Long-Torso Baby: Throwing-up in Snugride

[Allison_B]

This is my first post... I hope I'm doing this correctly.
My DD is just about 5 months old, weighs about 16 pounds and is 27" long! Here's the kicker... she has short legs and a VERY long torso. We have a Snugride car seat and she seems to throw up every time she gets strapped in. I've made sure her diaper isn't too tight, or that the straps are putting too much pressure on her tummy, but I think that she is just "bent" in the middle in this carseat. Does anyone else have this problem? Did it go away when you moved to a convertible seat? We are probably going to purchase either the Britax Roundabout or the Marathon (and probably need to do it ASAP since she is so tall, right?), but I was just curious if this major throwing up was due to the seat or maybe something else? She also throws up if she's in her swing, bouncy seat, or is pretty much sitting up anywhere.

Any opinions on this matter would be welcome! Thank you!

Allison B. in Austin, TX

[kphil]

Does she have reflux? Both of my kids were very uncomfortable in their Snugride as infants. Car rides improved dramatically as soon as we moved them into the Roundabout when they were a few months old. Sounds like she's about to outgrow the Snugride anyway, so I'd go ahead and do it now, if I were you. Hopefully it will save you from more cleaning throw-up sessions. ;-)

Kirsten

[Momof3Labs]

Sounds like she has outgrown her seat already. Since she is 5 months old, I'm guessing that you have the older Snugride with a 26" height limit. Check and see if she has at least 1" of plastic shell over her head in the seat - if not, she has already outgrown it. Since she's so tall, I'd recommend the Marathon (or Boulevard/Decathalon/Wizard); otherwise you'll be buying another harnessed seat in another 2-3 years.

And FWIW, I found that the convertible was much more comfy for DS at this age. May or may not solve your problem, though, since it is hard to pinpoint the cause. Has reflux been ruled out?

[kijip]

With a long torso baby who is 27 inches tall you have outgrown the seat. I have no idea if the seat is causing the throwing up but reflux sounds like a possible culprit. I would get a Marathon as soon as possible since you are shopping for a Britax and your child is tall. We bought a RA for my tall son and like the pp said, we were shopping for a larger Britax pretty soon!

[ykc]

As the PPs have said, your daughter is too tall for the Snugride.

She is probably throwing up from being "bent" in the middle, as you suspect. This is reflux, but most babies have some degree of reflux. If the throwing up isn't causing her pain, and she is growing well, then don't worry about it. Just bring lots of extra clothes! If she seems to be in pain or frequently fussy, then go talk to your doctor about it. She may have gastroesophageal reflux *disease* (as opposed to reflux that doesn't cause medical problems).

Convertible carseats, in my experience, don't crunch babies' stomachs as much as infant carriers do, but she sounds like she regurgitates very easily, so you may not notice much difference.

[Allison_B]

Thank you to everyone who has responded, it is great to have my suspicions confirmed. We actually bought a new car seat last night (Cosco Alpha Omega Elite). We were looking at Britax, but she didn't fit well in the Roundabout and the Marathon had some scary crash-test results by Consumer Reports, so I just didn't want to risk it. So far so good with the new seat, although she's only ridden in it once. We're off this afternoon for a three-hour car trip, so we'll see how it goes.

Regarding the reflux that several of you asked about. I don't think she has any "serious" issues (like GERD), as she doesn't seem to care that she's spitting up so much and she definitely eats well and is continuing to follow her growth curve in the weight category, so I think she just has trouble keeping it down if her tummy is pushed too much.

I'll definitely let everyone know how this car seat performs for us, just in case anyone else has these issues. Thanks again!!

Allison

[Joolsplus2]

The Consumer Reports crash testing is completely unreliable, fortunately...but UNfortunately, it fails to find the failure in several Cosco Models (the Elite hasn't been tested by NHTSA yet, though, so who knows if it will fail like the Summmit and old AO...). Just remember when your dd is 3 or so, that you CAN NOT use the top headrest position with the AOE, or it will definitely fail (thus, the top slots are under 15 inches, the seat really is quite short, despite it's size....but other than that, it's not a bad choice, at least it's great for extended rearfacing!).

:)
Julie CPS Tech and mom to 2 in seats
http://www.cpsafety.com/articles/RFAlbum/SarahMA.aspx

[Allison_B]

Julie-
Thanks for the additional information! This is the first I'd heard of Consumer Reports being unreliable... why is that?

Anyway, we didn't like the way the AOE fit in the car today. It just didn't seem stable and I didn't like the amount of space between the base and the seat crease. So I took it back. By the grace of God we ended up not leaving on our 3-hour trip this afternoon.

I ended up with a Britax Decathalon and my little Catherine fits beautifully in it. What's more it fits GREAT in my Chrysler Pacifica. I was attracted to the Boulevard's knob harness adjustment, but I think DD is going to be more comfortable in the Decathalon. We'll see! We are finally going to leave tomorrow.

Anyway, thanks again for the input, I just thought I'd let everyone know what we're doing and that if anyone else has a Pacifica they can know how well the Decathalon fits. It doesn't budge at all, fits very closely to the seat, and when tightened (in rear-facing, reclined position) it is in the recommended 45 degree angle. We've used the Versa-Tether and anchored it to the base of the front passenger seat where it is bolted to the car frame. Seems very sturdy.

Allison

[bubbaray]

FWIW, my DD has a long torso and was out of her SnugRide at 4.5m. She moved to a Britax Marathon at that point (and had occasionally been in our 2nd seat, a Graco ComfortSport, since about 2m).

I can't help you on the reflux issue, but I can tell you that DD was infinitely more comfortable in the MA than any other seat. We go on some 5-hour road trips with her and will not even consider another seat for those long trips. I'm sure you will be very happy with your choice.

HTH & have a great trip!
Melissa


Maya Papaya!
http://lilypie.com/baby2/040411/3/4/1/-8/.png[/img][/url]

[Joolsplus2]

Oh neat :). I think you'll be so much happier with the Decathlon than the AOE.
CPS Techs have had issues with Consumer Reports for a long time...they recommend seats that are darn near impossible to install in real cars, they blow up issues that have no reason to be blown up...as much as I love rearfacing tethering in the Britax, for example, they say what a lifesaving feature it is, which is not true at all (ALL rearfacing seats are phenomenally safe...)...and the 'failure' of the Marathon was a 5 degree over-rotation on a test bench, using a different crash test pulse than the government standard (ie, absolutely nothing like any car or any real crash or what the government dictates AND the dummy stayed completely protected within the seat :) ).

But anyway, enough of a rant...I'm SO glad your DC fits in your Pacifica!

:)
Julie CPS Tech and mom to 2 in seats
http://www.cpsafety.com/articles/RFAlbum/SarahMA.aspx

[Allison_B]

We just got back today from our quick trip. Catherine spent three hours in her DC yesterday and three hours today on the way home. There was remarkably less spitting up and I loved how she just seemed to float in her seat. When she slept her head didn't flop over.

Thanks again to all who chimed in! This is a great forum.

Allison

http://www.windsorpeak.com/dc/user_files/30368.jpg