Car seat question for bigger babies?

I thought about it but was advised not to. I left her backwards until she was 1 and 20lbs. Some people leave their kids backwards for years. I guess it has to do with what kind of car seat you have and how much space it will leave for their feet.

I feel your pain - my preemie son was 6lbs 12 oz, lol. But his legs handing over or bending is not at all dangerous. I'm not that interested in the legality of it either - the law only outlines the bare minimums. Lost of things are legal that aren't safe. I wouldn't even turn him forward at 12 months/20lbs. Its just not worth the risk.

The old 20lbs/1 year rule is just that. OLD. It came about in the 1980's when our seats were only capable of rear facing to 20lbs and we didn't know any better. Now we definitely know better and all current convertible seats rear face to at least 30lbs, but its hard getting people to realize this.

Turning kids forward at 20lbs/1year is an outdated practice that could cost you your child's life!

1)A forward-facing child under 2 years old is 5 times more likely to be killed or seriously injured in a crash than a rear-facing child of the same age.

2)A child's vertabrae do not fully fuse until 3-6 years old, before then, she is at great risk for internal decapitation. The spinal column can stretch up to 2 inches in a crash BUT the spinal cord can only stretch up to 1/4 inch before it snaps and baby is gone.

3)Current research suggests that children under the age of two years are 75 percent less likely to die or be seriously injured when they are riding rear facing.

4)In a recent article from Injury Prevention, it was found that the odds of severe injury to forward facing children age 12-23 months old was 5.32 times higher than a rear facing child. (Car Safety Seats For Children: Rear Facing For Best Protection; Injury Prevention 2007; 13:398-402.)

It works this way: when you get in an accident and run into something, the car stop suddently, but everything and everyone in the car keeps moving in the direction the car was moving when it stopped, in most accidents, this is forward. So in an accident with a child in a forward facing seat, his head, the heaviest part of the body on babies and toddlers, flies forward very forcefully and easily snaps. If that same child is in a rear facing seat, his head tries to fly forward but is supported by the back of the rear facing seat, so there is no stress put on the child's neck and spine.

Check out this photo album exclusively of rear facing kids, many of them much older than 12 months: http://www.cpsafety.com/articles/RFAlbum.aspx There isn't a single documented case of a child breaking their legs b/c they were rear facing in an accident. There are, however, lots of cases where children have been killed and seriously injured where a rear facing seat would have protected them better. And most kids actually prefer to be rear facing b/c they can rest their feet on the vehicle seat back. When they are forward facing, their legs don't receive enough support and will frequently fall asleep.

WHY REAR FACING:

http://www.carseat.org/Resources/633.pdf

In the foreground is a forward facing seat, in the background a rear facing seat. You can see how much trauma the forward facing dummy has to endure. The rear facing child simply rides it out.

http://www.oeamtc.at/netautor/html_seiten/kisitest...

Here's another video. You can see how there is NO trauma to the baby, it simply sits there waiting for it to end.

http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v163/jen_nah/car...

P.S. the seat may 'say' to 100lbs, but keep in mind the harness only goes to 40lbs (Assuming you've got an Alpha Omega Elite or 3-in-1, and that most kids outgrow them at 2-3 years old b/c of the incredibly short harness height. The top slot is only usable in booster mode, making the top usable slot only 15" tall. Unless you just got the brand new AOE/3-in-1 that goes to 50lbs.

Wait till he is at least 12 month old. Although tempting is not worthy the risk. Try to find a better car seat. I have a big baby too. At 9 month he was 25 pounds. He is 11 month old now and still rear facing. Time pass so fast...soon he will be using a booster seat.

My daughter is long and her feet kind of cross in front of her. We still have no intention yet of reversing her seat. It's just safer and she doesn't complain about it. If it bothered her that would be a different story. Is your son ok or does it hurt him to face backward? Do what you feel is best for you and your son. If it hurts him then i would think about turning it around. Good luck

Forget the law then, focus on your child's safety. Your baby's neck and spine are not developed enough to handle the impact of a car crash while forward facing. The whiplash can internally decapitate them at that age. Legs being bent is not a reason to forward face.

"There is not a single documented case of children's legs, hips, etc. breaking or being injured in a crash due to longer rear-facing."

http://www.cpsafety.com/articles/stayrearfacing.as...

it's not about size- my son is 17 months old and is still rear facing because it's safer- i'd rather his legs be a little squished than him be internally decapitated. it's the LAW they have to be one year AND 20 pounds. forward facing puts them at risk for internal decapitation and other spinal injuries

my car seat goes up to 80 pounds but 35 pounds rear facing

I turned my son's seat around at 6 months because he was too long and was crunched our car had bucket back seats so it made thing worse for him. I made sure he was a car seat I felt he was safe in and he did just fine.