When to do forward facing?

emack

DD hit the 12 month and 20 pound mark a little while ago, but we are of the mindset that we should keep her rear-facing as long as possible. However, in one of our cars, her little feet seem like they're pressed against the back seat and she is running out of room. Does that mean we should turn the seat? How did everyone else decide when to do it?

fatjavacat

I think the recommendation is 30 lbs to face front.  I asked the question to a car seat expert about having no where for the legs to go - she shrugged and basically said they need to almost sit cross-legged.  

I am planning on following the recommendations (at the rate we are going we won't be hitting 30 lbs for quite some time) but we will see how that works out when we get there! 

babypuplove

DD had her 15 month appt today and is only 20 1/2 lbs now.  She will stay rear-facing for a while.  She is tall, but her feet/legs are still comfy, so we'll cross that bridge when we get to it.  I hope to make it to the two year mark with her before turning her around.

CrunchOoEezyMama

Nope, the leg thing isn't a problem.  You should rear face her until the limit on your carseat.   At a minimum the AAP rec's 2 years.  DD is quite tall, but still only 25 lbs (our carseat has a 35 lbs rear facing limit) so she'll probably be rearfacing until 3 or so. 

hippotree

DS is still rear facing and will be until he reaches the weight or height limit of his seat. His legs fold up and he is still comfortable.

rachely

I found this helpful in deciding

https://breezymama.com/2010/04/19/rear-facing-or-forward-facing-what-to-do-and-when-to-do-it/

JKM416

The new AAP recommendation is to be rear-facing until two years.  We switched DD to forward-facing this past weekend because of an 8-hour drive and knew she'd be really bored otherwise.  Since she never knew differently, she's been fine with rear-facing this entire time.  She just would sit cross-legged.  She's just over 30 pounds, and the rear-facing limit on her seat is 35, so we figured it was fine.

 

If you want to be shaken up, do some googling about forward- versus rear-facing.  Real-life tragedies, as well as the anatomical reasons why a one-year old (despite their height and weight) really can't handle being forward-facing in an accident, convinced me to keep DD rear-facing until just now.

 

Oh, and I learned over our long drive how much fun it is to have a child constantly drop their books and toys (and ask you to pick them up) and kick the back of the passenger seat...those weren't problems while rear-facing!

vtkgirl77

I was originally planning to turn DD to forward facing around her first birthday because I was not well informed and I thought that was what people did. I saw this video on a Bumpie's blog which totally changed my view. So, I will be keeping DD rear facing as long as possible (ETA: Hopefully until at least age 2.)

https://www.becoming-mom.net/2010/04/19/rear-facing-carseat-video-must-watch/

 

 

 

 

barkers4jmm

DD is 19 months, and we have no plans to turn her FF any time soon.  We'll try to keep her RF as long as possible.  Just so much safer.   

SoonToBeMrsDTS

We'll probably turn DS sometime after he turns 2 and gets closer to 30lbs. He's 26 or 27 now at 21 months. My 3.5 year old is only 31 lbs and I can't imagine still having her rear-facing even though she hasn't met the weight limit (although I'm not sure what the height limit is). She climbed into DS's car seat a few weeks ago and there is no way she could have fit, even with her legs crossed. 

emack

rachely:

I found this helpful in deciding

https://breezymama.com/2010/04/19/rear-facing-or-forward-facing-what-to-do-and-when-to-do-it/

These responses were all so helpful! Thank you! This blog post is great. It really answers all the questions beautifully. Rear facing she will stay! 

AgrippaRidesAgain

We turned at around 21 months due to a variety of reasons, the primary one being that DS was getting carsick on trips over 30 minutes in length.  I wish we could have kept him RFing longer, but he was starting to hate the car entirely (and I don't blame him--he probably thought it was a vomit machine) and we were constantly cleaning everything.

mlvmd

I want to wait until around 2 years old also.  DS is already 20 lbs though and proportional for height, at five months, so I am hoping he will not be too uncomfortable.

Sofka

DD is 18mo old and still RF in my car. We will turn her to FF in about a month in preparation for #2.

Don't worry about the legs, in case of an accident, the worst thing a RF child will face is broken legs, while a FF child can have a broken neck. Obviously, broken legs are a better alternative.

BridetobeEm

Like several pp said, extended rear facing is safer than forward facing, so I plan on keeping my son RFing for as long as possible.  He's almost 20 mos now.

special382

we tried waiting until DS was 2, but I couldn't be a safe driver with the screaming bloody murder that went on every time we got in the car (and try that for 2 hours on the way to and from PA).  We eventually switched him at 17 months- though, he was 30lbs at his 18 month appointment, so he is not a little guy.

 We were able to keep DD RF until she was closer to 2.