U.S. Mommies To Be

[DaisyBee]

Hi girls - can I join u?

Read back just a few pages - have to say we used a chicco system with Megan & loved it. Hers only went to 22 lbs though - now they all go to 30lbs which would have been nicer! They dont fit in the front of a shopping cart though - I had to put it in the main part and put food around her.

 

[Chantibug]

Rosie, I think in the entire 2ndtri I had maybe 2 weeks of energy :/ I hope it gets better for you though!

 

[lisaf]

I used to nap at work, lol!!! I got quite good at it actually!! I could nap a little with my head propped up (I'd hold my head up with a hand at my forehead as if shading my eyes/concentrating/stressing) and hold a pen in my other hand over my work.
Then, once or twice, I'd close my door, put a sweater/sweat shirt on my desk for a pillow, cross my arms and put my head down... then if someone knocked or opened my door, I'd use my arms to sweep the sweater to the floor and bold upright.
NEVER got busted
(I should add I have a sleep disorder that causes me to be sleepy during the daytime so... um.. yeah.. that makes it totally justifiable, right? )

Daisy - thanks for the tip about Chicco! I wish that was something they'd put on the boxes to tell you about the seats! Though I guess thats another thing to test at the baby store.. put their car seats on their own carts and see if it works?

I'm still not sold on getting a 30lb seat, lol... there is no way I will want to carry the kid in that seat at 30lbs, you know? Also... its possible if your kid is tall that they will outgrow it before the weight limits, right?
SO frustrating!!!! Why dont' they just rent these things to you? So you can switch brands if you want, upgrade to a 30lb one if you want, and you can just opt out of it early if you like the convertible seats sooner than you thought you would!

 

[southerngal2]

Welcome DaisyBee!

 

[rottpaw]

Chantel - Tell me about the taking a nap part. I just want to close my office door, turn off the lights and put my head on the desk. I thought that the second trimester was supposed to be better energy wise.

Hang in there! I did not actually start to feel a lot more energy till about 18-20 weeks, but I'm still feeling pretty good at 27, so you should get a good 2 months of feeling good anyway!

 

[DaisyBee]

Well Megan turned 1 year Dec 2nd & she just had her 12 mo dr appt last wed. She was 30 1/2" tall and 21 lbs 1oz. So I dont know what the max height of the chiccos/infant seats are - but she had the 22lb seat & there was no way she would still fit in that carseat even a month ago. We have been buying & returning convertable carseats for the past 1 1/2 months & think we are finally keeping this last one we bought (britax marathon 70) We havent actually taken the infant carrier out of the car since last summer maybe? Cant remember when we last used it that way. It fits great in our vehicle though & was much easier to figure out than these convertables rear facing. I assumed with the greater weight limit it would have more height as well? But maybe its the same? So if she could have gotten longer use out of a bigger (30lb) Chicco that would have been great!

Anyway its been a major pain trying to get the convertable carseats figured out -as we want her still rear facing & they seem to be best forward facing. SO trying to get them installed properly in the car & then get her buckled in correctly has been lots of time & work. The infant seat was such a breeze compared to what we've been going through. One of these convertable carseats I spent over 10 minutes in a parking lot trying to get her buckled correctly -and it was like 10 degrees that day - we were both freezing!!

 

[lisaf]

Daisy - thanks for the info!
I don't think the 30lb seats are any bigger. I think the size limit is in relation to the top of their head not going over the top of the seat? Either that or with the straps not being below the top of the shoulders.
I've heard Britax are the best all-around from parents I know. Consumer Reports rates the convertible seats based on rear-facing and forward-facing installation... I think it was a First Years brand that topped the list, but Britax got great ratings too.

 

[southerngal2]

I just went to the Britax website and they have a stroller system B-Ready. It looks really neat. Kinda like the stroller Lisaf got.
I'm going to look into this one. Check reviews and things. If it all checks out, this will probably be the one I get.

 

[lisaf]

That one looks pretty neat! Lots of similar features to mine!
Only downsides I can see to that one vs. the one I got is that the wheels don't come off as easy for slimmer storage (but it might be smaller when folded than mine, couldn't find those details) and that you're limited to 1 carseat choice.
Now that may be a huge + with how confusing car seat choices are! Lol!

Neat stroller though! And I love that it can be a double stroller if needed!!!

 

[DaisyBee]

Yes for $280 it better be the best! It was easier to install - but still needed a small towel or blanket underneath for it to be totally sturdy. The one we tried ended up needing a huge blanket rolled underneath and dh wrestling with it for over an hour just trying to get it in correctly!

With Megan's infant carseat - it was also a matter of just shoulders/arm room for her not fitting anymore. I cant imagine putting her in a convertable when she was newborn though! I was induced at 37 weeks for high bp - and she weighed 5 lbs 14oz when born & was 5lbs 5oz when we first put her in the carseat to take her home. The carseat looked HUGE that day. When she was outgrowing it I was thinking how small it was!

 

[lisaf]

I think if I had a baby under 7lbs (and especially smaller than 6lbs!) I'd totally want the infant seat too!
But since my brother and I were both over 9lbs (10 days late each) and my sister was 8lbs (induced at 8 days late) ... well... unless there is any unforseen early labor, I think I'll have a big baby on my hands!

I do think the infant seat will be easiest when their heads are still all floppy.. I just figure they'll outgrow it fast and wish I could just skip to the convertible.

And most carseats have a bit of trouble with the incline. They usually recommend cutting one of those foam pool noodles (or buying one of the ones made for car seats)
Or getting one of these suckers which I hear work great!
https://www.amazon.com/SafeFit-50050-Car-Seat-Leveler/dp/B000058DOB/ref=pd_bxgy_ba_img_b

I think its just that all car seats are a bit different, and they have to make sure it can fit ALL of them, so ones that are flatter than yours would have trouble with no easy fix if they made it fit yours perfectly, you know?

Remember though... when our parents had us, they didn't have infant seats! All car seats faced forward and they did just fine! Now it would be 'criminal' to do that!

 

[DaisyBee]

My aunts all were telling me how there kids were all around 10lbs and they all had natural births - I started freaking out then. Then 2 weeks later my dr told me how high bp makes the baby not grow as well - so I had lots of ultrasounds to show growth & the placenta & fluid level. The day I went in to be induced was the day of my last ultrasound & according to that she wasnt growing. They anticipated that she would be between 4 1/2-5 lbs. So when they announced her weight after she was born I cried cause I was happy she was bigger than they thought. I was soo worried that she was going to be that small!

The noodle & that thing from amazon would have worked with this britax - but not with a couple of others. It wouldnt have been big enough. Which when the carseat has to be tilted that much - noone can fit in the front seat - LOL

 

[lisaf]

Lol.. yes some brands are famous for not fitting well in anything but a van or SUV... I have a compact sedan so from what I've read, Britax is supposed to fit well in most cars.
The Combi Coccorro is supposed to be nice and compact too and fits in lots of small cars.

We'll be doing a center-seat installation (if possible I suppose) so hopefully we won't lose leg room!
The thing about the Britax is the price tag kills me! We'll need to buy 2 I'm sure or else be constantly swapping/installing them which will eventually lead to sloppy installations I'm sure!
We'll have to buy at least 2 bases for the infant seat too... so the costs just add up fast!

 

[DaisyBee]

Yeah - the cost is crazy. We are figuring though that its the most important thing we could buy for her. So we figure we'll just spend less on xmas presents as she likes the paper best anyway!

 

[lisaf]

lol... is it wrong to register for the convertible seat on my baby registry?
When/if I get it... I'm thinking of returning it for store credit, so when I'm actually ready for it, I can go back and get it and if it doesn't work, I can still exchange etc...
is that totally tacky?

 

[DarlingMe]

Hi girls just thought I would join you if thats ok! I have been looking at infant carriers/car seats too. I think I am going to end up selling my car in a few months so I can get a bigger one!

 

[southerngal2]

Hi DarlingMe!

Wow, if it is this complicated picking out car seats and strollers, how am I going to pick out a crib and cradle? Bottles and a swing? A pediatrician? I think I'm getting overwhelmed!

 

[Chantibug]

lol... is it wrong to register for the convertible seat on my baby registry?
When/if I get it... I'm thinking of returning it for store credit, so when I'm actually ready for it, I can go back and get it and if it doesn't work, I can still exchange etc...
is that totally tacky?

erm.. why not just ask for gift cards to the store you want the car seat from? I mean, no it's not 'tacky' if the buyer doesn't know, but if it's like, someone you will see fairly regularly and they notice the carseat you use is not the one they bought (that you asked for) they might feel bad, and esp if they get the balls to ask where it is and you tell them.. then they will want to know "well did i buy the more expensive one and she got more out of is? or what?" ..

 

[Chantibug]

Hi girls just thought I would join you if thats ok! I have been looking at infant carriers/car seats too. I think I am going to end up selling my car in a few months so I can get a bigger one!

hi! congrats as long as you have at least a 4 door, traveling with just one kid is easy.. i only am saying anything because when i got pregnant with my second DS I traded in my car and bought an SUV... totally unnecessary and the car payment sucked, esp. when on maternity leave! Now that I'm having another we traded up to a larger SUV that seats 6 but honestly, the first trade up was not wise because the SUV was the same size as my old car, just higher up! lol.

 

[Chantibug]

Hi DarlingMe!

Wow, if it is this complicated picking out car seats and strollers, how am I going to pick out a crib and cradle? Bottles and a swing? A pediatrician? I think I'm getting overwhelmed!

LOL! It shouldnt be complicated at all. This is my third time and with everything else going on in life I can't be bothered with extra worries .. so I have none

I think it depends on what type of person you are. I've very laid back about it because I know they are safe because they are so closely regulated so I pick out a design I like and poof, done!

Same for crib. You absolutely cannot buy an unsafe crib for your baby in the store (barring any recalls later! -- always register your baby products!).

Cradle was "gasp" the same one DH slept in as a baby.. Oh no!! LOL.. but it's sturdy and strong and no open slats, etc. so it's basically the same as is sold today but solid wood instead of plastic.

Bottles, that's a gamble... you can't know in advance which ones baby will prefer, so your best bet is to get several brands/types of nipples. Both my boys liked playtex drop ins which i am SO greatful for because I hateeeeee washing bottles!

Swings are all pretty much the same, depends again on theme/what you like, and then some are simple and go back and forth and others go side to side as well (we got this kind as thats how the baby is rocked in a chair or something so i wanted the swing to mimic that).

Pediatrician, that's easy for some and like taking the SATs for others.. haha... For me, I called while in the hospital (!), said I just had a baby and asked if they would see my son.. Took him in and loved the lady and so my 3rd is definitely going there... Another friend of mine though went somewhere and the ped. made her feel badly about how she parents (AP, BF, etC) so she drives 40 min. out of the way for a dr. she is on the same page as.


don't worry yourself over it - and don't feel bad if you make a quick decision