I had to FF my baby today

[cryswilkins]

We had our car breakdown today on the expressway, and my DH's uncle came to get us in his tiny contour and she just wouldn't fit RF in her MA. So I had to FF her.:crying: (she is with in the LEGAL limits, barley) I was so sad, it was the best option. She looked so unnatural that way. It just looked wrong, lol. I MAY have been able to get it to work RF with a lot of patience and time, but that didn't seem like the situation to try it in.

WWYD in that situation?

[mominabigtruck]

Well I've never met a car or carseat that I couldn't install in so I don't know that I wouldn't had that issue but it would depend on the circumstances. Were you on a busy highway on the shoulder or were you in a rest are or something like that? If you were on the side of the road I would've put the seat in as fast as I could however I could get it because being broken down on the side of the road is way more dangerous then being ffing imo. Normally people are way too busy gawking to pay attention and that causes accidents:twocents: If you were in a rest area or something like that I would've gone rfing.

[cryswilkins]

It was on the side of the road on a 4 lane highway.

[ThreeBeans]

It was on the side of the road on a 4 lane highway.

In that scenario, I would have ff long enough to get to a gas station/rest stop, and then gotten out and fiddled with it :twocents:

[NZ Child Restraints]

In that scenario, I would have ff long enough to get to a gas station/rest stop, and then gotten out and fiddled with it :twocents:

:yeahthat:

That is why i like th idea of the Brio Zento as it can be rf longer but used ff when needed to the same weigh limit.

[Niea]

I'd have just put it FF like you did. Sure, RFing is a lot safer, but it's not like the seat wasn't used correctly or that she's illegal riding that way. For one trip in an emergency, I wouldn't have worried about it so much. But that's just me.

If the trip home was a long one, I'd have stopped somewhere and tried to reinstall it RFing. But if you weren't that far from your house I'd have just left it be.

[cryswilkins]

I'd have just put it FF like you did. Sure, RFing is a lot safer, but it's not like the seat wasn't used correctly or that she's illegal riding that way. For one trip in an emergency, I wouldn't have worried about it so much. But that's just me.

If the trip home was a long one, I'd have stopped somewhere and tried to reinstall it RFing. But if you weren't that far from your house I'd have just left it be.

We were about 5 miles from home. Stopping to get out and reinstall would have been a moot point, we could have gotten home sooner.

[thepeach80]

I would've done what you did. I let Evan ride ffing sometimes starting at 18 mos or so when needed, so 22ish#. It's still weird to see him ffing and he's almost 3. I debated moving him ffing this next summer, but I don't think I can do it. lol



That is why i like th idea of the Brio Zento as it can be rf longer but used ff when needed to the same weigh limit.

I thought the Zento only ff w/ harness to 18kg?

[BookMama]

I would have done the same thing. But I'm surprised to hear that you had trouble installing it - I've had no trouble installing a RF FSVD (same size as Marathon) in my Mom's Contour. But hers is a 4-door, maybe your uncle's is a 2-door?

[ThreeBeans]

The idea of a seat with a higher rearfacing weight than forward facing is incredibly fascinating to me. LOL. :whistle:

[crunchierthanthou]

Honestly, I'm surprised it didn't fit. You might have had to install it fairly upright, but the MA fits rf in smaller cars than the Contour.

It's not about how long it would have taken you to get home if you stopped to fix it, but that she was 4 times more likely to be seriously injured or die if a crash happened in that few minutes.

Also, she's not legally old enough to ff in your state until next week. ;)

[Crispymama]

Im surprised you couldnt get it installed too. My BLVD installs RFing in seconds in my Contour, sure is a small car though.:thumbsdown:

[dd9736]

Aww, Crys, I know how bad you must have felt doing it. SEth is to light yet to ff (3more lbs), but if I had been in that situation, and he was big enough, I probably would have done the same thing.

[thepeach80]

The idea of a seat with a higher rearfacing weight than forward facing is incredibly fascinating to me. LOL. :whistle:

Supposedly Sweden has studies that show there's more neck damage to larger kids (over 40#) who use a harness ffing as opposed to using a bpb w/ seatbelt. Most of their kids go straight from rfing to bpb I believe.

[ThreeBeans]

Crystal, I bet your difficulty stemmed from simply not being familiar with installing in different cars rather than it truly not fitting.

As time goes on and you get accustomed to pulling the BV in and out, and fitting it in different places, I doubt that will happen again :thumbsup:

[joolsplus3]

Crystal, I bet your difficulty stemmed from simply not being familiar with installing in different cars rather than it truly not fitting.

As time goes on and you get accustomed to pulling the BV in and out, and fitting it in different places, I doubt that will happen again :thumbsup:
:2thumbsup:

[papooses]

Supposedly Sweden has studies that show there's more neck damage to larger kids (over 40#) who use a harness ffing as opposed to using a bpb w/ seatbelt. Most of their kids go straight from rfing to bpb I believe.

I would love to get my hands on a translated version of this -- I'm guessing that they aren't considering my 1997 Honda Civic HX 2 door in which the back seat occupant may not have 32" for safe booster use when the front seat is all the way back (& who wants to push the front seat closer to the dash in that little car?) :o or smallish tucks, etc. where a 5 point harness is going to reduce head excursion to reduce head/spine injury more than a booster....

[henrietta]

"Crystal, I bet your difficulty stemmed from simply not being familiar with installing in different cars rather than it truly not fitting."

I'm thinking this was the case, too. It gets easier the more vehicles you install your seat in, and on the side of a 4 lane highway is definitely not the best location to learn in. I'd have gotten it in however was the safest and quickest install...in fact, even with me having installed our Decathlon and FPSVD in loads of cars, I'd still have turned it around ff'ing for ds in that situation, b/c it's much easier for me. I'd have fixed it later.

henrietta

[chickabiddy]

I don't mean to be a PITA, and I'm not sitting in judgement, and what's done is done -- but if your baby hasn't had her first birthday, she is NOT within the legal limits to be forward-facing. I'm writing that to correct publicly posted misinformation, not to wag my finger.

[tiggercat]

WWYD in that situation?

Well, what would you have done if she had been 15lbs and 6 months instead of (almost) at the bare minimum allowed for forward facing?

I would have done the best install that I could have RFing in order to get home. I've not yet found a car that I can't get a passable install with an MA RFing.

[joolsplus3]

I don't mean to be a PITA, and I'm not sitting in judgement, and what's done is done -- but if your baby hasn't had her first birthday, she is NOT within the legal limits to be forward-facing. I'm writing that to correct publicly posted misinformation, not to wag my finger.

In what state? Legal limits are state-dependent. There's nothing illegal about FF in a Britax under age one, unless the state says so. :(

[crunchierthanthou]

I believe the OP is in a 1 and 20 state. Even if it was just a proper use state, Britax does say it can only be used rf when the child is still under age 1.

[ThreeBeans]

MA is a 1 and 20 state.

[joolsplus3]

Nothing in her siggy says what state she's in, which is why I said that :)

[chickabiddy]

In what state? Legal limits are state-dependent. There's nothing illegal about FF in a Britax under age one, unless the state says so. :(

You are correct; I had ASSumed that since legal limits were mentioned, there was a proper use clause or similar. IME (which of course is not comprehensive), when there *are* legal limits, they are 1 and 20.

[azgirl71]

You did what you could under the circumstances :) I am sure you are back to RF.

[andbabiesmake4]

You did what you could under the circumstances :) I am sure you are back to RF.

I agree.. it's not like you're cruising around with her FF.

[dd9736]

It's better to have her in a properly installed ffing seat, than have the MA in very poorly rfing, do you not agree?

[CRS]

I thought the Zento only ff w/ harness to 18kg?

Yes that's right :) RF to 55lbs, FF to 40lbs or a booster to 55lbs :)

[cryswilkins]

Wow that started a bit of a debate, that was not in anyway my intention.

Let me just clear things up.... Yes I am a 1 and 20 state (MI) Zoe will be one on Friday, but is about 23 lbs not technically legal, buy I made a judgment call. Yes, with time I probably could have gotten it in RF. It was about 40 degrees out on the side of I-96, I was not going to mess with it for an hour, the situation was frustrating enough. We had already waited for the tow truck and for my DH's uncle to come get us (he is 30 minutes away) because I refused to have her on my lap in the front seat of the tow truck which the tow truck driver offered as an option. If she was only 6 months old, there was now way I would have FF her, I would have sent my DH with his uncle to go get his car and then gone home that way. In the situation at hand I thought that was a bit extreme, but that is JMHO.

I also in no way intend this to be snarky, and I am sorry if it sounds that way. :)

[snowbird25ca]

What do the current US britax manuals say for age to ff? The new CDN MA manual doesn't say that a child MUST be 1 to use it ff'ing, in the warnings section it says it's highly recommended that children stay rf'ing until their first birthday, but the only requirement is height and weight. I was disappointed to see that in the new manual because I'm sure in my 48lb manual it says 1yr old to use the seat ff'ing.

[crunchierthanthou]

What do the current US britax manuals say for age to ff? The new CDN MA manual doesn't say that a child MUST be 1 to use it ff'ing, in the warnings section it says it's highly recommended that children stay rf'ing until their first birthday, but the only requirement is height and weight. I was disappointed to see that in the new manual because I'm sure in my 48lb manual it says 1yr old to use the seat ff'ing.

You're right, the current manual (http://www.britaxusa.com/support/documents/Boulevard_P276100_R2.pdf)doesn't say must.

page 2- Infants should remain in a rear-facing child restraint for as long a possible. The American Academy of Pediatrics and Britax recommends rear facing until at least 1 year of age and 20 pounds.

but then on page 6-
Weight Range
Rear-Facing
Weight 5-33 pounds (2.3-15 kg).

Forward-Facing
Weight 20 pounds (and 1 year) - 65 pounds (9-29 kg.)

Do your stickers reflect that wording?

[joolsplus3]

Niiiice...that's a big improvement over the old ones that didn't say a year :)

[chickabiddy]

Wow that started a bit of a debate, that was not in anyway my intention.

Let me just clear things up.... Yes I am a 1 and 20 state (MI) Zoe will be one on Friday, but is about 23 lbs not technically legal, buy I made a judgment call.

I wasn't arguing with your judgement call. I wasn't there.

Lots of people read this board. It made me very uncomfortable to read the misinformation that a child still under 1 was "within the legal limits". She wasn't. People need to know that.

[BookMama]

Yes I am a 1 and 20 state (MI) Zoe will be one on Friday,

Actually, Michigan is not a 1/20 state. Michigan law only states that children must be restrained in a properly installed car seat until their 4th birthday, at which time seatbelt-only is legal. There is no mention of rear-facing, though of course technically you must RF to 1/20 since no recent car seat allows FF before 1/20. No booster law, either.

(Can you tell that I hate Michigan's laws? I see SO MANY little 4-year-olds in just seatbelts :( - my DS would have been legally allowed to use a seatbelt when he was just 34 lbs/39". Crazy! I just want to close my eyes when I pick my kids up from school/day care.)

[cryswilkins]

Actually, Michigan is not a 1/20 state. Michigan law only states that children must be restrained in a properly installed car seat until their 4th birthday, at which time seatbelt-only is legal.

Really? I didn't realize that.

[crunchierthanthou]

Yeah, I thought you were in WI when I was saying 1 and 20. :o My mistake. so close, and yet... :doh: