When did you change to a front-facing car seat?

[Pogger]

Just that really. Keep hearing conflicting things and am not sure what to do. DD is 7 months, so not a massive issue yet, but she's very tall and am not sure how much longer she's going to fit in the one we have.

Do the 9 month plus ones face forward automatically? If not, how long do you keep them rear-facing? What happens when their legs get too long?

So many questions!

We bought the front-facing car seat because DS was getting long and fat and screamed at being in the baby seat. It was a god-send at 8-months and we haven't looked back. He loves it because he can see the world and he looks so much more comfortable.
Can't answer about what to do with legs because we didn't even consider a rear-facing seat, I wanted to be able to check on his in the rear-view mirror and be able to turn around and see him and address issues like being sick if I needed to quickly - of course not when the car is moving!
Mine is 9m to 4yrs, Jane brand, iso-fix and I love it.

Thanks TurtleAnn - will have a look at that brand as I haven't come across it before. DD is also unhappy about going in the car seat (after being fine from birth) so am wondering whether she feels uncomfortable in it.

there is a new brand to the UK called BESAFE - distributed by the company who own grobag baby sleeping bags. They have a birth-4yr car seat which is rear facing (i think it can be put in either way but i am not 100% sure). apparently rear facing is 5x safer.

advice generally is to keep them rear facing for as long as possible. the maxi cosi car seats go up to a 12-15m iirc.

BeSafe info here

alternatively take a look at the britax combi.

We went front facing in DPs car at 12m and we are still rearfacing in mine car at 24m. I think my RF one is a britax fixway or nordic (I forget which).

The RF is very big in my little micra but I do find it much better; DS is tall but has lots of room and I don't need to open the door the whole way to get him in and out.

You should keep them rearfacing for as long as possible, in the baby seat is preferable because it saves money and it's more convenient (as can move them when asleep etc) - rearfacing is the safest especially when they are younger as a crash puts a lot of strain on children's necks.

If they grow out of the baby seat before you are ready to turn them forward facing (I decided not before 1 year as that is the limit in the US - totally arbitrary figure, but hey) then you have a few options, you can get a group 0/1 seat like the Britax First Class which is rearfacing until 13kg and then it turns forward facing from then on. Or you can get a Group 1 RF seat as others have mentioned on the thread. I have decided just to keep DS in his baby seat until he outgrows it and then get a FF seat. He is 17 months and still in it - they can fit into them longer than you think, because their growth slows down a lot at about a year.

They have only grown out of the baby seat when their head is level with the top of the seat OR they have hit the upper weight limit - for most baby (Group 0+) seats this is 13kg, but some of them (Group 0) seats the limit is 10kg. These are older seats and are being phased out. It doesn't matter if their legs hang over the edge or they can kick the backseat of the car - it's not uncomfortable for them, and in an accident it isn't unsafe either (though the slight risk of broken legs is probably preferable to the risk of a broken neck which can happen to young babies who are FF too early in the event of a crash) DS can move the seat slightly when he kicks the backseat but I am confident that the seat is installed correctly and not touching the seat in front so that isn't a problem either.

i phoned maxi cosi about this a few weeks ago as my dd also very long legs.

advise was keep rf untill at least 9 months because if ff in a crash their neck and head are not protected properly.

they told me that car seats first job is to protect the head and then torso as this is where most long term damage would be caused.

the only time they would consider advising putting a baby into a ff seat before 9 months is if the head is siting above the back of the head rest as the head is not then protected.

The longer you can wait, the stronger the neck and the safer it is. I waited til 14 months, my son is big but I went on the rule about the height of his head and moved him then.

yep. what bertiebotts said!

i have just uploaded a couple of pics to my profile of my lot in rear-facing seats

DD was in a rear-facing seat till about 2. She is quite small though. She used to cross her legs. I had also read it was safrer.

Thanks so much everyone. Really, really useful and brilliant to get such detailed responses, as well as links.

DD's head is definitely not level with the top of the seat yet, so have a bit of time. The yelling may be unrelated to the car seat (seeing as she also does it when I try and put her coat on, which definitely fits )

Will have a look at BESAFE and Britax - thanks so much for uploading photos thisisyesterday - but will keep her rear-facing for as long as possible, even if that means getting an interim seat & then another later.

Thanks again

Don't know if you have tried toys / food to help with the yelling?!? My DS, 11 months, likes looking at his battery operated mobile.

I've got my DD in a Besafe rear facing car seat, which will last til she's about 4. Its much better for them to break their legs than their neck. And she can see really well out the window (I get a lot of mums telling me I am mean because she cant see but she can see just aswell as if it were forward facing).

My son is 18 months and is still rear-facing. We have this car seat: www.mothercare.com/Britax-First-Class-Plus-seat/dp/B0038Q829O/sr=1-4/qid=1267402494/ref=sr_1_ 4/278-0005112-4124534?_encoding=UTF8&m=A2LBKNDJ2KZUGQ&n=44470031&mcb=core

He can rear-face in this until 13kg... which should take him to his 2nd birthday if he sticks to the curve on his growth chart! I think most seats in this style are rearfacing, obviously check before you buy.

As for legs, he seems to have plenty of space. I read that kids naturally sit with their legs bent anyway so if they do run out of space they'll just assume a comfortable position!

If you use Facebook you might find this group helpful: www.facebook.com/search/?q=brenda&init=quick#!/pages/Extended-Rear-facing/163276406540?ref=ts

i have just today turned my o-4 carseat from Rf to FF, but my ds is only 9 months and i would prefer to keep him RF. the reason i turned it is because the actual car seat slopes down towards the back and even when my ds's carseat is reclined to the highest position his head still drops forward when he falls asleep. i dont want to hurt his neck. we cant afford to buy a new carseat so are we stuck with keeping him FF now?