Successful ERF?!

{extended rear facing}


Not so much.


So as some of you may know... I have been planning on keeping Bransyn rear facing in his car seat for as long as possible. He wasn't quite 20 pounds when he turned one, so he legally could not be forward facing in a car seat. And that was fine. He was perfectly happy in the car at ALL times. I was pretty sure we would have no problems what-so-ever keeping him rear facing.

Well, at his 15 month appointment, he was FINALLY 20 pounds. The only reason I was excited about that, is because he's a little on the small side & I've been worried about him gaining weight. I still had every intention of keeping him rear facing, until around 30 pounds.

But I think this kid somehow KNEW that he could have his seat turned around. On the ride over to the pharmacy after his appointment, he screamed. When I put him back into the car after we left there... he screamed. I thought, 'Well, maybe he's just sick of being in the car today.' & just left it at that. But everyday since then, he has cried, screamed, kicked & tried everything possible to get out of that seat. And this is not just a normal cry/scream. It is like someone had just cut his dang foot off.

So as you can imagine, this intense screaming kind of drove me crazy while I was driving & gave me huge headaches. (and I usually don't everrr get headaches or anything when he cries... I think it was because I was trying to concentrate on driving & the screaming was distracting, haha) I decided that it would probably be safest for both of us, to do what I reallllly did not want to do. . . turn his car seat around. :(

I am totally bummed that we could not keep him rear facing longer. But since I turned him, I have not heard a single peep from him in the car... besides talking & laughing, of course. He loves it. I just try to be extra, extra careful while driving with him in the car now, to keep him as safe as possible. ERF is a wonderful thing to do. . . but I have now learned that it is not for everyone, along with many other parenting choices. I was hoping that he would continue to do amazing with it. . . but hey, I guess I can't have everything I want ;)

So I'll see how this goes. Maybe one day I'll try flipping him back around to see if it still bothers him. Who knows (: