concerns about infants sleeping in carseats, etc.?

[Anonymous]

I was looking into whether to get a travel system (car seat that fits on a stoller), and it seems like minimizing time spent in car seats would be a good thing based on research that leaving infants in car seats can reduce blood oxygen levels and lead to SIDS/suffocation deaths if they are left in them for long periods, particularly out of the car. I have read a lot of posts on DCUM that people have had no problems with car seats as travel systems--if anyone has any information about this beyond personal experience, please share because I want to make an informed decision. Thanks!

Here are some of the articles I found about dangers of prolonged sleeping in car seats:

Doctors warn against babies sleeping in car seats
http://www.ctv.ca/CTVNews/TopStories/20061208/babies_carseats_061208/

INFANT SLEEP POSITIONING
http://www.idph.state.ia.us/hcci/common/pdf/sleep_positioning.pdf

Infant car seats can trim babies' oxygen levels
http://articles.cnn.com/2009-08-24/health/car.seat.blood.oxygen_1_infant-car-car-seats-car-seat-safety?_s=PM:HEALTH

[Anonymous]

You absolutely want a car seat that fits onto a stroller -- whether you get a travel system or a snap-and-go is a matter of personal choice. Test them out, see what you like better. If your baby falls asleep in the car seat when you are on your way to the store to run errands, it's much easier to just pick up the car seat, pop it in the stroller and go without waking him/her up.

I think these articles/warnings are more about people who use the car seat like a bassinet and let their kids sleep in them all night every night.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:You absolutely want a car seat that fits onto a stroller -- whether you get a travel system or a snap-and-go is a matter of personal choice. Test them out, see what you like better. If your baby falls asleep in the car seat when you are on your way to the store to run errands, it's much easier to just pick up the car seat, pop it in the stroller and go without waking him/her up.

I think these articles/warnings are more about people who use the car seat like a bassinet and let their kids sleep in them all night every night.

Not at all.

My doc did a little note for us with the times some kids spend on a car seat and it's just terrible...

i.e.
you get the kid ready and place them on the car seat so you can get ready - 20 minutes
drive to the grocery - 15 minutes
grocery shopping - 45 min
drive through to get a coffe - 15 min
drive back home - 15 min
then you get home, baby is asleep and you just bring the seat inside and baby sleeps for 1 hour
your total car seat time was almost 3 hours! can you imagine if you had 2 or 3 more errands to run?

car seats are FOR THE CAR.

to minimize our car seat time we got a britax convertible (DC fitted in it from birth) and a stroller with a bassinet.
children that are handled more often get more stimulation and less flat heads.

[Anonymous]

I also got a convertible from birth for this reason and boy, did I regret it.

Just keep your baby in a sling or bjorn if he/she is not sleeping.

You will feel like crap having to wake up your newborn every time you get in and out of the car otherwise.

The previous times are hypothetical. Just be aware of them and don't shop with your baby in the carseat, or go for walks (they're so small in the beginning, and a front pack is cozy for you both), but really-- if your screaming baby is FINALLY sleeping you're just going to end up sitting in the car with him in the carseat anyway, running the engine so it doesn't get too cold, feeling like a jerk for not just doing the infant carseat...BTDT.

[Anonymous]

"don't shop with your baby in the carseat"? wth?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I also got a convertible from birth for this reason and boy, did I regret it.

Just keep your baby in a sling or bjorn if he/she is not sleeping.

You will feel like crap having to wake up your newborn every time you get in and out of the car otherwise.

The previous times are hypothetical. Just be aware of them and don't shop with your baby in the carseat, or go for walks (they're so small in the beginning, and a front pack is cozy for you both), but really-- if your screaming baby is FINALLY sleeping you're just going to end up sitting in the car with him in the carseat anyway, running the engine so it doesn't get too cold, feeling like a jerk for not just doing the infant carseat...BTDT.

If you handle them while they're sleeping from the beginning they get used to it. I grab my baby from the britax to the ergo/bjorn/moby and baby won't wake up. If she does she goes right back to sleep. Even better I can, feed while shopping.

[Anonymous]

Myth!

You either get the type of child who will sleep through vacuuming, cocktail parties, and being handled, or you don't.

I've had one of each and can testify that they're just born that way. Or not.

If you are not feeling like taking a chance, OP, just buy the cheap bucket carseat and the cheap Snap N Go. If you really feel like your baby is going to get flat head from being unattended for hours on end (unlikely, right?) then take him out a lot.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:"don't shop with your baby in the carseat"? wth?

Sorry, I don't understand this post, but I'll try to respond...maybe you could elaborate on your "wth?" I always shopped with my young baby in a moby and have seen plenty of others shopping with babies in bjorns, etc. By the time she weighed 18 lbs she could sit in the front of the cart. I only had a convertible carseat, so I didn't really have a choice, plus I preferred having her close to me early on and found it easier if I was taking care of my niece, too, who was old enough to ride in the cart while I wore the baby. But again, maybe I'm not responding to this "wth" with what you really wanted to know?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I also got a convertible from birth for this reason and boy, did I regret it.

Just keep your baby in a sling or bjorn if he/she is not sleeping.

You will feel like crap having to wake up your newborn every time you get in and out of the car otherwise.

The previous times are hypothetical. Just be aware of them and don't shop with your baby in the carseat, or go for walks (they're so small in the beginning, and a front pack is cozy for you both), but really-- if your screaming baby is FINALLY sleeping you're just going to end up sitting in the car with him in the carseat anyway, running the engine so it doesn't get too cold, feeling like a jerk for not just doing the infant carseat...BTDT.

If you handle them while they're sleeping from the beginning they get used to it. I grab my baby from the britax to the ergo/bjorn/moby and baby won't wake up. If she does she goes right back to sleep. Even better I can, feed while shopping.

Yeah, maybe yours did. I had a convertible from birth but my kid never got used to it. I too wish I'd bought an infant seat. You don't HAVE to use it, but it is nice to have the option so that you don't have to violate the #1 Rule of Babies: Let Sleeping Babies Lie.

[Anonymous]

I almost just got a convertible seat from birth but did end up getting a carseat travel system (Chicco carseat and stroller) and I'm glad I did the latter. I usually wore my baby while shopping and such and didn't do things like put the baby in the car seat for 20 min while I got ready to go out. During the newborn stage, DC would stay asleep if I lifted him out of the carseat to put him in the carrier/sling. After that, by the time he wouldn't sleep through it (4 months+), I made sure to be home for most naps anyway. My vote is to get an infant carrier as it is convenient when you need it, but minimize time spent in it.

[Anonymous]

I mean this in the nicest way possible, OP. Please stop giving parenting advice until you've actually HAD a baby!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My vote is to get an infant carrier as it is convenient when you need it, but minimize time spent in it.

That's my vote too. I only kept my babies in their seats when they were sleeping when we got home. Otherwise, I would put them in the ergo/sling. It's cozier for them, and even when they're little, those carseats are heavy!

But if at night, your baby will only sleep in an incline, my pediatrician said that's okay. You do what you need to do those first few weeks.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I mean this in the nicest way possible, OP. Please stop giving parenting advice until you've actually HAD a baby!

Yeah, I just reread her post and it seems she didn't even want OUR parenting advice-- she wrote "if anyone has any information about this beyond personal experience, please share because I want to make an informed decision", which is weird-- OP, why would you come onto a message board of mothers asking for scholarly articles instead of personal experience?

[Anonymous]

I did a lot of reading and did not buy a snap-n-go. We bought a good quality soft structured carrier and a wrap instead.

There's a body of research that shows significant desats in carseats -- this is not a good thing for any period of time.

http://pediatrics.aappublications.org/cgi/content/abstract/108/3/647

http://pediatrics.aappublications.org/cgi/content/abstract/124/3/e396

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My vote is to get an infant carrier as it is convenient when you need it, but minimize time spent in it.

That's my vote too. I only kept my babies in their seats when they were sleeping when we got home. Otherwise, I would put them in the ergo/sling. It's cozier for them, and even when they're little, those carseats are heavy!

But if at night, your baby will only sleep in an incline, my pediatrician said that's okay. You do what you need to do those first few weeks.

Lots of pediatricians give bad advice.

Carseat makes tell you explicitly that caraseats ARE FOR CAR RIDES and even in long rides you're supposed to move your child once in a while. How great would you feel strapped in for 4 hours?