anyone else with a 20 lb 2yo?

kitkatkc · Nov 27, 2010

I haven't really introduced myself- I'm Laura and I have two kiddos- Ellie and Greg.

Ellie is almost 27 mo, and weighs in at about 20 lbs, give or take, so legally she HAS to sit rear facing, correct?

Currently she is in a Britax Marathon, which is our back-up seat, because our Recaro harness adjuster broke. :thumbsdown:

I just ordered her a My Ride, though, so she will be in that as soon as it comes! I am actually glad that we were able to replace the seat, since I HATE the Recaro RF. My nieces are in them FF, and I LOVED the seats and installation, so I got one for DD. She is somewhat long-torsoed, but as tiny as she is, I don't think that her height will be an issue for fitting in any seat!

So, does anyone else have such a small LO? I have been asked by family recently why we ERF Ellie, since she is TWO now, but I have been telling them that the law is over one AND over 20 lbs. (which she technically is, but she is so close I still just play that card)

My DS is in a more "average" growth curve- he is 13 lbs at 5 mo, and in a Chicco KF30. I will probably put him in a convertible seat when he is around 1 or so, like I did Ellie- once I stop taking the bucket out of the car, I just don't really like the seat so much anymore.

Ok, so that turned out longer than I thought, but just a quick intro to my kiddos!

sunnymw · Nov 27, 2010

Some seats have 22lb or 23lb limits for forward facing, and all Dorel seats cite a 34 or 36" height minimum, IIRC, so you may well be able to use the legal limit excuse for awhile yet

The MyRide is a great seat. DH thinks the cover selection is less than ideal, but if I needed one, I'd get one in a heartbeat!!

Tell your family members that you just met several new friends who have their 4.5yos rear-facing

wendytthomas · Nov 27, 2010

In your state I don't think you have a 1 and 20 law. Most states don't, and I didn't see one on your state's buckle up site. And your law states an appropriate seat. There are no seats that are appropriate for forward facing under 20 pounds, so yes, it's illegal for her to forward facing until she hits 20 pounds. Once she does, though, it'll be legal for her to do so, provided the seat she's in has a 20 pound minimum weight for forward facing. Several are 22 pounds, and some are 23 or 25.

Piper was 21 pounds at 24 months, so small, but not as small as your little one. Laine is my heavy baby at 20 pounds at 14 months. A relative chunker compared to Piper.

Wendy

mommyof3tx · Nov 27, 2010

From what I understand the law is technically 1 and 20lbs...not over so she could legally, but of course we know it's safer to still be RF. I would try showing some videos if you want them to understand why she still sits RF

I have a pretty small son, he's 3 now but at 2 he was about 22lbs so a bit bigger than her still. He finally hit a good growth spurt and he is 39mo and about 29-30lbs now so he's a bit small but caught up a lot now

swtgi1982 · Nov 27, 2010

My DS was 24lbs at 2yr old and still is 24lbs at 3.5yr old.

My niece will be 2yr old in January and she is 19.5lbs and my Brother and SIL insist on driving illegally, their seat has a 22lb minimum for FF and they still use it FF for her.

Mommy2Marcus · Nov 27, 2010

I have a smaller child. He is 4 years old & weighs 35lbs or under fully dessed. He weighs about 33-34lbs in just undies. He is however pretty tall for his age at 42 inches tall. He is in the 75-80%. He can still wear a 24 months in the waist, but needs a 4T or 5T for the length. It is quite fun to find pants to fit him.

As for the RF thing. I had him RF till he was 3 years & 4 months. I got asked several times why I still had him RF. I simply told them it was b/c it was safer for him to RF than it was for him to FF at that time. Sometimes I got told I was crazy & others I got asked for more information.

Evolily · Nov 27, 2010

mommyof3tx said:
From what I understand the law is technically 1 and 20lbs...not over so she could legally, but of course we know it's safer to still be RF.

It depends on the state- I think a couple states may specify something like 1 & 20 for forward facing, but not the majority. Many states are "proper use" states, because no seat allows children to forward face before 1 & 20 it is illegal to do so in those states

.

OP- I would transition to saying "we are still rear-facing because it protects her head and neck more than forward face would." If they have more questions and use the internet I'd suggest sending this video

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sssIsceKd6U"]YouTube - Rear facing vs forward facing position in the car[/ame]

christineka · Nov 27, 2010

My dd3 made it to 20 pounds at 22 months old. It is illegal to forward face before the car seat says you can and there is no car seat which allows a child under 20 pounds to forward face. Rear facing is safer, though. My dd3 rear-faced to over 5 years old. She'll be 6 soon. Sometimes she rides forward and sometimes rear-facing. She's fine with it and fits comfortably. She rides in a radian.

babyherder · Nov 27, 2010

I don't have any kids but my cousin was just over 20 lbs (I think) at age 2. My babysitting "baby" was 40lbs around age 5. Its easier and cheaper to keep them in carseats when they're small!

wendytthomas · Nov 27, 2010

CelticLabyrinth said:
It depends on the state- I think a couple states may specify something like 1 & 20 for forward facing, but not the majority. Many states are "proper use" states, because no seat allows children to forward face before 1 & 20 it is illegal to do so in those states .

There's at least one seat that states 20 pounds, but offers no age limit. So in a proper use state it'd be legal to forward face a nine month old who is 20 pounds. But not for long.

Graco Comfortsport. I don't know if the My Ride shares the lack of wording about age as well.

Her state doesn't list an age, just that under four they need an appropriate restraint, and from four to eight, unless they're over 80 pounds or 4'9", they need an appropriate restraint or booster.

Wendy

mum2two · Nov 28, 2010

My son has a classmate in his preschool who is 4 now, she is 21lbs, she is a teeny tiny peanut. I know that she has been FF in her MA for at least a year.

fyrfightermomma · Nov 28, 2010

I had a little one. My oldest hit 20 lbs around 2 1/2. I kept her RFing since she was so tiny until her 4th bday. She was 23 lbs and met the minimum for our seat at that time to FF.

Id just tell others who ask that your are doing it for the safety benefits and that its recommended to RF as long as possible. And then change the subject lol

Shaunam · Nov 28, 2010

fyrfightermomma said:
Id just tell others who ask that your are doing it for the safety benefits and that its recommended to RF as long as possible. And then change the subject lol

Yup, don't worry about what other people think. Tell them the truth...it's much safer!

I have a 22 lb 3 year old, but she is ff'ing now for many reasons. I have no idea what the minimum weight limit on her seat is for ff'ing. I suspect 20 lbs though since it is a graco. No one is surprised I kept her rf'ing "so long" though since she is non-ambulatory and has a lot of health problems.

henrietta · Nov 28, 2010

DS 1 was a little over 20 lbs at 2 yrs old...I don't remember exactly...but I kept him rearfacing until he was 3.5, when he outgrew his seats rearfacing by *height* not weight (he still didn't weigh even 33 lbs, which was the limit on one of his seats). At 5.5, he only weighs 37 lbs...but my 28 mos old weighs 32 lbs or more! LOL My 5.5 yr old is still harnessed and will be for awhile yet.

henrietta

Kat_Momof3 · Nov 28, 2010

just tell them... she's comfy and happy, the seat accomodates rearfacing to ___lbs, and the AAP and research says rearfacing is safer.

But at the end of the day, I think the main point is that she's comfy and happy... why fix something that isn't broken, right?

kitkatkc · Nov 28, 2010

yes, in our state, it is a "safe use" law, and kids under four must be in a harnessed seat, under 8 in a booster.
So, technically, I could FF her in the My Ride, since it says forward facing from 20-65 lbs.
Mostly with my family I do just say that it is safer, and leave it at that- for better or worse, everyone in my family treats Ellie like a baby even though she is almost two and a half, just because she is so small. I try to stay out of it with my family, though, because when my niece turned one, my SIL turned her around, and I tried to explain why she should be RF, and sent her videos, and it turned into an all-out war, and SIL said I was accusing her of being a bad mom, so I just don't talk about it anymore. Her youngest just turned one, but I haven't seen whether she turned her seat or not.

We don't have the MR yet, got the shipping notice yesterday! DH thinks I am crazy being so excited aobut new seats! I got DD the MR cuddle, and it is just so dang cute!

On that vein, however, is there a good site to find where I can get a tech check out my install? We are going OOT on the 10th, and I want to make sure that I can install her seat (we will be using the scenera when we travel) quickly, as I will have to do it in the LAX parking. (hopefully my IL's will remember to park, the airport security are nuts, and will ticket you if you sit for too long at the curb, even if you happen to be installing a car seat!)

wendytthomas · Nov 28, 2010

You can see if there's a board tech near you. http://www.car-seat.org/showthread.php?t=59135&highlight=technician Or look for a fitting station. http://seatcheck.org/

Wendy

urchin_grey · Nov 28, 2010

Not anymore, but I used to.

Until last summer, his seats were the True Fit and the Scenera, which have slightly higher limits than just 20lbs so he wasn't legal to FF in those seats until around 4. He's 5.5 now but we still have him RF because we suspect he has a growth disorder. We are TTC so it would be nice to be able to get him a FF seat and just pass down the convertibles, but we're waiting on his bone age scan before we make any decisions about turning him.

An Aurora · Nov 28, 2010

Scarlett was 19 pounds on her second birthday and hit 20 pounds around 26 months. She was RF until 3, when we turned her for escaping issues, but went back to RF'ing at 3.5.

StPaulMom · Nov 28, 2010

Both my kids are lightweights, but above average for height. My DD (also named Ellie!) didnt hit 20 lbs until after she was 2. She's now 5 and only 35 lbs. My DS will be 3 in 2 weeks and weighs about 29 lbs, but was about 21 lbs at 24 months.

Because mine are skinny but taller, the TrueFit is a wonderful option. My 3 year old is still very comfortably RF in the TrueFit and nowhere near the 35 lb RF weight or height limit. My DD is right at the weight limit for RF (so obviously isnt RF in it) but is still well within the RF height.

anyone else with a 20 lb 2yo?

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