When do I need to turn her?

After reading this thread: http://www.car-seat.org/showthread.php?t=102897

I now am wondering how much longer I have rearfacing.

My dd is 32.5 pounds naked. Seat weight limit is 35 pounds. I have no idea what she weighs with clothes, coat, shoes, etc. hats and mittens will be coming up soon.

But unlike the child in that other thread, my dd is only 25 months old.

She is riding in a BLVD. The radian cannot be successfully installed in my car due to the seat belt stalk length (I've had a tech check it to be sure and she agreed. I don't know about the MyRide, but I do know our BLVD was purchased because she was getting too tallk for the Maxi Cosi Priori, and was purchased about 6 months or so ago. So even if the MyRide fits, I don't know that I can really buy yet another car seat.

Any thoughts? Do I need to turn her soon?

Well, you can assume about a pound or so would be added w/clothes and shoes, maybe a tad more. As for coats, she should never have a heavy winter coat on in her carseat anyways, so that's not really an issue. A fleece jacket is the heaviest thing that she can safely wear in her carseat (under the harness straps). They make carseat ponchos to put over her w/her arms through.

Personally, I wouldn't be too worried about it right now. She's 2.5 lbs away from the weight limit, and chances are that for the next few months or so, she'll be gaining height in her legs and not much weight. If she just had a big growth spurt, it could be a year or more before she even reaches 34 lbs. I'd wait and see what happens. They really slow down at this age. Depending on how tall she is, she may be too tall for the My Ride rearfacing anyways when she reaches 34-45 lbs. How tall is she now? Where is the top of her head in relation to the top of the BLVD? A MR would be a waste for my kids b/c they have long torsoes and are tall and thin--they outgrow everything by height first.

hths

henrietta

Hi there. That's my kiddo in the thread you referenced.

I weighed my DD with and without a typical outfit and shoes to find out how much to add to her naked weight. For her, a typical outfit includes jeans or sweat pants, underwear, socks, undershirt and a long sleeve t-shirt plus athletic shoes and a light jacket. This weighed about 1.5lbs. Swapping out the light jacket for a warmer one (not thick though) and snow boots, her apparel weight is up to 2lbs.

For a child that young, I'd wait until she's closer to 35lbs with clothes, but not necessarily shoes, boots or a jacket. These things don't need to be worn in the car (though I know it's often more convenient, I'm the first to admit that). Depending on growth spurts, it could take her a while to gain another pound or two, or it could be next week. Unfortunately for me, my DD's growth spurt is showing no signs of stopping. Hopefully your child isn't having a spurt right now.

I know it's a tough decision. Kudos to you for keeping her rear-facing as long as you have. :thumbsup:

ETA: I hope my other thread didn't alarm you or anyone else. Generally, a 32lb child not currently in a growth spurt will have a long time left to rear-face in a 35lb seat. There are many factors affecting my situation though, such as DD's age and preference (it's quite difficult to get her buckled when she's sitting the wrong way, locking her legs and having a tantrum about either wanting to face forward or not use the car seat at all).

I'm not sure on her height. She wears 2T pants, and 3-4T tops. I thought she was around 36" last measurement, but not sure if it has changed since then.

I'll just keep a close eye on the scale!

dd1 made it to 2 years 8 months rfing in a roundabout. I was hoping to make it to 3 for this one!

I think your answer lies in her growth pattern.
My 2 1/2 year old is a tank. We bought the MyRide thinking he could rear face until age 3, maybe longer.
He is now, however, up to 36 pounds without shoes (clothed) and it does not look like he will be stopping for a while. I think he is almost due for a fattening up for a growth spurt, too.
Will he gain 2 1/2 inches of torso or 4 pounds first? When will he do either?

I would wait a few weeks and weigh her again. If no change, wait several more weeks and so on. That's what we do with our boy. We pick a store at the mall and try 6 or 7 scales, take the average.

I feel your anguish. There isn't much to be done with large children in the US.

update:

She is now almost 2 years and 3 months (on 12/7).

Weighed her last night with socks, underwear and 2-piece PJ's. She was coming out around 33-34 pounds.

Weighed her this morning with normal pants, shirt, undies, socks, sneakers, hat, mittens, and lightweight coat. She was coming out around 34-34.5. Never had a 35 pound reading though.

I weighed her by herself for some measurements. Also did the method of weighing myself, then weight us together and taking the difference. Our scale is not very consistent.

It will soon be time for boots, but I would take them off her before putting her in her seat rfing since I don't want everything and her all wet.

Now what should I do? do I have more time or do I need to turn her?

I kept my daughter in her seat until she was over 35 lbs, it was summer though so she wasn't wearing heavy clothes.

At her age, I would not turn her. Sounds like you may have another pound to grow. You will have to watch her growth closely though and weigh her frequently.

Could you try her in the my ride? How much shell is over her head in the blvd? The two are very close in terms of shell height.

Most of the time the myride is an easy install. Could you sell the blvd to fund a myride? you might even come out making money on that deal, if you find a myride on sale and it's a newer blvd you are selling.

I love the myride. If it were my daughter that's what I would do. Good luck!!