Carseat Question - Infant Care (up to 18 months old) Message Board

2fst · 12-07-2005, 08:19 AM

I am really confused and need some one to get me tsraight on this. I was under the impression that children had to be rear facing until one year of age and they weighed 20lbs. Now the other day I was reading an article in a gerber flier and in there it said they had to weigh 20lbs or be a year old. Now which is it? DS is 20lbs and needs to be out of his infant carrier. We are putting the carseats in tomorrow and I know DS woudl love to face foward but can I legally put him that way?

jmcummins3 · 12-07-2005, 08:37 AM

Our doc says 20 lbs AND one year. It's so much easier for them to be front-facing, but we were told that it is safer for them to be rear-facing until they are a year old. I don't know what the laws actually state and I'm sure it's different in different states, but safety-wise, we were told 20 lbs AND one-year. I also just took and infant and child CPR class to become certified and that was a point they stressed in the class which was also on the test at the end to get certified. Personally, I wouldn't risk it. My DD is 7 months old and 20 lbs (she outgrew the infant seat lengthwise at 4 months!) and it's rather difficult to maneuver a 20-pounder into a rear-facing seat, but we will do it until she's a year because we were told it's safer for her. It's certainly not more convenient this way.

andilyn · 12-07-2005, 11:08 AM

I also was told 20lbs and 1 year old. My DD was 20 lbs at 11 and a half months, so since she was so close to a year, we put her in the front facing seat at that time. And my DS is 5 and a half months now, and if he's real close to his first birthday like out DD was, then he'll start facing forward as well, but no sooner than then. They have the bigger car seats that can face backwards until you need them to face forwards, which might be what you have to do until the 1st birthday.

Karen62705 · 12-07-2005, 11:40 AM

As far as laws go, I have never heard of any about what way they face; just laws that they have to be in a car seat. I would guess what you read was a typo a big typo too because they do have to be 20lbs. AND 1 year for safety.

I did a lot of research on the safest seats and already purschased the "big boy" seat. I don't plan on installing it until mid Janurary, but it will be backwards. Like another poster said, I don't think it's going to more convenient but certainly the safest.

Ratatosk · 12-07-2005, 03:47 PM

I bought a child carrier/carseat that held up to 35 pounds and 30"+. I didn't want to have to deal with a snowsuit and a regular carseat in the dead of winter and used the carrier with a nano bag system. Worked great! Then when DS turned one, I switched to a regular forward facing carseat -- good up to 40 pounds.