Car Seats: When Did You Go to a Front Facing?

We read that it's age because regardless of weight, their necks aren't strong enough to withstand a head on until after 12 months. We waited until age one although now they're saying age two.

For my son, we had to buy a convertable ( like this one http://www.toysrus.com/product/index.jsp?productId=4133855) car seat that was rear facing and we changed him at 1. My daughter we will wait until 2.

The law is 1 AND 20 lbs, however they are strongly suggesting 2 years old.

Good luck

Updated

For my son, we had to buy a convertable ( like this one http://www.toysrus.com/product/index.jsp?productId=4133855) car seat that was rear facing and we changed him at 1. My daughter we will wait until 2.

The law is 1 AND 20 lbs, however they are strongly suggesting 2 years old.

Good luck

Still haven't. We have a RF/FF Britax and she will be FF when she is 35 lbs as that is the RF limit of the seat. My DD turned 3 in August and is about 30lbs. She fits fine.

Please consider keeping him RF til he is bigger. That's the bare minimum for turning and remember that many kids fuss about many things that are good for them. Check the seat to ensure he is still safe in it (size, weight, the straps are right) but don't turn him on the spot of 1 yr and 20 lbs if he's still safe in it, IMO. Give him some soft toys to play with instead.

I would take it back and invest in a convertible seat. Many now run 40lbs RF and 70 FF and will last you a LONG time.

If it is only a forward facing seat-it is not a convertible (as the other ladies have said).
Take it back.
Or put it in storage.
Your baby is not ready to be in this type of seat yet.
A 3 -in-1 goes from 5pt. harness to high back booster to backless booster.
This is the type of seat my 6 yo. sits in-it is not safe for a toddler-at all.
My son is 6 months older than yours. And 5 pounds heavier.
He sits in his Britax Marathon70 just fine rear facing. Just fine.
He's been sitting in it for over a year now that way.
Does he like getting in his carseat? Heck no. I fight him every day. BUT-it is because he simply does not want to get in a carseat. He would fight me no matter...unless I put it in the driver's seat. He is all boy. ;)
As far as their legs go...like I said my DD is in a Britax Frontier (like a 3 in 1 though it never goes backless-safer) still harnessed at 4' 50lbs.. And though her legs are a mile long they do not reach the floor. So what does she do?
Kicks off her shoes and crosses her legs up on the seat-because it is uncomfortable to have her legs dangling.
Put the infant seat away and go get a better seat...wait a minute...reverse that. ;)
I highly recommend the seat my son is in. It is usually the cheapest on Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Britax-Marathon-Convertible-Seat-Co...
I have owned 4 Britax seats, 2 Graco and 1 Evenflo.
Britax is far superior. Sunshine Kids and Recaro are also good brands.
If you have any doubt in your mind that your baby should stay rear facing check out Joel. Make sure to watch the video his grandpa made: http://www.joelsjourney.org/
And for the record I turned my DD on her 1st birthday.
But I knew better and I did better for my DS...he stays rear facing.
HTH!!!

I would not recommend keeping him in his infant carrier. I would buy a rear facing car seat that can be used both ways so you can turn it forward facing when ready. I have 4 Brittax carseats and I love them! A lot of them are made to go rear facing up to a certain weight so I'm sure he would be more comfortable. If you don't wait until 2 years old to put him forward facing that is fine but I would highly recommend keeping him rear facing at least for a few more months. The research is very accurate that it is much safer. Hope this helps!

All true convertible seats should be able to rear and forward face! 3 in 1s aren't the same as convertibles I believe. I would take it back! The safest seat in my opinion through research and experience in a fatality accident is the britax marathon. It rear faces to 40lbs then forward to 65lbs. I kept both of my kids rear facing until they were over two years old! Google extended rear facing for information on why it's safest! My kids are huge, they sat cross legged while rear facing, and they outgrew the infant carrier by 6-9 months old. Having to deal with a fussy child or not being able to hand them things may be annoying, but you would wish you were annoyed if your child died in an accident :( there are good deals on albeebaby.comand new in box on eBay.

If the seat is only front-facing, you don't have a convertible. It's probably a 5-point with the option of being used as a booster, which is really different. Anyway, we switched our kids when they were 20 lbs. and 1 year. They were immediately much happier. We once even switched in the middle of a road trip because the kid was so unhappy. It was an instant cure. I have a friend who kept her daughter rear facing until 3. She was a smaller kid, but I still have no idea how she did it! If you're only 10 days shy of his birthday, I see no issue with switching him around. It is much easier to get a child in and out of an infant carrier rear-facing, or a convertible forward facing. We never liked the convertible rear-facing, even though we had to do it for one kid due to how the seats fit in the car.

Keep your son rear-facing as long as possible because it's the safest thing for him. The American Academy of Pediatricians now recommends that children stay rear-facing for at least 2 years. We had a Britax Marathon convertible car seat that went up to 35 pounds so my daughter was rear-facing for 3 years and 3 months. She didn't have a problem with being rear-facing. She just sat cross-legged and was perfectly content. We turned her forward facing a month ago. My younger daughter's car-seat goes up to 45 pounds rear-facing so I imagine that she will be rear-facing until she is 4.

laws weren't specific about how a child had to placed in the car when any of mine were little. the older two were front facing from the beginning but tilted really far back (the car seat didn't fit in our sentra any other way). The youngest was only rear facing for a few months again due to the car we had, once we had a larger car that would fit a regular car seat and a booster seat for my daughter he went front facing.

Even had laws (or "suggestions") been in place for otherwise there is no way my oldest son could have stayed rear facing for 2 years. By 18 months old he was the size of the average 3-4 year old. My daughter and my youngest son wouldn't have fit either, even though they weren't quite as tall as their brother.

And for the record I know a couple of 40 year old women who according to the most recent recommendations should still be in booster seats.

I switched my daughter from an infant seat to a convertible car seat at 8 months and was able to get her rear facing. I've never heard of a convertible car seat that didn't go rear facing. If it doesn't, I'd take it back to the store and look for one that does. I switched my daughter to forward facing at 18 months.

If you can, I would try to keep him rear facing until 2. I just had my one year appointment and the DR said to keep her rear facing until 2 despite the law allowing sooner. My DD is 30 inches, 20.5 lbs and she still fits fine rear facing. She also does the stiffening, slight crying and general fussing. I keep a book and a couple toys in the back for her and this seems to calm her down. Hopefully that will work for you too! Good luck

I switched my daughter around a year old. Actually, I did it with all 3 of my kids. They all seemed to enjoy the car rides much more once they were facing forward. For me, that was honestly the main reason I did it. My kids all hated car rides. My 18mo old daughter still screams in the car! But, by turning them forward, it made a world of a difference. Obviously, follow the limits on the carseat, but do what you think is most comfortable for your child as well, while keeping safety as a priority. I would have been miserable every car ride had I kept my kids rear facing until 2 years old.

My 4 mo old is 18 pounds and very long and is fine in his rear facing snug ride. We had baby #1 rear facing for 18 months - he was really long too. Your baby might just not like the car seat, might not have anything to do with his size. Rear facing is much safer for the baby. If you ever get rear-ended and your baby's big head flops forward in a front facing seat, you may regret making the change.

A convertible car seat should also be rear facing. That's why it's called convertible.
I put my DD in a rear facing convertible at 8 or 9 months and she stayed that way until she was about 14 or 15 months old. Later, they started saying until age 2 is best.

My kids all become completely cramped by 9 or 10 months. They are all extremely tall for their ages (My husband and I are both 6 foot so it is to be expected). My recent baby just turned 10 months a couple days ago and is 24 pounds and cannot fit in her rear-facing AT ALL. I went and got a larger one only find that it would not fit in my car (I have a Pathfinder). Needless to say at 10 months she is in a front facing seat. My other 3 kids were converted at 12 months and 22+ pounds. I know that they are saying two years now but I have no idea how to do that, I have a hard time getting to a year.

My son is 16 mo and 22# - he just moved into a front facing seat. Some doctors are now saying 2 yrs old before putting the front facing. I kinda have to change him cause the carrier seat we have only goes to 22# and I am being induced tomorrow, so we need the carrier for the newest. I did talk to the doctor about it at his last check-up and she did agree that since I have to fit 5 seat (3 boosters, 1 5-point and a rear facing) in my car it was ok to put him front facing.

One of my kids I did have to upgrade the seat from the carrier to a rear facing 20-40# seat cause they were to long for the carrier, but didn't meet the 1 yr, 20# requirement for front facing... for their safety it is best to keep them rear facing as long as you can.

It was on his First birthday :) we bought him a new carseat and drove home from the store with him facing forward. He looked so much happier.

I switched my son when he was about a year old - this was 12 years ago.
He out grew his infant carrier at 6 months.
Being just over 9 lbs at birth, he was 18 lbs at 5 months and 25 lbs at 1 year.

I had to turn mine a little before they were one. I did not have a choice. Some of mine were born at almost 22 inches. (my husband is 6'2") My 14 and 15 year old are already 5' 9". For some of us forward facing had to happen earlier. I still felt that they were safe. You need to do whatever works for you :)

As soon as they outgrew the smaller one. But not until 1 yr. at least. I would switch your child around on their birthday.

I thought convertible seats were convertible because they were rear and front facing? Regardless, I moved my first daughter to forward facing on her 1st birthday b/c she was so darn fussy in the seat. I couldn't wait to turn her around... instant cure! But with my second, she was fine with the rear facing until about 14 months. At that time it just got to be too difficult to get her in the seat. She was too wiggly and it was become annoying to not be able to hand her snacks, drinks, etc. So we turned her around then. I know the recommendations are until 2, but both my kids are long (in the 95% for height) so I just couldn't do it. My best advice is to wait until he is one, since that is the law, then turn him around if you want to. Then, keep in him in a 5-point harness as long as you can.

I say exchange this non convertible carseat for one that is convertible have him rear facing as long ad you can and when you know he meets the forward facing requirements you can choose to sworn him around but if he's fine rear facing, well, better and safer for him.

No rush rlly.

Just make sure it's a convertible car seat not a 3 in 1 booster seat cuz I
think that's what you have right now.

I switched my DD when she was 25 lbs at 15months I think. And I switched het cuz in my tiny Honda coupe it was so hard to put her in while rf and even in the infant carrier And rf or FF they still fight being in the carseat but they have to sit in it in order to be safe so that's something totally nonnegotiable :)

Good luck :)
Hope this helps