My 4 mo. old is 19lbs he is a few pounds away from outgrowing his car seat. Can he

A

Aneta

New member
use a forward facing seat? I know it is recommended that a baby stays in a rear facing seat for a year and/or 20lbs. My son is 19lbs already and only 4 months old. Any suggestions? Should I put him in a forward facing seat or not yet?
 
You cannot put him in a forward facing seat until he is a year old even if he meets the weight requirement. You'll need to buy a convertible car seat that can face both back and front.
 
Good to know. My son is almost 4 months and 19 pounds as well. I wasn't thinking of forward facing but was wondering what to do now that he is almost grown out of his rear facing. Thanks for asking this question and excellent responses.
 
no, no, no, no, no and no.
babies are not ready to switch to forward facing until they are 20 pounds AND 1 year old. and even then it is not neccesary. your baby may be big but being a bigger baby when he is that young would make it even more dangerous to turn him forward. his neck muscles are not developed enough to support his head in an accident. and because he is bigger, his head is most likely bigger as well, which means that it would be harder for him to support the weight. if you did get into an accident he would either be seriously injured or killed.
and you would also probably be arrested for child endangerment if you got pulled over. they have convertible car seats that you can use. these go up to at least 40 pounds and will still work when your child is old enough to be turned forward.
 
It's not a year and/or. It's a year AND.

I suggest getting a convertible one that faces both ways. My daughter uses a convertible one that goes from 5lbs to 40lbs I believe. I bought it at walmart for 70 dollars, so they are not too expensive. And anyway - You are going to need one soon as he is about to outgrow the infant one!

Good luck!
 
Look for a convertible carseat. They tend to allow for larger babies in the rear facing position and can be moved to face forward once your baby reaches a year old.

Its too early to have your baby facing forward; the guidelines are one year and twenty pounds.

Best of luck.
 
Depends wher u live, i am from australia and here we change them to forward facing at 8kilograms, and can support their heads, we dont have any law about it, but it does sound like a good idea and i wish australia was as strict as america!
 
An infant should stay in a rear facing car seat not only until 20LBS but also until one year. Is there any way you can adjust the car seat to make him more comfortable? I know my daughters rear facing car seat had several adjustable levels. You may have to invest in a better infant seat.

Driving with your son is the most dangerous thing you will do in a day with him, so you want him to be safe, also make sure his car seat is in the middle of the back seat.
 
NO!!! They cant ride in a forward facing seat until they are a yr old. They're neck muscules arent developed enough to take the impact of a crash until then. Its very dangerous. They have carseats that are called convertable carseats, they are like the regular forward facing carseats but u turn them backwards. Research convertable carseats they are inexpensive as well. You can get one from Wal Mart for like 50 bucks!
 
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