The Seat
At Snippet's pediatrician appointment last week, just as we were leaving, the doctor glanced at Snippet's car seat and said, "Do you know what the height limit is on that?" Jake and I couldn't even pretend we were informed parents, since the blank looks we exchanged easily gave us away. I fumbled out a reply, "Ah...aren't you just supposed to watch for when their head is an inch from the top, or something like that...." My voice trailed off as he reached for the seat and tipped up its side. "Oh, here it is," he pointed. "Looks like it goes up to 29 inches. Since Snippet is 27.5 inches, he could technically stay in it a little longer, but just seeing the way the straps are sitting on his shoulders, it looks like it's probably time to switch him to a big seat."
He went on to tell me something I suspected, but had never researched. If the straps have to go up the baby's back and then over his shoulders, the seat is too small. The straps should come straight out at, or just very slightly below, the tops of the baby's shoulders. Otherwise, in an accident, he could get whiplash from the delay of the straps restraining him. Since we have the straps as far up as they will go, the only thing to do is upgrade him to the honking-big convertible car seat that has been sitting lonely in our shed since we received it at a baby shower last August. Since we can't pop it in and out of the bases we have in our cars for the smaller seat, we went straight from the pediatrician's office to Target to pick up a twin brother for the convertible seat. (There's no way in friggin' frick that I'm unbuckling that thing and switching it from car to car! It's pain enough to just get it in right the first time!)
Jake and I were sad and excited all at the same time, realizing what a big step this is for Snippet. We have watched him grow in that seat, over the past six months, from a tiny curled newborn to a strong little boy. Loading him up in it at the hospital, he looked so overwhelmed and the seat seemed so gigantic. Carrying him around in it was a cinch, and a wonderful miracle of innovation. We could go into almost any store or restaurant and park him in it while he slept soundly and didn't notice a thing. In truth, he felt more like an accessory than a child, but there were days I was grateful for his accessory state (like at the dentist, or the hair salon, etc.)
Over time, though, he became more aware of being shifted around, and once he was awake, he did NOT want to be stuck in the seat. We could try any number of toys and distractions, but he wanted OUT, not that I blame him, of course. I wouldn't want to be strapped into a bucket, unable to see all the awesomeness of a new world, either. I insisted on sticking to this seat, even though it lost its identity as alternate baby bed, because it made Snippet so wonderfully portable. I could carry him with one hand, while I juggled a bunch of bags in the other. And, I could sit him down anywhere while I jostled my cell phone out of my purse, or slugged a drink of coffee.
The portability factor is what I realized I would miss the most about that seat, when I experimented with the convertible car seat over the weekend. It's a wonderful, roomy, safe seat, but geez-oh-man, does it suck having to balance an actual baby on my hip along with all the other crap I have to carry. I can no longer plop him in our gravel driveway while I search for my house key, and I can no longer sit him on the kitchen table while I fumble for the light switch. Suddenly, it's become a locked-door, dark-house kind of world---but a world that has a big, healthy baby boy in it, too. I guess that's a good trade-off.
(ps---New pics are up on private picture blog!)
He went on to tell me something I suspected, but had never researched. If the straps have to go up the baby's back and then over his shoulders, the seat is too small. The straps should come straight out at, or just very slightly below, the tops of the baby's shoulders. Otherwise, in an accident, he could get whiplash from the delay of the straps restraining him. Since we have the straps as far up as they will go, the only thing to do is upgrade him to the honking-big convertible car seat that has been sitting lonely in our shed since we received it at a baby shower last August. Since we can't pop it in and out of the bases we have in our cars for the smaller seat, we went straight from the pediatrician's office to Target to pick up a twin brother for the convertible seat. (There's no way in friggin' frick that I'm unbuckling that thing and switching it from car to car! It's pain enough to just get it in right the first time!)
Jake and I were sad and excited all at the same time, realizing what a big step this is for Snippet. We have watched him grow in that seat, over the past six months, from a tiny curled newborn to a strong little boy. Loading him up in it at the hospital, he looked so overwhelmed and the seat seemed so gigantic. Carrying him around in it was a cinch, and a wonderful miracle of innovation. We could go into almost any store or restaurant and park him in it while he slept soundly and didn't notice a thing. In truth, he felt more like an accessory than a child, but there were days I was grateful for his accessory state (like at the dentist, or the hair salon, etc.)
Over time, though, he became more aware of being shifted around, and once he was awake, he did NOT want to be stuck in the seat. We could try any number of toys and distractions, but he wanted OUT, not that I blame him, of course. I wouldn't want to be strapped into a bucket, unable to see all the awesomeness of a new world, either. I insisted on sticking to this seat, even though it lost its identity as alternate baby bed, because it made Snippet so wonderfully portable. I could carry him with one hand, while I juggled a bunch of bags in the other. And, I could sit him down anywhere while I jostled my cell phone out of my purse, or slugged a drink of coffee.
The portability factor is what I realized I would miss the most about that seat, when I experimented with the convertible car seat over the weekend. It's a wonderful, roomy, safe seat, but geez-oh-man, does it suck having to balance an actual baby on my hip along with all the other crap I have to carry. I can no longer plop him in our gravel driveway while I search for my house key, and I can no longer sit him on the kitchen table while I fumble for the light switch. Suddenly, it's become a locked-door, dark-house kind of world---but a world that has a big, healthy baby boy in it, too. I guess that's a good trade-off.
(ps---New pics are up on private picture blog!)
posted by deanna at 7:51 PM
5 Comments:
Evie's still pretty short, so we aren't switching her to her big seat yet, but she's so heavy that I rarely carry her around in her infant seat anymore. Snippet must be so tall now! This was a great post. You captured a lot of aspects of motherhood that will ring true for a lot of people. :)
You could try a sling of some sort. Allows you to hold him but still keeps your hands free to do all that stuff!
What a big step! It's hard now until you can set them down on their own feet...and then it gets a little easier. :)
I was so glad you wrote this post. Owen's seat was ready for an adjustment and I wouldn't have known it, otherwise.
Hope all is well in Snippetland!
XO
Wow this is definite food for thought. I had never considered that there was a height limit on car seats. Crappity-crap!
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