat for as long as possible. I hope this helps! Have a great day.
Sunshine
It is not true that is up to you if you want to move her to a forward facing. The law is they have to be 1 years old AND 20 pounds to be in a forward facing carseat. If she is getting too big for her baby carseat you should go with a convertible carseat that can go in the car forward and backward. It has to be backward until she turns one and weighs 20 pounds. With a bigger carseat her feet will be less likely to touch the back of the seat and if they still do it is still safer than having her face forward. She is still too young and her neck muscles haven't developed enough to handle impact if you were to get in an accident with her facing forward. Good luck.
Get her a convertible car seat that will face the rear and then switch to forward later. The American Academy of Peditarics recommends facing the rear for as long as possible now. It is no longer 1 year and 20 pounds, most kids can stay rear facing now until 2 to 3 years of age. the reason for this is because forward facing puts a huge strain and the neck and spinal cord(there have been cases of stretching the spinal cord up to two inches in a crash). There have been NO documented cases of leg injuries from rear facing car seats that were properly installed. Do not always go by what the pediatrician says, unless they are properly trained in this area, sometimes they do not know the new standards. Find a check station in your area, and in Kansas you should find alot!! I know that there will be a class going on there in two weeks in Olathe. We train alot of Kansas troopers and police officers, and Childrens Mercy can help you out also, please find a carseat technician to help install it. You can go to safekids.org and find one in your area. Thanks on behalf of your child for checking this out before you do anything!! Because, it will be her you will have to answer to when something happens, no one else, use your resources!!
My husband and I produce gigantic children (my 6 month old already weighs 21 pounds and is 28 inches long)! My first son I had to turn around early for the exact same reason. Although the "law says" one thing, it just wasn't practical for my son to be backwards at that point b/c his legs were squished. I talked with my pediatrician about it and he bascially said, "obviously I need to turn the seat around at this point" I was never stopped or in an accident, but given his size I believe we woudl have been okay in either situation.
She is absolutely too small to be forward facing. The old recommendation was 20 lbs. AND 1 year old. The new recommendation is 35 lbs. Her legs will not get broken if you are in an accident while she is rear facing, but her neck is not strong enough to take the force should you turn her around.
As for convertible car seats, I really like our Evenflo Triumph Advance. My son is also very long, and he has plenty of room to be rear facing for a long time (he is the same age as your daughter, but heavier).
It's time to get her a convertable car seat and keep her facing rear until she is at least one year old, even if her legs still look squished. God forbid you were in a car accident, I think you'd rather her break her leg(s) than her neck! At 9 months her neck muscles are not strong enough to handle a crash facing forward.
I switched both my children over to a Britax Roundabout when they were 5 months old. The seat is pretty pricey but I saved the boxes and 4 years later when I was done with them I was able to sell them both on ebay for around $115 each!
Hope this helps!
At nineteen ibs, I believe she is too light. Forward facing carseats begine at 20lbs as i remember. I also had long children and remember waiting for that last pound. I might be wrong, though. The carseats say what size they are made for and you have to stick to that or it is not safe. A good place for car seat advice is usually the hospital and the fire department. They can check you car seats, weigh your daughter and even make sure you have it installed correctly. The fire dept. can also give you advice on quick access in case of an accident.
Hi Cindy,
I have the same situation...10 mo old in 97% for height....and just this week changed over to the convertible car seat and have it REAR facing. From all the research I have done, it is not safe to be forward facing, they are just to little. We went with the Britax Marathon and are really liking them. We started with the decathlon and didn't like the straps so we switched to the marathon and love it! Good luck to you with the transition!
She really needs to still be rear facing until she is 1 year old and/or 20 pounds. Safety first! I'd definately recommend Britax Marathon Convertible Car Seat - Allie. It's comfortable and cute pink with brown polka-dots plus it has the highest saftey rating and customer satisfaction rating. You can use it rear facing until she's old enough and/or heavy enough to be forward facing. This carseat is a bit expensive but it's an investment that I felt like was totally worth it. I have 2 of them and my girls love riding in them. All four of my children outgrew the infant carriers early since they were always long/tall. Check the local stores or just shop online at ToysRUs.com or Amazon.com. And, when switching to the convertible seat I didn't have problems with their feet hitting the back of the seat anymore. Good luck!
I had the same problem with my son so we got a convertable carseat that could stay in the reverse position til he was 1 year and 21 lbs. You can find ones that aren't to overly priced at Wal-Mart and Target. It came in handy because then when it was time to turn it around we had an extra one to have in my husband's vehicle. Hope this helps.
The law is rear facing until 20 pounds AND one year. However, they do say that rear facing until 3 years is safest. Use your judgment as long as you are obeying the law since it is for your daughter's protection. It is much worse if they are front facing because their head will snap right off of their neck. Watch videos of baby dummies in car seats on you tube. When you crash at 70 miles an hour, it can be pretty hard to watch.
I would recommend a convertable car seat that can fit your child for as long as possible. If you get one that only goes up to 25 pounds you'll have to buy another one again soon!
Britax and Cosco's Alpha Omega Elite are the best two I've found out there, FYI.