Getting My Toddler to Sleep in Her New Carseat

I agree with the others, turn her back to rear facing if you can. My son stayed in the RF position until he was a little over 2 years old. It truly is so much safer for them.

I would go back to rear-facing, absolutely! REAR-FACING CHILDREN ARE FIVE TIMES SAFER than those riding forward-facing. Consider yourself lucky if she's is still willing to face backwards. When mine was that age, it was becoming a huge struggle to get him in the seat, because he REALLY wanted to face forwards. (Before I could get him clipped in, he'd squirm around and face forward in the rear-facing seat, like he was riding in a chariot.)

There are now car seats on the market that can be used in the rear-facing position for up to 35 and even 40 pounds. (Sunshine Kids Radian80 and XLT go to 40 pounds, Compass True Fit and some Britax models go up to 35 pounds.)

It doesn't matter if their feet have to go up the seat or they fold them - in the event of a serious car crash, it could mean the difference between a broken leg and a spinal cord injury.
That might be uncomfortable for an adult, but not for children.

For more on the advantages of extended rear-facing (for as long as possible), and then, once forward-facing, using a 5-point harness booster seat for as long as possible, see:

http://www.kyledavidmiller.org/car-seat-safety-rear-facin...
http://www.cpsafety.com/articles/StayRearFacing.aspx
http://www.car-safety.org/rearface.html
http://www.cpsafety.com/PDFfiles/RearFacingBrochure.pdf

My six-year-old will be in a 5-point harness until he's 80 pounds.

I wouldn't turn her back around, then you have to go through the whole "turning back around" later. I had the same problem with my daughter when I turned her forward facing. She used to nap in the car, but after she was forward facing, she just had too much to see! :) So then I just had to make sure we were home for nap time or she would be ill. If you are going to be driving at night, your daughter should be fine with her blanket or teddy - she will eventually get tired and go to sleep. I also play "lullabies from around the world" when she needs to unwind and they don't tend to make me sleepy like most of the "lullaby" CDs do. :) Hope this helps and good luck!

Give her something that is familiar. Odds are it's all new and she's looking around if you have her facing forward, and the seat is different. By giving her a snuggle blanket (which I do with my girls when they're tired but won't sleep) will give her both the comfort of something she knows and the warmth will help lull her to sleep. I also put on soft music while I drive if my girls won't sleep. If she has a favorite doll/stuffy that might help too.

Good luck!

Just give the new-ness of the seat and the scenery to wear off and she'll go back to falling asleep in the car on her own. Just going to take time.

S.

She is probably stimulated by the new things she can see. If she does not adjust after a few weeks, you could move her to one side of the car or other rather than the middle. It will cut down on the amount she can see forward. It should not be so important at 13 months to sleep in the car anyway - it is exploration age! Unless she has older siblings to pick up, try to get her napping at home so she can learn and see the world!

Best of luck, J

What's the weight limit for your carseat for rear facing? You could just put her back to rear facing. It's actually much safer and in other countries they keep them rear facing a lot longer. The 20 lbs and at least one year is the minimum requirement for turning them forward facing. I plan on keeping my little girl rear facing until she's at least two.

Turn her seat back around. :) It's safer anyway. The one year AND twenty pounds is a minimum for forward-facing, but you really should leave her rear-facing as long as possible.