Do you feel an infant (bucket) seat really necessary?

[chinook]

Hi everyone,

Good friends are expecting their first and are looking to me for gear advice! I have 15 month old b/g twins that were initially in Snugrides and now have been in MA's since about 7 months old.

I'm tempted to advise them to go straight for the MA. I say this because we used the buckets for such a short time it seemed like a bit of a rip. Plus, my kids were both MISERABLE in their buckets and are much happier in the MA's. I know the buckets can be convenient with a sleeping kid, I'm just not certain that convenience ever justified the cost of them (to me, anyway!) Also, I think the MA's have a much much better and tighter install than I could *ever* achieve with the Snugride bases, but that could just have been something I was doing wrong with the Snugride bases.

We've already given both of our buckets away so we can't do that for them.

Do any of you have strong feelings about this? Any concerns about skipping the bucket? I don't want to give them bad advice so I wanted to check here first!

Thanks in advance!

[JBaxter]

I really liked my bucket seat for an infant. Nathan was born in November and it was cold and windy that year. I loved being able to cover him up stick him in the car close the door then turn around and uncover him. He also went everwhere and I liked the bucket seat for restaurants, strolling in the mall, and not waking him up bringing him back into the house.
Could I have managed without it... yes but it was much easier for me to have it.

[daniele_ut]

I really liked having an infant seat with my last winter baby, and I have one for this baby as well. I got more than 9 months of use out of my Snugride and expect to get more than that out of my KeyFit30. This time around I will have a 3 year old to contend with while carrying my DD, so I think the infant seat will be invaluable, especially for daycare dropoffs and pickups.

My DS would have never fit well in the MA as a newborn, since he was premature. There is a chance this baby will come early as well, so there was no question in my mind that we were getting an infant seat this time.

[o_mom]

I love an infant seat until they can sit up in a shopping cart or highchair so that I had somewhere to put them in stores and restaurants. I also love being able to have one less child to strap in while we are standing in a parking lot and being able to cover the baby inside where it is warm.

I had an older Snugride with my first two and they outgrew it very early (4 mos?) so I got a SafeSeat this time and will probably use it to at least 18 mos if DS3 grows like the other two. A SafeSeat or even a KeyFit will last longer than the Snugride and be easier to install. I also found that the most basic SafeSeat is more padded than most Snugrides, which makes it more comfortable.

Most convertibles will be OK on an average newborn. However, a small baby will be dwarfed in a Marathon. DS3 was 8 lbs 7 oz and the Decathlon was huge on him - straps above his ears, almost to the top of his head. I don't know that it was hugely unsafe, but the SafeSeat certainly fit him better. If they do go straight to the Marathon, they need to be prepared to get an infant seat within a day or two if the baby is early or very small (just saying, check out the infant seats, what they would need, have the funds available and find where they can buy that seat locally so someone can be sent to fetch one if needed). They should also be prepare to educate the hospital staff that the MA is safe and appropriate for the baby as some have been known to freak if you don't have an infant seat.

[SnuggleBuggles]

We planned to skip the infant seat and go right to ds1's RA but dh couldn't get it installed well rf'ing at the right angle. (actually, dh was trying to install it while I was in labor so he was in a bit of a hurry- we are planning to swap the seats when we get a free moment :)). But, there have been a few times I have been glad that I had it so far. I like having it for restaurants and appointments. However, if you have a good stroller that could be good enough for those places too. I think I might keep my Snugride in the trunk for when the need strikes if we get around to doing the RA (my stroller sucks). It's nice when you just want to run in somewhere really fast and not wake up the baby or make them cold.

I hate lugging that thing around though. My back hurts every time I carry it. I much prefer my Bjorn or sling.

If I were starting out brand new I don't know what I would do though. I probably would go with one of the newer infant seats b/c it is a nice option to have the portability on occasion. Plus, most convertible seats expire in 6 years so you could risk having it expire before the child outgrows it if you buy it from the get go.

Beth

[katiesmommy]

I hated every minute of using the infant seat with DD. However, when we have another, I likely will get one anyway, because I think it may come in handy when I've got 2 to contend with. That said, a newborn isn't likely to fit in a Marathon, but may fit in an EFTA.

[Marisa6826]

I loved having the bucket seat for both kids 95% of the time. The only time I didn't was when I had to physically carry it - those suckers are heavy!

But as Jeana said, if you have a winter baby, it makes a big difference in having a bucket. You don't have to bundle the baby in a bazillion layers if you have Bundle Me. It's easier to keep the wind/snow/rain off them.

Even though I know that the Britaxes are technically OK for newborns, they'd be lost in a seat that big. At least my kiddos would've been. Amelia was my 'big' kid at 6lbs. 8 oz. Sophie was 6lbs. 1oz. and was 5lbs. 7oz. when I brought her home. Now, the Roundabout is supposedly OK from 5-33lbs RF. Can you REALLY see a 5lb'er in a RA?

A whole other side to this, what happens when your friends want to go out to dinner (as if, right? ;) ) are they going to bring along a bouncy seat? Or is her DH going to hold the baby while she eats? Or is she going to sling the baby? It's sometimes a whole hell of a lot easier to just let the baby sleep in the bucket while you eat (wow, those days are a distant memory, huh?).

Congrats to your friend, btw - and to you on surviving the first year of twins! :)

-m

[chinook]

Hi everyone,

Thanks for the replies. Gives me a few things to think about.

They're due in June so he'll be five months or so by the time winter really hits here, so I'm not *too* worried about the bundling factor, but it is something to consider for sure.

Thanks again,
KA

[bubbaray]

A year ago, I was sooooo sure we would skip the bucket with DD#2. DD#1 HATED it. Turns out DD#2 hated it to, but we used it anyway. DD#2 just looked so tiny in the MA. And, it was winter so even in the rain here, darn cold. I've tried every carrier with her and she's not a huge fan of them either.