Is your nb more comfy in a bucket carseat?

[moonstruck]

How is your nb doing in her/his bucket carseat? Should I get one for Mr. Fab?

With dd (now 2) we skipped the bucket carseat altogether and just had a Britax Marathon, which we've loved. I thought i was smart to shell out the big money once for a great seat. Thing is, they are not v good for a nb w/o head control. With dd We didnt care b/c I am a big babywearer and we just didnt take dd in the car much her first few mos (really most of her first year), walked everywhere and no long trips mostly. But things are different with #2--there are places I want to take dd by car and need to bring our new LO--he looks miserable in the big Marathon that we have for him. So, trying to figure out if we should get a bucket for him for the next few mos. (This would be strictly for the car, I'm not a stroller 'system' mama at all.) I just was reading a thread over on 'life with a babe' forum, and several mamas said their 3 mo babes were MUCH happier being switched from a bucket to a Britax convertible. Sounds like at 1 and 2 mos, their babes just HATED the buckets. So maybe the LO will jsut be miserable in the car as a NB, regardless? Should I try to find a bucket seat for at least the first few mos, do you think? Or is this a waste, since he already has a Marathon, which is w/in safety specs for him and safe? (just seems too huge for the little guy, worry about his neck support in it) When/at what point do you think they are MORE comfy in a Britax over a bucket, and vice versa? Help!

[mommytomahmoud]

my son hated it totally screamed from day one when he was in it i couldnt drive anywhere unless hubby was driving and me in the back seat leaning over him with my boob in his mouth

but by 3 months we moved him in a bigger rear facing car seat as he out grew the infant one

soo with this baby he will be in the bucket seat but cause we already own one and only in the car then he will be in the sling iam not a carrying car seat momma i hate to see a baby always in them it makes me sad

and by 3 months when he out grows it then he will be in a bigger rear facing seat

[sapphire_chan]

You had neck support problems even with getting a good angle on the seat and putting rolled up blankets around his head?

I have to say, newborns always look scrunched to me, even in the infant seats, so I don't know that an infant seat would help if that's the problem.

[BoBoBo]

I am not sure but doesn't Babies R us sell support pillows for babies? I feel like I have seen them in the carseat area. I have a radian and it has a support "pillow" for infants (it could be bought seperately too). I have no idea if the pillows work or are safety approved but it could be worth a try?

[tpintsch]

You'll have the same problems with head control on a bucket seat as with a convertable seat. You can get a support pillow to help with the side to side wobbly neck, but as far as the babies head falling forward your best bet is to use blankets or a cut pool noodle to change the angle of the seat.

[holothuroidea]

OMG it all sounds so horrible!! It must be so miserable for a newborn to be in a car seat . I wish we could go back to 20 years ago when it was OK to just hold them. I mean, how much can a car seat help a newborn in a real accident, anyway, with absolutely no neck support? You'd need to strap their little heads in.... oh, it makes me so sad!!

I hope we don't have to drive much in the first month!

[Surfer Rosa]

E actually loved being in her carseat-she'd sleep, chill out, and actually cry when we took her *out*...
Can you try out a friend's to see if there's a difference before you invest in a carseat, only to discover that your baby just doesn't like carseats, period?
We moved her into her Britax at 6-7 months, it seemed HUGE until 10 months or so.

[moonstruck]

Originally Posted by tpintsch

You'll have the same problems with head control on a bucket seat as with a convertable seat. You can get a support pillow to help with the side to side wobbly neck, but as far as the babies head falling forward your best bet is to use blankets or a cut pool noodle to change the angle of the seat.

Yeah, I've tried to put in a 'snuzzler' for the side to side cushioning, but sometimes the little guy's head falls forward, and my dp in particular is a nervous wreck about putting him in the car at all, it is so stressful b/c of my partner's nervousness, I think he is going to hit something if I let him drive at all with little guy in the car. Sheesh, and this is our SECOND child.

I think you've located the problem tpintsch, need to change the angle of the seat to prevent the head pitching forward. If this is even possible to do while still safely , properly installed.

[moonstruck]

Originally Posted by sapphire_chan

You had neck support problems even with getting a good angle on the seat and putting rolled up blankets around his head?

I have to say, newborns always look scrunched to me, even in the infant seats, so I don't know that an infant seat would help if that's the problem.

Yeah, I do think the angle on the seat is a big part of the problem, I'll look into it, only dp has so far.

And also the 'scrunch' factor, yeah, that is also part of it that would be the case in any seat. Both through the spine and with the curly tucked fetal postiion limbs. He is still in the curled up phase, and I hate uncurling him to force little guy's arms and legs through the straps, etc, but that would be the case in any seat. This part will pretty rapidly improve, though, if I have any memory at all of my last LO , lol. I think.

Thanks for all the input, more welcome. My mother always says to me, it is so difficult with all these rules these days. LOL. She means 'back to sleep', carseats, no putting sugar on pacis, etc etc. I think she was from the school of giving whisky to the lo's (and mom's, LOL!) to be quiet, piling 10 kids in the car, etc etc. How did I survive? (On the other hand, I WAS bf and cloth diapered, so she doesn't see those things as odd at all. Only pretty much anything at all to do with safety is a contemporary 'rule' that she says seems to make it all so difficult. True. But how could you know better and NOT? )

[sapphire_chan]

Originally Posted by moonstruck

If this is even possible to do while still safely , properly installed.

Contact a carseat tech. The one I went to had a pool noodle ready to go to get the seat to tip back. My carseat's manual even suggested a rolled towel (more readily available at home, but compresses more than the pool noodle) under the front of the seat to help it tip back more for newborns. You can even wrap a towel around a pool noodle if you need more of a boost to get it to lean right.

My seat is installed tight I can't move it along the belt path at all, let along the 1" that's supposed to be okay.

Oh, and as long as the pillow thing suggested by a couple PPs doesn't go between the baby and the seat, it'll be fine. More expensive than a receiving blanket, of course.

[moonstruck]

Thanks, I think this is a v good idea! (and rather not buy another seat if i can avoid it) I'll see if we can remedy

(nak)