One Year Stats

Alexa had her one year check up today. She weighs 19 lbs 7 oz and is 30 inches long. That puts her at the 30th percentile for weight and the 70th percentile for height. The doctor declared her tall and skinny but healthy. She has 6 teeth right now; the doctor said it looked like a molar was starting to come in. Just for comparison because it amuses me, Caleb weighed 21 lbs 12 oz and was 32 inches long at one year. She had 2 shots and did well with them. The doctor has changed the vaccine schedule a bit, so she goes back at 15 months for more shots instead of getting them all today.

I'm actually kinda glad that she is not 20 lbs yet because it is not even legal to turn her car seat around until then. The nurse did ask if her car seat was forward facing yet before she had weighed her, and I responded that I didn't think she was 20 lbs yet. I'm not sure how I'll respond at her next appointment, as I don't plan to turn her car seat forward facing until she is 2. Actually, the American Academy of Pediatrics recommends keeping a child rear facing until the limits of his seat, which is usually 30-35 lbs. Here are some links why.

Here's lots of info on why it's important to rear face to the limit of your baby's convertible seat. Usually 33 or 35 lbs. Take the time to check it out. It could save your baby's life.


The importance of rear-facing

Why You Should Consider Rear-Facing Your Child Past the Minimum of 1 Year and 20 Pounds

Our favorite link:
“Rear-facing – Unmatched Safety” A fairly comprehensive article from CPSafety.com
http://www.cpsafety.com/articles/stayrearfacing.aspx

MSN Article “Child Car Seat Advice Questioned”
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/9916868/

You Tube Video “Benefits of Keeping Baby Rear-facing”
http://youtube.com/watch?v=kRP7ynNI8mI

“Why Rear-Facing is Safest” A fairly comprehensive article from Car-Safety.org
http://www.car-safety.org/rearface.html

AAP (American Academy of Pediatrics) Policy
Highlight of the policy - for optimal protection, the child should remain rear facing until reaching the maximum weight for the car safety seat, as long as the top of the head is below the top of the seat back
http://www.aap.org/family/carseatguide.htm

Rear facing information from The Car Seat Lady
http://www.thecarseatlady.com/car_seats/rear-facing_seats_6.html

Why RF is Safest Even in Rear End Collisions
One Family’s Story of Being Rear-Ended While at a Stop by a Car Traveling at 60-65mph

http://myangelsaliandpeanut.tripod.com/id5.html

A childs' vertabrae do not fully fuse until 3-6 years old. Before then, he/she is at great risk for spinal injury. When rear-facing in a crash, the forces are spread out among the strong carseat shell and baby's strong back. The harness holds baby down in the seat and he/she is cradled and protected. When forward-facing, the harness holds babys' body back, and his/her head flies forward violenty, putting tremendous stress on the neck.

Here's the catch...the spinal column can stretch up to 2 inches, BUT the spinal cord can only stretch up to 1/4 of an inch before it snaps and baby is gone. This is referred to as internal decapitation. Babys' head will be slumped over like he/she is sleeping.

It's very important to keep babies rear-facing to 1 year AND 20 lbs. (both, not either/or) at the very least. It's actually much safer to rear-face to the limits of a convertible carseat, as recommended by the American Academy of Pediatrics. A forward-facing child is 4-5 times MORE likely to be killed or seriously injured in a crash than a rear-facing child of the same age...not a risk I'll be taking with my babies.

Check out this video for some great information and crash test footage...you'll see the HUGE difference: http://youtube.com/watch?v=kRP7ynNI8mI

And this one has lots of pictures of older rear-facing kiddos: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=psmUWg7QrC8

And here’s another great link:
http://www.childrestraintsafety.com/rear-facing.html

Happy reading!