infant car seat question

[jrn90]

pregnant with twins, due May 10th- we have a snugride (reg. one) that will expire Dec. 2010 - we definately need to get one more- my question is should we get two new ones? will my old snugride last? My first child who was 10 lbs 6 oz at birth was out of the snugride by 6months - but I know twins tend to be smaller so I am wondering if they will be in them longer ? also should we cosider upgardingto the snugride 32? i have read these are heavier, wondering if any of you multiple Mom have experience? thanks

[twowhat?]

My opinion is that you should just wait. You have a good obstetrics history so your twins may end up being a good size, and they may very well be out of the snugrides by Dec. And if not, then you can purchase one more.

As for the snugride 32s (or other infant seats that can go up to this weight), I personally would NOT want to be lugging around two 30 pound infants in their car seats. We used a double snap n go, which got very hard to steer when our twins got close to 20 pounds each. Also, keep in mind that a lot of infants outgrow the higher-weight-limit seats by height before weight. Our girls outgrew their regular snugrides by height WAY before they would have outgrown them by weight. BUT - some people who have big babies find these seats REALLY useful...though I always wonder that if these same people had twins, they might've had a different opinion:)

[arivecchi]

I would post this question in the car seats forum so you get an answer from the techs there. GL!

[srhs]

No BTDT with multiples, but I personally wouldn't replace the seat you have just because it's going to expire in Dec. I'd plan to use it and make that decision in Oct. or Nov.

[o_mom]

Is your old seat a front-adjust model?
Does it have EPS foam around the head (look under the cover for some styrofoam)?
Does it have a 22 lb weight limit? (not sure exactly when they changed over - it was right around that time)

If yes to all of these, you may be able to reuse it if the babies are big enough. If no to any of those, you should consider two new seats. The regular Snugride isn't always great for tiny babies. The Snugride32 is better, but if they are really small (under 5-6 lbs) a Chicco KeyFit will probably fit the best.

I loved having a larger infant seat, but they do get heavy. By the end we rarely took them out, but it did allow us to move him in the seat the rare times that he fell asleep after 6 months or so.

A larger seat would also allow you to get through the winter without having to deal with the coat on/coat off in winter - you can strap them in while the seats are in the warm house and tuck blankets around them. Especially if your seat was a 20 lb model, you will find that even the newer version that goes to 22 lbs lasts longer than it did with your first. The Snugride 22 lasts most babies to about 8-9 months, the KeyFit to 9-12 months and the Snugride32 12-18 months.

[Momof3Labs]

ITA to wait and see since you have until December to decide whether to buy a new one or not.

[mikeys_mom]

I agree with PP's on waiting until the babies are here before you buy anything new. I had the same issue with my twins. I had an older 20lb limit Snugride (except mine was expiring when the twins would be about a year old) and my sister had a 22lb limit Snugride she was no longer using. I decided to go with those two seats at first and then decide later what to replace them with, if necessary.

My older kids were 8lbs and 9.5lbs at birth and lasted only 5 months in the Snugride. The twins surprised us by coming 2 weeks early at 5.5lbs each and lasted until about 8 months in the Snugrides. Even though it was the middle of the winter here, I did not want to get a larger bucket for them because it was near impossible to carry the two seats anywhere without the double SNG and I really did not enjoy the DSNG, nor did the twins enjoy being in it for long periods of time at that point.

[caheinz]

I would wait and see.... but I also want to add that if you live anywhere with cold weather, the car seats are nice for keeping them bundled to and from the car, even as they get heavier. (Our twins could now be in RF convertibles, but they're still in their SafeSeats, and probably will be until it warms up at least.)

[HIU8]

Heck, DD was a singleton and large baby. She was in her SS for 14 months. That time in the infant seat was invaluable---easy to run into a store and take DS to preschool and great to keep her bundled in the cold weather when we went out. I would assume twins are usually smaller than an average singleton. They would be able to stay in a SS for awhile (and at least I would find that easier with twins when taking them out).