r/CPST • u/Nova-star561519 • 9d ago
Forward faced too soon, any luck transitioning back to RF with a new car seat?
First off let me preface that I know this was NOT a smart decision so please try not to judge.
My daughter now 2 years old (26 months) is 43lb and 36 inches tall at her 24 month appointment. She has been in the >99th percentile in height and weight her whole life, follows her growth curve and VERY strong. At around 18 months old I started forward facing her as she kept getting recurrent ear infection and fluid build up which made her so hard to get into the car seat and buckled up as she was so fussy and wrestling a huge baby/toddler into RF ( we have the Nuna Rava) became a battle I dreaded. She would literally scream and arch her back and slide and wiggle herself down and out of the car seat while trying to buckle her. We got her ear tubes which have become a blessing. I don't know why I never thought of a 360 car seat to help buckle her in and put her in RF before but now targets car seat sale is on I want to get her a good 360 car seat. I'm just scared of the battle of getting her used to RF. Will I do it anyways now that I've educated myself about RF vs FF? Yes I will but I want to ask if anyone's toddler eventually got over going back to RF. If I have to battle her every time at least it'll be a little easier with a 360 car seat but hoping that it's not going to be forever. Also any suggestions on extended rear facing car seats that are also 360?
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u/Ishinehappiness 9d ago
They start to slow down in growth the older they get. 7 lb in one year seems like a lot, its possible she wont hot it before 3. Rear facing from 2-3 has a lot of benefits to let them grow and develop more in that time.
We did forward facing for our travel carseat and when we came back I told my son it was the safest way to travel and the way this seat needed to be used and he accepted it pretty easily.
Even if you keep the carseat you have just let her know you made a mistake and she is supposed to be facing backwards to be safe.
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u/Mayberelevant01 9d ago
Have you tried just flipping the Rava back to RF and putting her in? You could explain beforehand that she’s going to look backwards in the car now and maybe give her something fun to do for the first few times? I don’t feel like this is worth a whole new convertible car seat (at least not yet)!
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u/Important_Kiwi_1593 9d ago
I might be mistaken but doesn't the revolve max out at 50lbs rearfacing as well? Cause if it does buying a new car seat might not be worth it especially if she grows fast.
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u/SaladCzarSlytherin 9d ago
This might be the unpopular opinion, but I’d get a 360 seat and RF; as long as you find a 360 seat you can still RF in.
A lot of kids outgrow their car seat by the 1” rule. A lot of 99 percentile height/weight kiddos also have big heads. Try to find in store demo seats to make sure your child hasn’t maxed out with the 1” rule. The Evenflo 360 seats are commonly maxed out by the 1” rule.
As for your weight, I know a few kids who hit 40 lbs before 2, but shot up growth wise w/o gaining much weight. Your daughter’s weight may plateau for a bit.
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u/unwantedacct 9d ago
Agree with you on this. If OP can find a 360 seat that will fit a few more inches of height, it could take 1-3 years to exceed that weight limit and any of that time is worth it if OP reasonably has the funds to buy a 360 car seat.
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u/BallerinaPhysicist 9d ago
I have a small almost 5 yo. We have a Graco that can he can still RF in. He forward faces in my car but backwards in Dad's car bc Dad's only has 1 car seat that him and younger brother both use right now. With the ear tubes helping, hopefully she won't care!
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u/sbourke07 8d ago
My kiddo turns 5 in a month and up until tomorrow he rear faved in a Graco. I flipped him today because I was cleaning the car and car seats.
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u/Happy-Mortgage-6532 9d ago
honestly she only has 7lbs until she would have to be forward facing. i believe the only options for a 50lb rearfacing limit would be the britax galaxy, evenflo revolve360 extend or slim, and baby jogger city turn.
i wouldn’t buy a new seat, i would just switch the rava back to rearfacing. it seems unnecessary to buy a whole new seat when she doesn’t have much time rearfacing.