The way I figure it...if I can keep both of my boys rear-facing in huge Britax Marathons in my tiny 2-door Cavalier...just about anyone can keep their kids rear-facing.
No offense to anyone, lol...but I really HATE that excuse..."my car is too small". I know all about having a small car. I have to climb over the rear-facing tethers to get in the backseat and sit between the carseats to buckle them in.
They are both over 1 year old AND 20 lbs. Would it be more convenient for me to turn them around, absolutely! Am I going to, absolutely not! Their safety is a million times more important than my convenience.
Okay, I'm done, lol!
Yes YES! I have a 2 door Honda Civic, to get my son in rear facing, I actually found it easier to climb into the backseat through my driver's side door and sit him there. I, too, sat in the middle to get him buckled most of the time. When my son was a year old, I had vaguely heard something about leaving them rear facing until they're too big for the seat, but it didn't seem all that important (at the time) to do so, so I turned him a month or two after his birthday, the first opportunity I felt like actually turning his Triumph around, lol. However, at 12-13 months, my son was already 24-26lbs. so it wasn't the easiest thing in the world. But putting in a forward facing child has a whole new set of issues. When you place a child rear facing in their seat, I find they kind of naturally end up sitting correctly. For the longest time when I put my 1-2 year old in his FF seat, he slouched too much (lack of recline, maybe?) and I had to either climb in to push his booty to the back of the seat, or try and do it while standing outside the car stretching my arms in. NEITHER was very easy! Puts all the pressure in my back and hurt like heck. Now that he's older, I tell him to put his booty to the back and I dont' have to do it anymore.
So FF in a 2 door has its issues, too, and how much easier it might have been to RF in something bigger...like what she has.
Amy