When did you......

[farsk]

turn your car seat from rear facing to forward facing? I was all ready to do this this weekend after Ellen's 1st birthday, but then read where it is best to leave them rear facing as long as they are comfortable. She's just under 21 lbs.

So when did you turn the car seat around and why?

Thanks!

[lizajane]

i know many folks here prefer to keep them rear facing until they reach the carseat's rear facing limit. and i thought i would do that. but at 34 inches tall, my son just wouldn't be happy backwards. and it in the 95 degree weather in my car that has lame A/C he would fry.

so i turned him around at a year, which was about 24 lbs and 32 inches. my ped TOLD me to. i questioned him, but he said i should turn him. so i took that as my excuse and i turned him.

pretty soon, i am going to have to move him from the middle seat to the side because i just can't get him in and out of the car. i hit his head 50% of the time, and when i get really pregnant, there is no way my body will be able to handle that awkward position of all that weight to lift. i suppose a 2 year old could climb in and out and "help." but at 16 months, my kid is the size of a 2 year old and is not old enough to get out on his own.

[MartiesMom2B]

We turned Martie around too when she was 14 months. It was starting to get extremely hot in NC and without rear air she was drenched in sweat, very red, and extremely unhappy. I tried what I could with the air conditioning and it didn't work. With our next child, if we get a car or minivan with rear air, we'll probably keep them rear facing longer.

Sonia http://www.planetsmilies.com/smilies...haracter03.gif
Proud Mommy to Martie

[stillplayswithbarbies]

Logan is still rear facing and will be until she hits the limits of the Marathon (33 pounds).

Why? Because it is safer to be rear facing.

...Karen
Jacob Nathaniel Feb 91
Logan Elizabeth Mar 03

[ismommy]

Bella is still rear facing. She is almost 3 years old. She does ride forward facing when we visit my parents since they bought a forward only seat.

[August Mom]

DS is 23 months and still rearfacing. I plan to keep him that way until he severely protests continually or until he reaches the height/weight limits of the seat. DH on the other hand is ready to turn DS around. I am keeping DS rearfacing due to increased safety, allowing further strengthening of the neck muscles before turning him around.

[flagger]

Cocoa was turned around just after her first birthday. She loves it.

[MelissaTC]

I turned Matthew around after he reached the weight requirement which was one week after his 1st birthday. My Mom and I drove from NC to AR to visit my Grandma. My Explorer did not have rear AC and the kid was frying. Furthermore, he hated being rear facing and I was not going to listen to him scream from NC to AR. I do not regret turning him around.

[C99]

We turned him around 2 weeks ago (just shy of 18-months). Then he barfed 3 times in succession after riding in the car and I turned him around to rear-facing once again.

[cdlamis]

Julia is still rear facing (for saftey reasons) and she is just over 2 years old and 30 lbs. We are keeping her this way until the max weight allowed at 33 lbs. So probably a few more months at least.

I saw the following video clip about RF vs. FF and it even convinced DH to keep her rear facing for as long as possible
http://www.cpsafety.com/articles/stayrearfacing.aspx
*You have to scroll down half way to see the crash test video clips. I know this clip has been mentioned here before but I thought it wa worth re- mentioning.

Daniella
Mom to Julia 6-13-02
And baby #2 EDD 12-30-04!!