Okay, I don't remember when I moved MM from one car seat to the other, but I know I've got to do something about Little Bit. We went to the Outer Banks this weekend, and she literally screamed most of the time she was awake and in that car seat. The only way I seemed to be able to get her to hush was to give her a bottle or feed her puffs. I almost wonder if she wasn't getting car sick. She's still in the infant carrier type car seat. I went looking online and it says you can move them to the convertible type car seat at 20 pounds. I think she probably weighs about 17. The thing is, I can't figure out whether those convertible ones go frontwards, or backwards. Like this one: http://www.evenflo.com/Default.aspx...=0967b93d-ca99-479b-99cd-cb460e254ea8&navid=1 Now it says, once they reach 20 pounds, you can turn it frontwards, but carseat.org (a safety site) says they are supposed to always be rear facing until about 40 pounds. That doesn't seem right to me though, cause that's the weight of a 2 or 3 yr old and I KNOW MM was facing forward before that. Somebody please help me figure this out. My kid is miserable in that seat, and I have got to figure something out! LOL
When can I turn my baby around to face to the front of the car? NC Law does not say anything about when to turn a child around to face the front of the vehicle, so it is legal to turn a child around whenever allowed to do so according to the manufacturer's instructions. However, the American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that children should face the rear of the vehicle as long as possible, but at a minimum should not be turned around until AT LEAST 20 pounds AND at least 1 year of age to reduce the risk of neck and spinal cord injury. Infants who weigh 20 pounds before 1 year of age should ride rear facing in a convertible seat or infant seat approved for higher weights until at least 1 year of age. http://www.buckleupnc.org/laws_cps_questions.cfm
Baby kookoo has been in the convertible seat for a while now. I just couldn't stand to carry her in that infant seat. Too dern heavy and cumbersome. As for the forward facing... I just turned her around last week. She got so mad facing the rear on a trip we took to Myrtle beach. It was a one day trip and she didn't like the fact that she was in the car seat for such a long time. So we flipped and it helped for the rest of the ride home. She has just rode better forward facing ever since. BUT!! NO it's not time for her to be turned around. The rule of thumb is 20lbs, good function of their neck, AND at least a year old... if my memory serves me correctly.
if i waited until my kid weighed 40 pounds to turn his seat around, his legs would have been so long he'd have had his knees under his chin sitting facing the back, that's for sure...
I've left a message for the advice nurse at her peds office. Koo, did going from the infant seat to the convertible seat (even rear facing) seem to help at all? I'm okay with leaving her rear facing, but I have got to do something. She cried everytime we put her in that seat this weekend, it was just terrible!
Typically they state that it is 20 lbs. or 1 year old before they face forward...... I am sure some of the grandma's on here will state their thoughts, but I know at that age I was not even in a car seat much less rear facing. :mrgreen:
Jen, we got one that pulls down over her with the huge pad in front of her. Similar to this one: http://www.walmart.com/catalog/product.do?product_id=4875437 We had it from the first guy. Just recycled. :mrgreen: He liked it MUCH better than the other kind we had to start with.(like the one you had in your picture). I find the pull over kind easier for me to get her in and out of. But that's just my preference. And you can prop bottles up easier w/ a blanket.
Jen, my kiddo is 8 years old now, so my experience is a little dated. At six months old, he did weigh 20 pounds and had control of his neck (the little munchkin held up his head from birth) His legs were so long he was crunched up like a pretzel. Took him to our pediatrician for a check up and mentioned my problem and he told me to turn him around, that guidelines were there for the "average" kid, not all of them fit the "average". I felt a little strange turning him around before he was 1, but he was fine (and MUCH happier in the car), granted, we were never in an accident though. I guess just see what your pediatrician says. Also, another tip we discovered after many scream fests in the car on trips. Those car seats are HARD, there really isn't much padding in them. We put some egg crate foam under the cover where his butt would go and it made a WORLD of difference.
12 months AND 20 pounds = infant seat, rear facing. From there, I think a lot of parents kind of play it by ear...so to speak. We turned our son around soon afterwards and put him in a convertible seat. Then onto a booster at about 4.5 years old. I think. I spent a many a time wrestling with those darn seats. One problem we've had since the days of the convertible seat is neck support while sleeping and its grown worse in the booster. The youngins' head flops and leans all over the place and he's such a heavy sleeper, most of the time he doesn't even care. The falling asleep part is made worse by an upright rear seat. When he got older he also began declaring more independence. Now he won't sit in the middle of the back seat for nothing. He wants to be beside a window. As for what you'll do with your child...go with your gut on it. If you feel she needs to stay rear-facing awhile longer, keep it like that.
Well, the peds office just called back and they said the guideline is 12 months AND 20 pounds for forward facing. But....and I hope this doesn't make me a bad mama for saying so...I think we'll just see what works. I know I am definitely going to buy her a different seat. She HATES her current one. I'll try to keep her rear-facing as long as I can, but I am not going to go on another trip like that one! She's almost 6 months (can you believe it?) and has great control, so we'll see. Now I just gotta navigate through all these darn car seats...lol Thanks for the advice!
I also don't think DS just liked staring at the back of the car seat. He would cry from the time I put him in the car, till I took him out no matter where we went. I HATED to go anywhere! I'd be in tears too by the time we got where we were going. Between padding the car seat, moving him to forward facing and getting a mini-van he could see out of instead of a car, life got a whole lot easier.
I say you do what you think is best for her, and you, since you have to ride with her. You know her better. If she is 17 pounds (and I may get crucified for saying this) and she is happier facing forward, in the middle of the back seat, I say you do what a mom has to do.
Wait until they are ONE years old and 20 pds to turn them around ... That is very important because children can be injured badly when not faced forward at a young age and I work in the medical field - your heart breaks when you see broken collar bones and things like this from a blount force accident where the energy of a crash broke bones. The force of a crash is spread thru the car seat and the actual seat and is important for a child not fully developed with strong bones! Also I reccomend the Evenfol Triumph (5 pt harness)!! Have it rear facing until 1 year of age for more leg room and the bucket seat! (5 point harness is the best) This is what we did for my daughter! She is 4.5 yrs old and weighs 30 pounds, and we turned her around at 1! You pop them out of the car seat and into a stroller when you run around town but we knew we had her in the safest position and her safety was #1! we bought the eddie bauer 5pt harness booster seat recently for our daughter too! now that she is a "big kid" and she loves it! (we are big on consumer reports along with other safety ratings)....lol here is an article to read over! Great Article http://babyproducts.about.com/od/carseats/qt/rear_facing.htm
Our oldest daughter weighed in at only 32lbs. for kinergarten. She probably stills requires a booster seat (18 yrs. old now), glad she's out of town this week and can't read this post. Remember to take a break on long trips, about every 1 1/2 to 2 hours children need to be removed from the car to move around and get the blood flowing. Nerve damage can occur in the rump area when children are left in the carseat too long and this can result in paralysis.
I am really hoping that just the change in the seat itself will help. Poor baby is just miserable in it, and she's normally so happy! I've put a mirror up so she can see us and her reflection, and given her every toy I could find. Ugh!
You got that right! We drove all over the country with our kids playing on a blanket in the back of a station wagon. Car seat? What's that? 'Course, that was back in the 60's, and nobody wore seat belts back then, either. Well, except the Pettys et al, but only on the track!
Not sure of your family structure, but I can say with certainty that baby prefers to look at mama. If at all possible, ride in the backseat with her. If not, maybe dad could. Personally, at 6 months, I'd wait until 1 year old. Her neck muscles probably just aren't developed enough to endure a collision. Anytime my wife and I were going out of town, I'd usually do the driving and she would sit back there with our child up until 1 year old. Of course, we only have one, which can make a difference in seating. However, some older children maybe could graduate to the front seat as long as they are not sitting too close to the air bag.
I feel your pain, Jennifer. My 4 mo old hates riding, he's in the middle of a Suburban and can't see much. I ride back there on trips but he still screams. My older boys were unhappy at 10 months and that's when I turned them around, but they were bigger than most 1 year olds. The baby was a preemie and is small so he's got a while!
Wait until the year. It's tempting, I know. But if something happened, you would never forgive yourself. Try the mirror, there is also another toy that I had (if I still had it I would give it to you!) that has lights/music that sits where baby can see it - and has a remote for mom or dad to activate it.
I cannot remember when we turned ours around. Probably around 8 months. But of course she was a 10 pounder when she was born, so it didn't take long to reach 20 lbs. We have just took her out of that seat about a month ago. She was in the rear/ front facing car seat til then. I actually was not careless about it though just played it by ear and done what was comfortable for all of us. She was always in the center though.I am so glad she had outgrown it though.
