Saturday, March 17, 2012

Car Seat Confusion

I'm not overly protective but I don't throw caution the wind when it comes to the safety and protection of my children. That's one of the reasons that Vada is still in her infant car seat. Yes, infant, as in the one we brought her home from the hospital in. I have had conversations with Vada's doctor and he said that I should keep V in this seat for as long as she fits, for extra protection for her and since I had already planned to do so I agreed with him. However, this morning I had two mom's look at me in utter shock when I told them that V was still in her infant seat. I had explained why she was still in it (she still fits, extra protection, helps support her because of the lower muscle tone, protects her neck..) but the shock didnt disapate quickly. Which had me second guessing myself, so I came home and got online to see if I could find the weight and height limit to Vada's car seat. Somewhere I thought that I had seen that it was thirty-three pounds. I found two car seats that looked just like hers and each had different limitations so I ran outside to see if I could find a model number or something. It turns our that the seat actually had a sticker on it with the details that I was looking for! Duh!



Alright, it says twenty-two pounds and under and twenty-nine inches or smaller. Vada weighs twenty pounds and ten ounces and is around twenty-eight and a half inches. She's right there, sitting on the cusp of change. So the big question is Should we make that change?

I took these pictures on my cell phone today to use as a visual aid of sorts...


Her legs look a little cramped in the above and below pictures but she naturally sits this way and regardless of what seat she is in she will be rear facing because she is suppose to be.


The below pictures were taken a couple of days ago, again with my cell phone...

Personally, I think that she looks bigger in these pictures than she does in the above pictures that I took today and that might have to do with the fact that she is really stretching out...


Look at those looong looking legs... at least you know that she is comfortable!




This one cracks me up! Its like her legs are yelling for room! So, when I look at these I am confused. She hasn't quite met the criteria for getting out of the infant seat but she seems to need a new seat and more room. Parents, what do you think? More specifically, parents of children who have low muscle tone, what is your thoughts on this?


Last year about two months before Vada's first birthday I bought a new car seat, only to realize that my little girl was a slow grower and was nowhere (at that time) ready for her new seat. I packed it away until today and I just pulled it out to look at it's requirements. Here they are...

(Just to clarify I don't think that these mom's were judging me, I think that they were just really surprised. And if they were, well, we all do things differently.)  

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

I got mad reading this, so tired of moms judging other moms's decisions! It's one thing to give solicited advice, but to act shocked seems rude. That said, it is probably a good time to switch her to the new seat, seems like she fIts the requirements for the bigger one. But don't feel bad for waiting this long, she clearly still fits the requirements for the smaller one, and you would have switched her had she been uncomfortable. Keep going with your gut, you are an amazing mom!

krlr said...

Rear facing absolutely as long as possible (broken legs are fixable, heads & necks- not so much), then 5 point harness absolutely as long as possible. Professional opinion, but there are some, er, demonstrative videos if you want to google, though you may never drive again.

My Little Wonders said...

We had an older infant seat, so when we were preparing for our trip last summer, we bought a new convertible seat for Miss K ... given her current height and weight, she'll be able to rear-face for at least another year (she's almost 16 months right now). Based on Vada's size, it might be time to put her in her new seat where you can still have her rear-facing.

April Vernon said...

We had the same confusion with both our boys and decided that if there ever happened to be an accident, we could deal with hurt legs better than the possible injuries if they were less protected elsewhere. I think you are doing the right thing.

I Just Love You said...

rachel was in her infant seat until we needed it for charlie. we put her in it a couple months before he was born so she could get used to it. it is a britx and it was rear-facing. when charlie arrived, we needed to turn her around because it too up too much room in the Honda accord and we wouldn't be able to drive it. so now she is forward facing. she is probably around 25 pounds and 32 inches.