There are so many laws and guidelines regarding children and carseats that it is difficult to keep them straight. This is further complicated by the fact that the best practices seem to be changing and evolving with time.
The rear facing versus forward facing issue is case in point. Legally, you can indeed have your baby face forward assuming she is also at least one year old (and 20+ pounds). The law reads that a child shall be rear facing until at least one year of age and 20lbs. However, it is the best practice to leave your baby rear facing for as long as possible (up to the maximum weight rating of the seat – often 30 to 35lbs).
Rear facing is the most beneficial as the carseat provides the best support for a young child’s back and neck (i.e. spinal cord) in the event of a severe frontal impact. Thus, it is beneficial to keep her rear facing up to the maximum weight rating of the seat. Admittedly though, it is not always possible to do so. Depending upon your vehicle and carseat, your baby’s legs may be too long at some point for her to sit comfortably rear facing. At this point, it is obviously okay to turn her face forward as long as she meets the weight and age requirements.
A word of caution: once your child faces forward, she is not likely to want to face backward again. So, do not experiment with forward facing unless you are ready for her to face forward permanently.
When you do make the change to forward facing, you are just one step further along the continuum of keeping your child safe in the car since it is now recognized that seat belts do not properly fit a person until they are at least four feet, nine inches tall. As such, your child has many years ahead of her in both carseats and boosters.
As a reminder, at each step it is critically important to follow the manufacturer’s instructions on both your carseat and car (owner’s manual). I also strongly encourage you to utilize the community services available to assist you in the professional installation of your carseat. If you have additional questions along the way, there are good resources available online including Safe Kids Worldwide (www.safekids.org), Safety Belt USA (www.carseat.org) and the National Highway and Transportation Administration (www.nhtsa.gov).