My baby girl is almost 7 months old. She weighs 19 lbs and is about 28 inch long. Her car seat says up to 22 lbs andd 29 in. Should i wait for her to get to that point, or is it okay for her to be in a forward facing seat now? Her safety is my #1 goal! Any sites I can look up?? Thanks so much!
2006-09-24 04:08:43 · 21 answers · asked by Jm 3 in Pregnancy & Parenting ➔ Newborn & Baby
NO
SHE NEEDS TO STAY REAR FACING UNTIL 20 POUNDS AND ONE YEAR OLD!!!!
You need to buy a carseat that will go rear and forward facing so you can put it rear facing now and then turn it around when she is a year old. If she gains 10 pounds before the year is up.
2006-09-24 04:21:00 · answer #1 · answered by Marge Simpson 6 · 1⤊ 0⤋
I am having the same problem with my 6 month old. He is 21 lbs 11.5oz and 28" long. I saw my doctor 2 days ago and he told me that the law says both 20lbs and 12 months, not one or the other. He also said that rear facing is the safest way to go, and for me to keep him in the rear facing and for me to call the state patrol if I had any other questions, because if he gets way too big then we may have to find some other rear facing seat for his size. He said not to put him in the forward facing one until I have to because rear is the safest, in military vehicles the seats face backwards even, to impose the least amount of injury in a wreck. He also told me to call the Safety Belt coalition, below I put their website, you may be able to email them or find the answer on their site.
Good Luck
2006-09-24 04:37:39 · answer #2 · answered by dmercer12679 3 · 1⤊ 0⤋
What kind of car seat do you have? Do you still have her in an infant carrier car seat? If that is the case, it might be time to switch to a convertible car seat. One that doesn't detach from the car. This car seat can be rear facing until a year and then forward facing after a year. You can even use some of them as a booster when your baby gets older.
2006-09-24 08:57:57 · answer #3 · answered by TRUE PATRIOT 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
20 lbs AND one year old is that minimum to have her forward facing. Buy a convertible car seat, that is rear facing, then forward facing. Many of them can hold a baby rear facing till 35 lbs. My daughter was 22 months when we turned her around, due to her height. Keeping her rear facing protects the neck in a car accident.
2006-09-24 08:04:48 · answer #4 · answered by PLDFK 4 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Our daughter outgrew her "infant" car seat (rear facing only, detatchable carrier) months ago. She was just too long for it and cried when she had to be in it.
We looked around and tried her in a few at our local Babies R US. We found that the "Comfort Sport" by Graco was perfect for all our needs and very comfortable for her. It is a car seat that will grow with her.
The Comfort Sport is a convertible car seat. We have ti rear facing now, but once she has reached the forward facing requirements (20 lbs and 1 year old) , it will easily adapt to be a forward facing car seat.
If your daughter is comfortable in the seat she's in now, I would leave her in that one. Regardless of whether you decide to keep your current car seat of upgrade to a convertible seat, she needs to be rear facing until she has met BOTH legal requirements (20 lbs *AND* 1 year old)!
Good luck!
2006-09-24 04:34:50 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
I had 2 children that by the age of 5 montsh were very close to 20 pounds so for both I had a carseat that was rearfacing upto 40 pounds and used that. Bc personally i would rather use the 1 year rule as thier scull by then is fused shut and the reason why you put a child under 1 facing back is so their brain wont rattle as much if god forbid you get in an accident. So personally I go by 1 year rule. But your Ped might say okay to 4ward facing now as well as many ppl but personally I dont and wont do it. The theory of 1 year makes more sence to me bc a child can be overweight (like my 2 where) and thier sculls not fully fused
2006-09-24 04:15:37 · answer #6 · answered by Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ Mom2two Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ 7 · 2⤊ 0⤋
They need to be in a rear facing car seat until the age of 1 years old, because of their necks aren't stond enough yet. When you daughter does outgrow this infant seat you have for her you need to get a convertable car seat for her which is a rear facing and forward facing seat. The folks at the store you buy it at can help you with which one is best. In the state I live in your baby has to be at least a year old before you can have your child facing forward.
2006-09-24 06:31:00 · answer #7 · answered by Rosey55 D 5 · 1⤊ 0⤋
The law in the US is 20 pounds AND 1 year old - not whichever comes first. That is the minimum; if you want to be really safe, keep her rear-facing for as long as you can. My son is 25 months old, 28 pounds and 36 inches tall and he's still rear-facing. He has to keep knees a little bent but it doesn't bother him and it's not unsafe. We would all be safer if we were rear-facing in a car but obviously that's not possible.
2006-09-24 04:31:54 · answer #8 · answered by Maria E 2 · 1⤊ 0⤋
the general rule is 20lbs and a year old but my son was exceptionally long and at nine months he weighed 19 lbs so i bought a forward facing car seat for him. i went and done my research for what i thought was the safest one babies r us had and i got one that had all the extra safety features like the shock absorbent foam. i wasn't waiting 3 more months to switch him over because the poor child couldn't even straighten out his legs when he was fastened in the car. i know that could not have been comfortable or safe for him.
2006-09-24 06:21:55 · answer #9 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 1⤋
Your daughter should be at least 1 year before you turn her foward. Most experts are now saying that it may even be safer for children to face backwards till almost 2,which is why they're making carrier seats for children up to 30lbs. now. You can buy a bigger carseat that will work forward and backwards so that when she is older you can just turn the seat around instead of having to get another one. I hope this helps, good luck.
2006-09-24 04:41:25 · answer #10 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋