Preemies under 5 lbs in car seats?

[LDSmomma]

I watched 19 Kids & Counting last night, and saw that baby Josie, a micropreemie, was leaving the hospital, and they said her weight was 4 lbs something. They had her in a regular chicco infant carrier car seat. I thought that infant carseats were only rated for 5 lbs +, and that you had to get a special car seat for babies smaller than that.

[chickabiddy]

The Chicco Keyfit is rated down to 4#. There are some other seats rated down to 4#, at least one to 3#, and some rated from birth (which means there is no minimum weight).

[Famatigia]

I agree with the previous poster. I saw this episode and noticed it was a brand new seat, obviously purchased specially for Josie.

Chicco seats are great for babies because of the low weight requirement.

Remember, the Duggars are frugal! A Chicco seat is kind of spendy!

[elmh23]

Which one is rated to 3#?

[OGirlieMama]

The NICU does a carseat challenge test before they let a preemie go home, to make sure they can maintain their oxygen saturation in the seat. So as long as the seat is rated that low and she passed, she's safe.

[chickabiddy]

Originally Posted by elmh23

Which one is rated to 3#?

Combi Coccoro -- not sure if the 3# version has hit the shelves yet, but it will soon.

[Crunchy Frog]

Mine went home in regular car seats (that said at least 5 lbs) even though they were both under. The smaller one wasn't quite 4 lbs. They passed the carseat test in the NICU, and they didn't seem to have an issue with it.

They didn't stay under 5 lbs for very long.

[skybluepink02]

Mine were both over 5 lbs when released, but I saw lots of smaller babies go home in Gracos. We were going to buy chiccos to take them home in, but they stayed in for longer than we thought they would need to and we didn't have to.

[an_aurora]

There are several seats on the markets that are appropriate for <5 pound babies: the Safety 1st Onboard, Chicco Keyfit, Britax Chaperone/Companion, and Combi Coccoro (they also have infant seats that are rated birth+).

[Bokonon]

Originally Posted by Crunchy Frog

Mine went home in regular car seats (that said at least 5 lbs) even though they were both under. The smaller one wasn't quite 4 lbs. They passed the carseat test in the NICU, and they didn't seem to have an issue with it.

They didn't stay under 5 lbs for very long.

Mine too. Well, my 32-weeker was almost 6 pounds by the time he came home, but my 34-weeker was 4 lbs. 6 oz. when she came home. And we actually never had carseat tests in the NICU - just had to show that the baby could fit in it.

[devon]

I wouldn't trust NICUs to determine if a carseat is safe for a baby, actually. My sister had an IUGR baby born at 37 weeks. He was 3 lbs 6 oz and didn't have to go to the NICU, but obviously she was talking to the NICU about carseats, etc. He was 3 lbs 2 oz at discharge. The hospital was just fine letting him use the Graco SafeSeat they had - which was ridiculously HUGE on him. Like, the straps were almost over his head where they came out. The dr said, oh, the nurses are really good with putting padding and blankets and making the babies fit okay....um? no way! Multiple nurses and dr's would have let them go home with a baby that was much too small for that seat. I talked to my sister about it and went to the store, compared seats, etc, and found that the Safety First seat was the best - it actually had lower harness straps settings then the Keyfit upon comparison. The baby actually fit pretty well in there - granted the chest clip was wider then his chest... But the straps were at his shoulders (slightly below), it tightened appropriately, etc.

I wouldn't trust NICUs about determining appropriate sized seats.

[Llyra]

DD2 was 4 1/2 pounds when we brought her home. We had a SnugRide for her; this was a few years ago. Anyway, we had to rent a car bed for her. They wouldn't even do the "car seat" challenge until she was 5 pounds. We didn't even have the option; the nurses were very clear that she was not leaving in my car seat. Which I think was a good thing, of course, even though it cost me some $$$.

Anyway, she was up to five pounds in only a few days, so I'm really glad the car bed was only a short-term rental thing.