Did anyone start with a convertible car seat for a newborn and regret not getting an infant bucket? - Page 3

[WifeofAnt]

I know most of these points have already been said but oh well.

1. We have a small car and a baby who HATES being buckled in.  Its incredibly awkward to try to fit myself in the doorway and buckle in a baby who is screaming and arching his back.  I'll have to do it eventually but I don't want to purposely torture myself if I don't have to.

2. Its freaking windy here.  Its not incredibly cold (although it will be in 2 weeks when I'm back in Michigan) but even I'm cold in a thick hoodie the minute and a half I'm outside.

3. Just because you *have* the option to remove the carseat from the base doesn't mean you have to.  We bring the bucket in the house but not in the store.

4. Sometimes you aren't in a store long enough to justify getting them out of the seat.  The other day I had to run into the corner gas station to use the ATM.  Its illegal to leave him in the car alone (not that I would) but it would easily take 4x as long to get him out of the seat and back in it than I would spend inside.

5. Yes its nice to take them in the house while they're still sleeping even if you don't leave them in it.  I can bring him in and set him down (still asleep) while I put away the groceries and THEN wake him up.  Its very inconvenient for me DS and I when he wakes up and needs me *immediately* while I have frozen foods that also need put away *immediately* and I'm the only one home.  When he outgrows his bucket he'll also be old enough to wait a few minutes while I get the most urgent things taken care of.

And #6.  Sometimes I'm in a hurry to go somewhere.  I don't have time to warm up the car and I don't have time to change him into some warmer clothes.

In short, I love my bucket and I hate my bucket (for being heavy and awkward) but I think its worth the money we paid for it.

[texmati]

haven't read all the replies, but we did. We had a true fit, and regretted it, and ended up using a snugride. DS was so, so, so very tiny. He simply didn't fit in the trufit-- the ride home from the hospital was scary!

[justKate]

Hmm.

We started DD in a TrueFit, and ended up buying a bucket when she was about a month old.  We used the bucket in one car, TF in the other. I didn't really have a preference. DD was 7 lbs, but I think if she were any smaller the TF would have been big.  So I'd say there's no reason that you NEED a bucket, but if you can swing one of each, give yourself the option.

[chel]

i borrowed a bucket for dd1, born in summer in the south.  she cried whenever in it so we never used it outside the car.  for her i would have been fine starting with a convertible.

with dd2 i planned to just get a convertible.  she was born in the midwest in the winter but we were soon to move back to the south.  well the seat (TF) got put on back order and arrived after dd.  i borrowed a seat (did ask for a specific kind, just needed a seat)  it was an infant bucket.  i was so glad i had it and was sad when i had to give it back.  dd2 had to go to the dr daily for the first week she came home.  i was also selling my home and had to leave several times a day for showings.  dd2 was a great sleeper and would stay asleep as long as she stayed in the bucket.  once in the convertible she would wake up every time i would take her out.

[ILoveMyBabyBird]

I weighed the options and decided to buy a new infant (bucket) seat for our upcoming arrival. While ds really didn't enjoy his infant seat, so it was not overused, i thought about situations where it would be very handy, ie, at dr.'s appts and i need to sign info etc. Or when the baby is sleeping and i don't want to wake her when i need to bring groceries in and put them away, as pp said. Plus ds will be starting school in august so that means mandatory daily trips for dd and i and it will be easier to get you all ready in the hot or cold weather and then put her in the van. I don't plan to over use it, but it does seem to be very handy the first 6 months or so.

[Mom2M]

With DS2, we didn't have a bucket and I hated it. He was not very happy in the car and I think it was partially because he was uncomfortable. It was also a pain to strap him in because he fought it so much. It's much easier to strap in to the seat while inside and able to do it from a good angle.

I loved having a bucket for DD1 and DD2 and just because you use one doesn't mean you have to overuse it or never wear your baby! lol I wore them lots of the time.

I felt that they fit better in them and seemed more comfortable, I did buy a really nice snugride so it was kind of expensive to buy that and then the convertible later, but they almost always fell asleep in them instead of crying and it was extremely nice to be able to use it if they were sleeping and we had to run in and out of somewhere. I had a stroller frame for those times when I wanted to keep her in it while she was asleep and so never hurt my back or strained anything and I really think it was worth the money. You can get the frame for $20 used. They never were in them for too long but DD2 would fall asleep in 5 minutes so it was great for school drop off and pick up to have it. When she didn't fall asleep, I put her in the wrap. There was never a time that I could keep her sleeping while transferring from car seat to wrap/mei tai, maybe I just don't have the knack of it.
I really like not leaving the seat in the car and avoiding the burning hot/freezing cold seat issue.
It was much easier to take her to dr appts with me and unfortunately, I have frequent dr. appts.

Even though my babies are pretty big, they really didn't outgrow the bucket at 3-4 months. DD2 was almost 10 pounds at birth, stayed in the 75-90% and fit just fine in the bucket for a year and stayed happy in it.
For us, it was worth it.

[KempsMama]

I had a bucket with both boys but never really used them.  Neither of them seemed comfy in them, so I switched to a convertable right away.  One was born in March, one in August, and I have no regrets.

[Ceinwen]

Have done both - loved the bucket.

I live in far northern Ontario (um - very cold) and really appreciated being able to bring baby right from the house out to the car.

[nerdymom]

I had a November baby and an inexpensive bucket. I hated the idea of taking him out of his warm blankets and setting him in a cold carseat in a cold car. I mostly carried him in a ring sling in public (the exception being in restaurants) and took the bucket inside when we got home. I've no regrets about it! Although my child was one of those who outgrew his bucket in about 3 months. It was ridiculous, lol! But at least for those 3 months I did like it. Now I'm having a spring baby I wonder if the bucket is worth it, since it will be warm and I have DS1 to keep track of (plus I now know how to eat just about anything while holding a baby).

I guess, my opinion is - bucket seats have their place. But just like anything, they can be abused. We have all seen those carseat babies in the store, with the misshapen heads and the worn out seat. I don't think the carseat is the problem. It is the way it is used.

[Canadianne]

The only time I regret it is when I am doing a quick trip somewhere and don't want to have to mess with the buckles.  

Otherwise, I'm perfectly happy with our decision.  Especially since my 4 month old already weighs 23lbs....I can't imagine carrying him and a car seat!

[sapphire_chan]

We started with a convertible and in the entire time we've used it, I've had about 3 times (maybe?) where I vaguely thought it'd be nice to have an detachable infant seat. Mind you, in all cases I would've actually been driven crazy by dealing with a bulky seat-carrier on top of everything else I was carrying, so it's a good thing I didn't actually have the choice.

Last fall, when dd just turned 2, I actually switched her seat from one car to another while she was asleep inside it. So clearly it is possible to move convertible+sleeping baby in a pinch.

DD preferred to be in arms and nursing and would wake up when the car stopped, so there really wasn't any motivation to get an infant seat.

(And it would've had to be a STRONG motivation to overcome my absolute hatred of bulky things whacking me in the leg. Purses can be too cumbersome if I'm not in just the right mood.)

ETA: DD was an August baby, and then I took the bus most places that winter because she went through a phase of disliking the car seat if she was in the car for more than 10 minutes.

[sapphire_chan]

Originally Posted by Hannah32 

Originally Posted by tankgirl73 

I understand about no coats in the car seats, but with a bucket, you can put a blanket over them without interfering with the straps. I'm not hauling him into a Mei Tai while dragging the long straps through slush puddles. Not to mention, what about my coat? I don't always want to wear my baby and a coat underneath once we are inside.

I just wanted to address this, because this problem is fixable.  :)

First, you can put a blanket over babies in a convertible too.  No coats under the straps, use blankets, it's the SAME whether using a bucket or a convertible.

As for the mei tai -- what you do is you put it on at home.  Wear it *under* your coat.  Baby doesn't need a heavy coat of his own because he's in your coat and using your body heat.  You need a coat that's large enough, obviously, and don't zip it all the way to the top so baby has air (keeping baby breathing is a good thing ;)  ) or a specialized babywearing coat.  Unzip your jacket and loosen the mei tai a bit to take baby out but don't completely untie it, baby goes into the car seat, blanket over baby.  Leave the mei tai on under your re-zipped coat while you drive wherever you're going.

When you arrive, reverse the process.  Get baby into the mei tai, then snug up the straps.  Mostly zip your coat over baby, you're good to go.  This same procedure works with any kind of sling carrier.  The main advantage of the specialized babywearing jackets is that there's an opening for baby's head or just for airflow, so you can still have neck coverage for yourself.  If you're serious about babywearing and live in a cold region, it's worth considering the investment.  But a large enough jacket will do *almost* as well in *most* situations.  And with baby under your coat, you get the warmth for baby without them needing a heavy jacket, and you can just take off your coat when you get inside without having to re-do the whole sling situation.  

It takes a little practice to do all this, of course, but once you've got the hang of it it's a piece of cake.  Personally, I found it easiest when using a stretchy wrap.  The 'give' in a stretchy wrap means I don't have to loosen anything.  I could pop her in and out, just leaving it tied on.  

Again, it seems to me that these reasons people have for using the bucket apply equally well to older babies, they're not exclusive to bucket-sized babies.  "What about the straps dragging, what about my coat?"  Those problems don't magically go away when baby is older, you'll still have to figure out how to get your baby from the car into the store or wherever when they've outgrown the bucket.  So since you have to deal with it ANYWAY, it just seems simpler to me to figure it out when baby is smaller and more easily portable.  ;)   

There are also thousands of babies injured every year in bucket-related accidents that were NOT in cars.  Either from buckets being dropped, like shopping carts falling over, or from the bucket itself not working -- there have been recalls over handles failing, for instance.  I really just wish they would stop marketing them as *carriers*.  

Yeah, but what do you do when you need to take them out of the convertible? I know! Drop the blanket into the snow/slush. Wheee! Been there, done that. Not doing it next time. I do admire your coordination though, because, honestly, your Mei Tai suggestion? Um not workable for me.

A bucket it is for my next one.

I wore a wrap under my coat and then got into the back of the car to put dd into it. Worked until she got too tall/squirmy. The cold and snow and such weren't an issue, because I took her out of her seat inside a nice warm car and dealt with settling her into the wrap and such (e.g. going potty, changing diapers) all in comfort.

[Anastasiya]

We love our bucket for all the reasons WifeofAnt stated (post 41).

We tried to get by ONLY with a convertible seat for baby number 2 and regretted it. Now we go the bucket-route for the following babies. For one, he hated being carried in the sling. HATED it. He was the only kiddo I was never able to wear. :(

I also didn't like the thought of taking my sweet, warm baby out in the chill and having to buckle him into a cold seat. There were lots of times we didn't have time to pre-heat the car, and I felt badly for the shock to his system!

The same when summer came along, having to strap the little guy in a very HOT seat with hot buckles.

I loved being able to run quick errands by popping the bucket out of the car and taking the sleeping baby with me, instead of taking up so much time finagling straps on wraps and clasps on Ergos. Just pop out the bucket - run in the bank - pop the bucket back in. Totally worth it, esp when there are other littles in the car who have to follow Mom along.

I loved being able to bring a sleeping baby into the house and let him/her continue to sleep.

Our last two kiddos stayed in the bucket, perfectly content, till around 18 and 20 months. Of course, at that point the bucket pretty much just lived in the car because it was too big to carry around with them in it, but it lasted a long time and we got our money's worth.

[illumini]

Originally Posted by sapphire_chan 

(And it would've had to be a STRONG motivation to overcome my absolute hatred of bulky things whacking me in the leg. Purses can be too cumbersome if I'm not in just the right mood.)

This is me to a T and why I had a bucket for my first but it never left the car. I'm also not getting a bucket for the 2nd. 

[MyFullHouse]

I never regretted going straight to the convertable with spring/summer babies.  This time around, I didn't *want* a bucket seat, but I felt it would be best for getting in and out of the house and quick stops elsewhere with a December baby, and it's proven to be just that.

"Warming up the car" is a misnomer for us.  I could warm up that minivan for an hour and all of the heat will pour right out while piling in the other 4 kids, let alone the baby, with the wind whipping right through the two sliding doors, lol.  Instead, I can throw him in with a blanket under the car seat cover, wait a few minutes for the heat to recirculate, then reach back to fully open the cover and pull the blanket off.

The big kids and I hate the few minutes of cold that come with getting settled into the car.  Just because we have to suck it up doesn't mean the baby should "suffer" along with us.

All that said, I'm looking forward to switching back to a convertible in the spring even though our bucket goes to 35lb.  I do feel slightly safer with them.

[ancoda]

I have only read the first page, but here is my experience.  With all there of mine we only had convertible car seats, and I never regretted it.  I had two November babies and one March baby in Oregon where it is not usually overly cold, but it does rain a lot.  I had a ring sling for when they were younger and then my DH used the ergo sometimes when they were a bit older.

I have problems with my wrists and hands so I can not imagine trying to cart those heavy plastic buckets around everywhere.

[chel]

the bucket is perfect for those that have to drive older kids to school.  my dd would take great naps at this time, but would wake if i tried to get her out of the seat.  luckily the weather was mild and i would leave her in the car in the garage with the door open to the kitchen (i was able to keep a very clean kitchen at the time).

i don't think anyone is saying they carry around the bucket for walks or errands where it would be bumping your legs, you would use a sling or stroller.  it's for when you want to quickly move an infant from one spot to another and you either want to protect from the elements or let the child sleep.