# going crazy....car seat/weight question



## melissa1 (Feb 2, 2006)

my ds has hated his car seat from day 1 and i have always sat in the back seat with him. i have been trying to go places alone with him but when i close the door to go up front he starts crying so until i turn his carseat around we can not go anywhere without dh. ds was 8lbs at birth, 26 lbs at 1 year. when is he going to be 33 lbs so i can turn him around??????????? any guesses???


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## OllieMama (Jun 5, 2007)

Wait I thought it was 20 lbs and 1 year. Did I miss something? We're not at the 1 year mark yet so I'm not _sure_ of the rules but I could've sworn it was 20 lbs.


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## BoGiBoBo (Feb 7, 2006)

yeah, it's at 20 lbs and 1 year old that you can turn them around. Yay!!


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## RachelSerena (Aug 4, 2006)

probably she's going by the highest weight limit for the car seat.

for safety reasons, it is best to keep rear facing as long as possible.

my dd is 33 months and 33 pounds.

hth.

she's forward facing now.


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## TheAJs (Jun 29, 2007)

It IS 20 pounds, according to the AAP:

http://www.aap.org/family/carseatguide.htm

"All infants should ride rear-facing until they have reached at least 1 year of age and weigh at least 20 pounds. That means that if your baby reaches 20 pounds before her first birthday, she should remain rear-facing at least until she turns 1 year old. It is best for children to ride rear-facing to the highest weight or height allowed by the manufacturer.

There are 2 types of rear-facing seats: infant-only seats and convertible seats. Convertible seats can be used rear-facing for infants, and then turned forward-facing once your child is old enough and big enough to do so safely."

Although, they also do say it is safest for them to sit rear-facing for as long as possible...


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## hottmama (Dec 27, 2004)

Yes, the bare minimum is 1 yr. and 20 lbs. but most, including the AAP, will tell you that it is safest to leave your child rearfacing until the upper limit on their covertible carseat. I would not turn a baby forward-facing before 2 unless they were over 35 lbs. My son is 21 mos., 27 lbs. and rear-facing. He'll be rear-facing until around 3.

We try to drive as little as possible for environmental reasons, though, so we only get in the car 1-2x a week. We mostly ride bikes and buses for transportation.


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## alegna (Jan 14, 2003)

I would not turn a child around at 20lbs. Period.

To the OP- have you tried a different carseat? That sometimes helps.

My dd was 25lbs at a year. She's now 3yrs old and still under 33lbs









-Angela


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## melissa1 (Feb 2, 2006)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *alegna* 
I would not turn a child around at 20lbs. Period.

To the OP- have you tried a different carseat? That sometimes helps.

My dd was 25lbs at a year. She's now 3yrs old and still under 33lbs









-Angela

i have tried other chairs, i think it is more a matter of 1 - being locked in something and 2 - he is used to me sitting next to him while in the car. therefore when i try to go up front i think he thinks i am leaving. i have gone to the front seat and stuck my head back so he could see i was there but he continues to cry until i come back to the back seat.

we bought a signing time cd for the car and that has made car rides so much better but i still have not been able to go anywhere with just the 2 of us.


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## ThreeBeans (Dec 2, 2006)

Melissa, how old is he and how much does he weigh? Just so you know, many carseats now do not allow you to turn forward facing before 22 lbs, not 20.


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## melissa1 (Feb 2, 2006)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *ThreeBeans* 
Melissa, how old is he and how much does he weigh? Just so you know, many carseats now do not allow you to turn forward facing before 22 lbs, not 20.

my ds is 13.5 months and 26 lbs. i am not turning him. just wondering when he is going to reach 33 lbs which is when i plan on turning him.


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## Severine (Nov 5, 2005)

NAK
hard to say. dd is 27 months and 40 lbs, which is a whole other set of carseat problems.







She's been 33+lbs for at least 9 months if not more.


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## mackysmama (Jan 11, 2005)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *melissa1* 
my ds is 13.5 months and 26 lbs. i am not turning him. just wondering when he is going to reach 33 lbs which is when i plan on turning him.

I hate to say it, but it could be quite a while. My 5 yo boy still hovers at 39 lbs.

My dd hated being in the middle and in a bucket seat. She did A LOT better when I moved her to a rear-facing convertible and put her next to the window.


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## User101 (Mar 3, 2002)

Moving to family safety


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## ThreeBeans (Dec 2, 2006)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *melissa1* 
my ds is 13.5 months and 26 lbs. i am not turning him. just wondering when he is going to reach 33 lbs which is when i plan on turning him.

Oh, I understand. Let's see, my son hit 33 lbs at 2.5 years, but he was only barely 19 pounds at 13 months. So I'd reckon it'll be a bit sooner for you...maybe 2 years?


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## WhaleinGaloshes (Oct 9, 2006)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *melissa1* 
my ds is 13.5 months and 26 lbs. i am not turning him. just wondering when he is going to reach 33 lbs which is when i plan on turning him.

I can't say when your son will hit 33, but I did want to share that for my little car-hater, 15 months was the magic age when she finally stopped screaming bloody murder every single time we drove somewhere. She sometimes even likes riding in the car now (she's 24 months, 31 pounds and still rear-facing).

There's hope that he may change his tune (literally







) before he hits 33 pounds.


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## OllieMama (Jun 5, 2007)

What about height? My ds is pretty long already at 5.5 months. He's also already probably 24 or 25 lbs, but I can't see him having anywhere for his legs to go much past 1 year, whether or not he's 33 lbs. He's already relatively close to having his feet on the back of the seat.


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## Ammaarah (May 21, 2005)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *melissa1* 
my ds is 13.5 months and 26 lbs. i am not turning him. just wondering when he is going to reach 33 lbs which is when i plan on turning him.

It's hard to tell, but my daughter was about 23 pounds at a year and is about 30 pounds now at age 2, if that is any help. I expect her to hit 33 before she turns 3, maybe at 2.5 or so?


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## Patchfire (Dec 11, 2001)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *OllieMama* 
What about height? My ds is pretty long already at 5.5 months. He's also already probably 24 or 25 lbs, but I can't see him having anywhere for his legs to go much past 1 year, whether or not he's 33 lbs. He's already relatively close to having his feet on the back of the seat.

They sit cross-legged!

OP, my ds was around 24 lbs at a year and hit 33 lbs at 2 years, 1 month. OTOH, my dd was around 19 lbs at a year and hit 33 lbs at around 4 years. "Only" five pounds difference at a year, but a big difference in hitting 33 lbs. (Of course, dd still weighs only 42 lbs at 7 years!)


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## alegna (Jan 14, 2003)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *OllieMama* 
What about height? My ds is pretty long already at 5.5 months. He's also already probably 24 or 25 lbs, but I can't see him having anywhere for his legs to go much past 1 year, whether or not he's 33 lbs. He's already relatively close to having his feet on the back of the seat.

Feet on the seat don't matter. Dd sits with her legs crossed or in any number of strange positions perfectly happily. She's 3yrs old now and still rear facing.

-Angela


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## skaterbabs (Jul 31, 2005)

My daughter was 2 yrs 6 mos when she outgrew her RF convertible seat (by height and weight at about the same time.) She'd cross her legs, or prop her feet on the back of the vehicle seat. She hated being forward facing for a long time. And so did I - suddenly she would start yelling "Mommom! Watch out for that TRUCK!" in a terrified voice....over a dumptruck on the _other_ side of the center concrete divider....


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## Papooses (Dec 20, 2006)

My website (link in signature > "Newborn -- Preschool") explains why keeping kids RF until the *maximum* limits of the seat is sooooo important & the RF album shows many 3+ year olds happily/comfortably riding RF







Legs are not a safety concern: the spine is!

You could try a cheap seat to play with indoors as preparation for the vehicle.... This is the 1 situation (INDOORS) when a used seat would be acceptable







You could practice getting him used to longer & longer times in the harness, roleplay pretending to drive him around.

Before you leave you could let him choose a safe car toy, snack, etc.

Kids should never be turned before _at least_ 12 months AND (not or) 20 pounds & the only acceptable situation for turning right at the bare minimum is if RF becomes a distraction for the driver. Unless kiddo has a medical issue, I personally don't see excessive crying as a safety concern. It pulls at my heart strings, yes, but a funeral would be a helluva lot worse







: I do not condone CIO, but this is not CIO, this is about keeping one's child alive & I hate to say it, but I think you'll just have to learn to deal with the crying if nothing else works







:


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## keriberry (May 27, 2007)

There are no documented cases of broken legs due to RFing. And if there were, broken legs will heal. A spinal cord injury is forever.









My son is 4 years old, 30lbs and still RFing. He sits criss cross applesauce or throws his legs over the back of the captains chair. Here's a link to lots of cutie RFing toddlers and preschoolers.
http://cpsafety.com/articles/RFAlbum.aspx
You can see the different ways that they place their legs. Riding around with your legs dangling while FFing can cause back strain and their legs to fall asleep. Most kids prefer RFing.


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## the_lissa (Oct 30, 2004)

My daughter was around 25 pounds at a year and is now 32 pounds at 3.5.


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## melissa1 (Feb 2, 2006)

thanks everyone, it sounds like he could reach 33 lbs anywhere from 1-3 years from now


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