Can i put dd in a forward facing car seat now? - she is 5 and half months??

[Helenemjay]

She is almost 15lbs and is getting heavy to lugg about in her car seat, so any help would be great!!!

Why are you lugging her about? leave the rear facing car seat in the car and just lift her in and out.

Think thye have to be around 19 - 20 lbs before you can put them in the forward facing seats. Why not just leave her rear facing car seat in the car and lift n carry dd the way you would if she was in a forward facing seat?

My bf's dd was in a forward facing seat at 6m but she was 20lbs+

they can't go into a foward facing car seat until they are 9kg which is normally around 10 months

My ds2 is 4 and half months old and he is getting really heavy. The other week we bought a car seat from argos for 0-4 years, my dh carries him in the carrier car seat but it is far to heavy for me. This new seat is both rear and forward facing, I think forward when there older, 9 months or so. Hope this information is a bit of use to you.

Good luck

My ds2 is 4 and half months old and he is getting really heavy. The other week we bought a car seat from argos for 0-4 years, my dh carries him in the carrier car seat but it is far to heavy for me. This new seat is both rear and forward facing, I think forward when there older, 9 months or so. Hope this information is a bit of use to you.

Good luck

she isnt heavey enough for forward facing seat yet. l;eave the seat in the car and carry her out.

I was told their skeltons aren't well-developed enough to withstand a crash until they reach approx 20lb.

I left ds in his rear-facing seat until he'd grown tall enough that the back of the seat was at his eye-level (apparently this is the point at which rear-facing seats stop being safe) - he was 12mo by then.

I deffo didn't carry him about in the seat by that stage - it got far too heavy months before. He was sitting up well before then, so it wasn't like he needed to be in the seat outside the car.

withstand a crash facing forward I meant. There is a risk the baby's neck would snap .

Here in the US we are told that they need to be rear-facing until they reach both the 1 year and 20 lb milestones because their head is still so big in proportion to their bodies until around 1 year that even if they have reached 20 lbs, there is still a danger to them if they aren't rear facing until then.

yes, I have read it is 20lb. Mine went in them at 13months and I had two to carry!! (twins!)

Apparently they are safer rear facing

Definitely safer rear facing, even beyond the 9kg/20lbs minimum weight to change. You don't have to use the carrier feature of an infant seat if it is too heavy or awkward, just leave it in the car and fix the belt each time, or you could replace it with a fixed rear-to-forward facing seat such as the Britax First Class liek red37

NO you cant..... well not if you want her to survive in a crash anyway...

also it would not be legal... Babies have to be in a weight / age suitable car seat, which at the moment means rear facing...

if you were in a crash you are rsiking breaking her neck, IF you decided to put her in a forward facing car seat.

No way.

Dd2 is 11mths and not yet 19lbs and although I am looking forward to being able to put her in a front-facing seat (nicer for her I think), there is no way I am going to take the risk of doing it. Will wait until she is 20lbs.

I certainly don't lug her around in her seat now - I leave it in the car and lift her in and out as required.

I was under the impression that the recommendation was rear facing unti 1 year old. You could change to a bigger carseat (one of the up-to-4years ones) but it should still be rear facing at this time.

I think it's size dependent, Soup, rather than age.

They recommend booster seats till they're really old, but my niece was bigger than I am - in both height and weight - on her 10th bday so she just goes in a seat as an adult female would.

DD1 was 13 months before she went into a forward facing seat (shes tiny)

DD2 - have never lugged her around in her car seat shes 4 weeks. It's a pain and too heavy.

The laws are going to change in May 06 regarding car seats. all children under 11 or 5ft must use a carseat/booster of some sort...

Helenemjay I'd leave her in it as long as possible.. or you could buy a combination seat that will go rear and front facing...

Can someone clarify this for me? My ds is nearly five months old but 22 pounds and now too big for his rear facing baby seat - howled every time I put him in it. So I've put him in a front facing one because weight wise he's fine - but is it also age related? He is now much happier and fits in properly which has made driving better for all of us but is this safe?

I think the age is very significant ragtaggle - it's to do with the strength of the neck muscles, and being able to hold the head in an accident. So I think it's 9 months or 20lbs, whichever is later.

just checked mothercares advice.. it states...

Infant carrier car seats - from birth up to 13kg/29lbs (birth to approx. 15 mths)

rearward-facing seat
baby is secured by the seat?s integral 3-point safety harness
seat is secured in the car by the adult seat belt or the Isofix? base lightweight, portable and with a carry handle, they?re called ?infant carriers?because you can remove baby from car without taking them out of their seat

Combination car seats - from birth up to 18kg/40lbs (birth to approx. 4 yrs)

use rearward-facing from birth to 10kg/22lbs or 13kg/29lbs depending on model - (approx. birth to 15 mths); then use forward-facing once your baby can sit up unaided, from 9kg/20lbs to 18kg/40lbs (very approx. 9 mths to 4 yrs)
baby/toddler is secured by the seat?s integral 5-point safety harness
seat is secured in the car by the adult seat belt

is that any help...

Raggletaggle, is he tall enough that the top of his head pokes out of the top of the car seat?

Was going to say the same as Katemum, if she is two heavy to carry in the car seat, leave it in the car. Babies should be rear facing as long as possible. My DD got far too wide for her car seat (length was not an issue) so we had to buy her the Britax seat that was rear and forward facing and kept her rear facing until she was 1.

when dd outgrew her first babyseat we got her the type that can be rear and forward facing

Thanks everyone, i have read all this and have no fear - i shall not be putting dd in a forward facing car seat until she is much older, i hadnt thought about the risk to her poor little head and neck in a crash - how she would support herself !
She is quite petite, its not really her weight thats the problem but her AND the car seat combined, plus i have a 3 year old and a 5 year old to chase about too and these little car seats are SO clumsy to carry about. I would never risk dd in ANY way though, i feel like wrapping all 3 of them up in layers and layers of padding every time i get into the car - there are that many nutters on the road it scares me!! Will have to go and look at some of those car seats that face rear and forward though like lots of you suggested!