do you install carseat for a planned homebirth

[selena_ski]

I am debating when i want to install baby bucket, and if i want to at all before babe is born, we are familiar with the seat and the way it attaches into our car.

I just don't see the point of putting it in until babe is born and we have the need for it in the car.

[amydidit]

We did because I knew I wouldn't feel up to installing it after the birth (and I only trust myself to put it in). And it didn't hurt anything to get it in early.

[VeganCupcake]

I would have liked to, just because then it would be done and ready to go whenever. But DH didn't ever do it, and now Baby Cupcake is 9 days old and it's STILL not installed.

Maybe he chose not to install it as a vote of homebirth confidence?

[layla983]

We will, just to have it done. I hate messing with things like that when I actually need to, so we'll do it well in advance just to get it out of the way.

[Patchfire]

I don't think it's necessary, but we did with ds and will with this one too, simply because, to me, it's one of those "things to do before the baby comes," and also because I figure I won't want to sit at home for too many days, and won't want to deal with installing it then.

[Belle]

I didn't install it because I just never got around to it. I should have though. I asked my dh to do it but he was going through major depression issues right around then. So my crying, postpartum self installed it at 5 days postpartum in a desperate move to get out of the house.

[possum]

I did it ahead of time so that I could got by the fire dept. where they inspect it for you. We also didn't have anywhere else to keep it in our small house. I just didn't see much of a reason not to install it for us.
Melinda

ETA: Our home birth was wonderful, and we litterally did not even set foot out of doors for a whole week afterwards, so the car seat didn't get much action in that first week, but it wasn't under my feet then or the month before either!

[Zannah]

As silly as it sounds, one day i told my husband that we needed to install the carseat or the baby would never come. So we did.

The very next day I went into labor. =)

[GoBecGo]

I didn't even OWN a car seat until DD was nearly 4 weeks old.

[larkish]

Originally Posted by amydidit

We did because I knew I wouldn't feel up to installing it after the birth (and I only trust myself to put it in). And it didn't hurt anything to get it in early.

That's what I say!

I'd rather have it done and one less thing to do after the baby is born. You never know when you might need/have to run out and not having it ready could be a pain. Plus, what if I have to transport...

[PassionateWriter]

we installed it b/c i wanted it to be in teh car. my ds3 fit great in a BV at birth so thats what we have (knowing there was a possiblity of it not fitting butt this is baby no. 4 so im pretty confident that my close to 9 lb. 23 inch baby will fit).

i regret it.

why did i put it in? having 2 bv's in my car was convenient for my friend and i when we take my car (which is most of the time b/ i get car sick). her 1 yo used it 2-3 times. it also allowed me to see where i wanted to put the seats w/ the kids (my 10 yo is in a booster but im not sure if i wanted him in the 2nd or 3 row or what).

why do i regret it?

we got into a car accident. not a bad one. but a $$$ britax BV that was about 6 weeks old is now trashed. and im still waiting for reimbursement. so now i have a brand new BV (just like the one i had) sitting in my garage in the BOX until we have to use it.

thats just my experience.

[mbhf]

I installed my baby's carseat last week for a few reasons. One, to get it out of the house! The big box sitting in my dining room irritated my dh and i, and the kids kept wanting to climb on it. Two, I have three other children, and I wanted to get a feel for the best spot for it, and getting my other kids in and out of their seats with the baby there. Three, I don't want to have to install it at the last minute when I need/want to go somewhere. Just one less thing to worry about, I want everything done by this weekend (I'll be 36 weeks on friday) so I can just relax and wait for baby to come.

[laohaire]

We did not, though if I had another baby, I would install it ahead of time. Just to get it out of the way, and also have it ready to go if we needed to go to the doctor for either baby or me (would rather in that case just be about going to the doc than be all focused on installing the damn thing).

We took DD to the hospital for jaundice at 3 days, and installing the car seat wasn't too big of a deal, but we probably did a bad job of it. It wasn't an "emergency" but we just really didn't want to deal with it right then.

[GoBecGo]

larkish i would suggest that if you have to transport for YOU after the birth (wouldn't need a seat before) you do so in an ambulance since your DH would be left with 2 helpless people (you and babe) should you pass out or otherwise decline, and if you have to do it for the baby, again an ambulance is best but if you don't have time/decide not to, newborn babies ALWAYS do better with breathing when skin to skin with their mother, putting a struggling-to-start-well baby in a bucket seat would be incredibly dangerous.

[vbactivist]

um, no. We didn't even install one for a planned hosptial birth. Why not wait until the baby is born? The buckets are easy to install. I have never heard of anyone installing a carseat before the baby came. Procuring, maybe - installing, no.

[Iowahomeschooler]

Originally Posted by GoBecGo

larkish i would suggest that if you have to transport for YOU after the birth (wouldn't need a seat before) you do so in an ambulance since your DH would be left with 2 helpless people (you and babe) should you pass out or otherwise decline, and if you have to do it for the baby, again an ambulance is best but if you don't have time/decide not to, newborn babies ALWAYS do better with breathing when skin to skin with their mother, putting a struggling-to-start-well baby in a bucket seat would be incredibly dangerous.

I agree that an emergency transport for the baby or for both mom and baby would be done in an ambulance. However, and this is why we have the seat installed, if the transport is for me and baby is doing fine, I want someone else to bring the baby to the hospital as a "visitor" so there is much less chance she will become a "patient". Also, it's just good to have it done. Just because it's in the car doesn't mean you have to use it. But if it isn't there and you suddenly have to go somewhere, well, what a pain to have to install it at the last minute!

[Peony]

I didn't with DD2 and probably won't for this one either. Dh can install seats just as well as I can so it wasn't a big deal for him to go out and do it several days later when we went to the store.

[Haselnuss]

There is always an other.
I don't have a car.

Assuming you have two sets of hands available, installing it after the baby is born shouldn't be a problem, though.

[lotusdebi]

We installed it shortly before I went into labor. I wanted it installed earlier, but DH procrastinated.
I'm really glad that we got it in before I had the baby. He had a really hard birth - shoulder dystocia - and, once we got him breathing, we decided to have DH and the midwife take him to the pediatrician that night to make sure he didn't have any broken bones or anything. It wasn't an emergency, and the ped wasn't at the local hospital, so an ambulance wasn't warrented. Turned out he just needed a chiropractic adjustment (which we got first thing in the AM) and he was fine.
Emergencies are not the only reason your baby may be leaving the house within hours of birth.

[Parthenia]

I said yes, but then I remembered our new car arrived the day after dd was born. The car was a gift from my parents, who arranged for a colleague of my mom's to drive it up on the way to a conference. We had the carseat, but no car to put it in. We had every intention of installing it.