How close do you get to the RF limit??

Well my goal was always 3yr for my kids to RF or until the limit of there seats. I have MAs for all three kids and Dd1 just turned three last month and is sitting at 30#. She was fully clothed at the dr when she was sick with a shirt, long sleeve jacket, pants and shoes and she was only 31.5#. How close do you try to get to the 35# of RF or should I turn her FF and call it a day. I don't have the money to buy a higher limit seat so that option is out. Should I just weigh her monthly? She only gained 5# all last year. TIA

If she was 31.5 pounds fully dressed then you've probably got months left rear facing. I'd go straight up to 35 pounds rear facing fully dressed as that's what the limit is.

I turned Piper at 31.5 pounds naked. She was in a 33 pound seat.

Wendy

For a just-turned-3yo, I'd probably turn when she was 34# consistently.

For a 15mo, I'd weigh every day until the scale hit 35.0#.

For a 5yo, I'd flip at 33#.

This is not because of safety, but trying to strike a balance between being stressed about turning before you want and being stressed about weighing every time.

My dfs was 31lbs and change when I flipped him at 2.5...our seats when to 33lbs.

Personally, I get close. I had a 2.25-2.95yo in a MR, and he was 38lbs almost all of that time. I'd been certain he would outgrow by weight, but he got pretty close on height too by the end. He got up to 39.6, I was still ok putting him the seat but I weighed him frequently. I'm willing to weigh frequently to keep a child RF, especially if it's a matter of turning. In the end, I bought a RNSL, and while it's nice not to weigh, he still would have fit in that danged MR lol. (I bought it in May and planned to RF him through the summer -- we travel a LOT in the summer -- then pass down to the babe. I was praying he'd make it through summer, and he probably would have made it a full year.)

If I had not bought a new seat, I would have waited until the scale showed 40.1 to turn him. Incidentally, he's back down to 38.6, he gained that pound over Christmas, then lost it again, lol. But, I'm also comfortable knowing that there's some safety margin in there, and if a seat won't fail at 39.9 it won't fail at 40.0. I wouldn't knowing put a child in there above the limit, but I would *at* it. That's JMO, though, and I am not a tech.

One thought, you note 'when she was sick' -- how sick was she? If it's possible she had gone down a few pounds, keep an eye on her, she may regain that quickly.

She had a cold and ear infection. It was around her bday in feb and I've weighed her at home and she is 30# with a shirt and cotton pants on. I do want to keep her rf as long as possible cause we travel from Alabama to Indiana to see family and I feel better her staying rf. Thanks for the help. I hope to make it to winter if not her 4th bday in feb. We will see, I will just weigh her here and there to make sure she isn't 34#. Thanks

Ok, so not a tummy bug.

My J that I watch is the same age (2/07) and I was going to turn him around at the end of last summer... then when he turned 3... or when he hit 40lbs... and I just couldn't do it lol. He's not complaining (or very rarely) about RFing, so I'm not planning on changing him. So, I feel ya there.