My little boy is now 20months, but he too was a BIG baby, reaching 12kg by 10 months. I looked into whether we could keep him rear-facing over the 12kg limit, and all sources stated that the product had not been tested past this limit, and therefore was not deemed 'safe' to do so.. hence he was turned well before He was truely ready.

It ceretainly does seem rediculous that in this country with such 'supposedly' high standards, that something so important (and adequately proven) could be overlooked. We are definately well behind the rest of the 'developed' nations when it comes to our infant vehicle safety.