Rear Facing Car Seats

** I want to start this off with a disclaimer. The law in most (if not all) states is one year and twenty pounds. As long as a mom follows that at the *very* least, I can't really have an issue. The facts state that rear facing is safer, but I have learned to respect the parenting decisions people make, even if I disagree. I do, however, feel it's my responsibility to at least make sure they know of the facts before making these kind of decisions. **

An article that was posted on Cafe Mom's "The Stir" about extended rear-facing (ERF) really caught my eye. Now, I have known the benefits of ERF since Miranda was a baby and I kept her rear-facing in our car until she was three years old. After her third birthday (which is in April) I decided she was old enough to forward face. However, reading articles like this again now, with winter approaching make me really think that I should turn her back around for the winter. She still has lots room above her head in her Britax Marathon and is under the weight limit by 3ish pounds. I think she would make it through the winter in her seat.

However, there is only one thing standing in my way. My husband. He doesn't think we should turn her back around. He's not as into the whole car seat safety thing as I am. I understand where he's coming from. She's going to be 4 in 4 months. She's well over the legal limit and she's been forward facing since April. He thinks that she won't take kindly to the idea, whereas I think the opposite. I think she'll think it's fun and different. Plus the fact, that I would just tell her it's something we need to do for her safety and just not give her a choice in the matter.

I'm sure most of you reading this are thinking that I'm the craziest person on the face of the planet and you might be right. I just feel like this is the right decision to make and I'm trying to figure out a way to make it happen... We'll see...