# References for disadvantages of carseat pushchair combos?



## Triniity (Jul 15, 2007)

Hi,
I am looking for references for the disadvantages of these carseat pushchair combos. I am thinking sids, movement problems, breathing problems, no skin-to-skin...

Do you know anything?

thanks!


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## AlexisT (May 6, 2007)

It's only an issue, as far as I'm aware, if baby is regularly in the car seat for hours, in which case I would recommend a bassinet stroller (ie pram) instead (a carrier is also a good idea, but if we're talking someone who is going out shopping all afternoon, she may want the stroller just for the basket). IIRC it's something to do with the angle a baby is positioned in a bucket type seat.

There should be links somewhere on MDC for extended use of infant carriers which is not recommended. However, the travel system is fine if it's intended for shorter periods--if we're talking in a shop, back in the car, in another shop, etc--this is its ideal use.


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## karina5 (Apr 15, 2006)

I've never seen such a thing. OUt of curiosity, what would this be for? I mean, you either want to have one or you don't. Mine came in quite handy so I'm having a hard time thinking where you would get a list of disadvantages.


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## marybethorama (Jun 9, 2005)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *karina5* 
I've never seen such a thing. OUt of curiosity, what would this be for? I mean, you either want to have one or you don't. Mine came in quite handy so I'm having a hard time thinking where you would get a list of disadvantages.

I have to agree. They can be handy.


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## felix23 (Nov 7, 2006)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *marybethorama* 
I have to agree. They can be handy.

ITA. I loved mine. Especially with dd1 who hated being worn and loved the carseat. If she went to sleep in the car I could just pop her into stroller and shop in peace till she woke up. DD2 likes the bassinet type stroller (she also hates slings), so I don't use the carseat combination with her.


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## aja-belly (Oct 7, 2004)

i am loving ours at the moment. my older two kids hated the carseat so it would have been useless, but these babies will stay asleep for a quick trip in and out somewhere if i don't have to get them out of their carseats. plus, we can use the stroller without the carseats as well so it's a win/win all around.


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## nikkiethridge (May 6, 2008)

Man, I could never bring myself to wake a sleeping infant to put them in a sling, then wake them up and put them back in a car seat. Especially not for super quick trips into the store when DS would just sleep through the whole thing.







:

But yeah, I think as long as the infant is getting held and enough skin to skin time then it isn't a big deal.


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## RunnerDuck (Sep 12, 2003)

Have to say, I think the biggest disadvantage comes from gung-ho baby wearers who feel they are superior to you for not using one.

I've always done a mix of wearing the baby and using the bucket. Different situations call for different set-ups.

I have seen the risks of flat heads and all from using these but IMO that comes from over use to the point of neglect rather than proper use.


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## aja-belly (Oct 7, 2004)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *RunnerDuck* 
Have to say, I think the biggest disadvantage comes from gung-ho baby wearers who feel they are superior to you for not using one.


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## soxthecatrules (Oct 20, 2008)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *RunnerDuck* 
Have to say, I think the biggest disadvantage comes from gung-ho baby wearers who feel they are superior to you for not using one.

I've always done a mix of wearing the baby and using the bucket. Different situations call for different set-ups.

I have seen the risks of flat heads and all from using these but IMO that comes from over use to the point of neglect rather than proper use.









:

I'm not sure where all of these babywearers live. Since DS was born 2.5 yrs ago I can count the number of babes I've seen in slings (any non-Bjorn type carrier) on one hand (and that includes my LO). This includes our hometown, Kansas City, Lawrence, Wichita, Dallas, Santa Fe, Albuquerque, and Taos. I think that covers all of the cities we've been in.


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## Sk8ermaiden (Feb 13, 2008)

I've seen more babywearers than I can count at Costco. I don't know what it is about that place, but there is ALWAYS a baby in a sling.

I see them other places too.

I also think the only danger from travel systems would be from overuse to the point of neglect.


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## jeminijad (Mar 27, 2009)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *RunnerDuck* 
Have to say, I think the biggest disadvantage comes from gung-ho baby wearers who feel they are superior to you for not using one.

.

Spot on and hilarious, as usual.

I'm with everyone else- if your baby spends 8 hours a day in the bucket, the disadvantages are lack of bonding, positional plagiocephaly, possibly airway obstruction. Otherwise, a single buckle and unbuckle in a day full of errands is an advantage over constant bending over into the car, strapping into the convertible seat, unfolding the stroller, strapping in OR getting the sling situated again...


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## Triniity (Jul 15, 2007)

sorry girls, i was not only for a while.

I actually intensely hate this combos. Not for their existence or anything. there are a couple of facts about them that I totally does not like.
there are studies about this, I was looking for something like an online guideline or something.

first, newborn or even premature babies should not be in a carseat at all. Obviously, if there is no way for a new mom to stay at home, the need to be in the car. but for very immature babies, there are different seats (that are not actually seats more beds)
Even the producers of carseats warn because of overuse (meaning more than 30 min a day in a seat) it increases the risk of SIDS and breathing difficulties.

I don´t even want to start with the developmental things, seeing this quite big babies squashed in the seats being pushed around for hours.

obviously, they are not dangerous if you just use them for the way from the parking lot to the bakery or something like that. But for me, that would not be worth the money that you have to pay for them.

I guess I am one of the

Quote:

gung-ho baby wearers who feel they are superior to you for not using one










I guess I have to search for the mothering article about them, to find references... maybe someone out there has an idea ...


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## karina5 (Apr 15, 2006)

I'm really confused by your post and what you are looking for. Everyone has acknowledged that they can be abused but used like they should be is just fine.

???????????????


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## chickabiddy (Jan 30, 2004)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Triniity* 
first, newborn or even premature babies should not be in a carseat at all. Obviously, if there is no way for a new mom to stay at home, the need to be in the car. but for very immature babies, there are different seats (that are not actually seats more beds)

This is simply untrue. Carseats are safer than car beds. We recommend use of carbeds only for babies who cannot safely use a carseat (some preemies and other special needs babies). Whenever possible -- and it is possible for most preemies and all healthy newborns -- babies should be in 5-point-harness seats adjusted to the proper angle.


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## queenjane (May 17, 2004)

Quote:

But for me, that would not be worth the money that you have to pay for them.
But most of the combos ive seen are the ones that you clip the infant carseat onto a regular full size stroller....both of which you can use separately so how is it "not worth the money" since *most* people will be buying both of these items at some point anyway? Unfortunately i bought an infant seat first, and then realized that they are really heavy and it would be so much easier to push it around in something, so i ended up spending fifty bucks on a stroller "frame" that can't be used for anything *other* than clipping a carseat to it, and that was somewhat of a waste, though worth every penny at the time.

One way the combo was helpful, was when my baby was not yet able to sit up in a high chair...sometimes we'd go to a restaurant where the infant seat was too wide for the booth seat, and so i could just set the seat in the stroller frame and use that as a sort of high chair (much safer than those wobbly "carseat sling" stands they offer you), i'm not sure how people actually babywear while sitting in a booth, i can barely fit my belly in there let alone a baby.

My son didnt take to babywearing (unlike my older son who lived in his sling)....and despite spending lots of time in the car and in strollers, he didnt die of SIDS nor does he have breathing problems. Sure, be aware of your baby and their needs, and hold them alot. But leaving a sleeping or content baby in their seat while you do some shopping is not the end of the world.

Katherine


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## felix23 (Nov 7, 2006)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *chickabiddy* 
This is simply untrue. Carseats are safer than car beds. We recommend use of carbeds only for babies who cannot safely use a carseat (some preemies and other special needs babies). Whenever possible -- and it is possible for most preemies and all healthy newborns -- babies should be in 5-point-harness seats adjusted to the proper angle.

ITA. The NICU my dd was in did not recommend the carbeds unless there was absolutely no way to avoid them. They really are not safe.


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## karina5 (Apr 15, 2006)

Many people both babywear AND find that a stroller/carseat is helpful.

What's with the either/or? (I'm not asking anyone in particular, it's something I see a lot here, though).

Sometimes babywearing is great and works out well. Other times a stroller or carseat works great. Our first meal out at a restaurant when DS was a tiny babe he slept in his carseat at our table the whole time. It was really sweet and nice for us to enjoy a meal together. It would have been silly to take a peacefully sleeping baby out of a carseat just to put him in a sling and have him possibly wake up and cry. Carseats/strollers are not the devil in every situation.


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## Sk8ermaiden (Feb 13, 2008)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *karina5* 
Many people both babywear AND find that a stroller/carseat is helpful.

What's with the either/or? (I'm not asking anyone in particular, it's something I see a lot here, though).

I agree. For the upcoming babe, my very first purchases were a Babyhawk, a Moby, and a ring sling. I have also purchased a travel system. I believe and hope they will all have their uses.


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## eloise24 (Nov 17, 2005)

They are just like anything else in parenting . . . there is NO one-size-one piece of equipment fits-all. Different things work for different families, in different situations. If you don't like them, don't buy one!


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## EdnaMarie (Sep 9, 2006)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *nikkiethridge* 
Man, I could never bring myself to wake a sleeping infant to put them in a sling, then wake them up and put them back in a car seat. Especially not for super quick trips into the store when DS would just sleep through the whole thing.







:

But yeah, I think as long as the infant is getting held and enough skin to skin time then it isn't a big deal.









nak

that's what i was thinking...

Quote:

Even the producers of carseats warn because of overuse (meaning more than 30 min a day in a seat) it increases the risk of SIDS and breathing difficulties.
References? I was wondering about that as some told me to put a reflux-y baby in the car seat to sleep. I didn't...


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## RunnerDuck (Sep 12, 2003)

Should have mentioned - one of my babies had torticollis which in layman's terms is a crookedness to the neck/head... now while we were never told this, I later learned of another mom whose baby had tort who was told by their physical therapist not to put their baby in a baby bucket any more than absolutely necc. - ie always wear/carry them if not in the car.

With my baby, it was her position in the bucket that was one of the things that made me think something was weird. She ALWAYS held her head so she looked to her right. It wasn't so odd the first few weeks because they're small, they have to flop one way or another - but I came to realize she ALWAYS looked to the right, she never moved her head to look at me, just her eyes.

It was very pronounced in the car seat. Very easy for her to keep her head the way she felt comfortable. Whereas if you wore them they would have to use their neck muscles more and move around more.

Like I said, though, we were never told not to use the bucket. And while we didn't use the bucket exclusively, we tend tend to use it more than not in the first 3-4 months or so. And she did outgrew the tort nevertheless.

So I can see why some people might say they are bad from a tort. aspect but maybe many things about the car seats seem bad in theory but don't really play out that way?

All three of my kids have round heads and lived through their first year...


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## Triniity (Jul 15, 2007)

Hi,
I think I kind of caused a little bit confusion here - unintended, I must confess. English is not my mothertongue, so please don´t be so hard on me









I did not want to suggest at all that you should not put your baby in a car seat while you are driving in a car. Absolutely not.
I did not want to suggest, that a car bed is safer than a car seat, sorry if my post reads like that. And I did not want to suggest, that it is harmfull for a baby to be in a stroller. Not at all.
Actually, I did not want to suggest anything at all, I was just looking for references ...









As I said, it´s not my mother tongue. Sometimes I don´t get small differences, and it is even more difficult with the written word ´cause I cannot "see" when I am misunderstood.

Thank you for your suggestions anyway. I hope I did not cause too much confusion.


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## Eclipsepearl (May 20, 2007)

_Man, I could never bring myself to wake a sleeping infant to put them in a sling, then wake them up and put them back in a car seat. Especially not for super quick trips into the store when DS would just sleep through the whole thing_.

Who says you have to wake them??? One of the big advantages of the sling is that you can transfer the baby between the sling and the car seat _without_ waking them. Both my girls slept right through the transfers.

Once you get the hang of the sling, it's really not necessary to take the car seat out of the car. I used to use the car seat if we were going to a restaurant and even then, I didn't carry the baby in it. I transferred her to the sling and held the carrier sideways as we went inside. MUCH easier!

I really do hate seeing babies actually carried in those bucket-style seats.


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## felix23 (Nov 7, 2006)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Eclipsepearl* 
_Man, I could never bring myself to wake a sleeping infant to put them in a sling, then wake them up and put them back in a car seat. Especially not for super quick trips into the store when DS would just sleep through the whole thing_.

Who says you have to wake them??? One of the big advantages of the sling is that you can transfer the baby between the sling and the car seat _without_ waking them. Both my girls slept right through the transfers.

Once you get the hang of the sling, it's really not necessary to take the car seat out of the car. I used to use the car seat if we were going to a restaurant and even then, I didn't carry the baby in it. I transferred her to the sling and held the carrier sideways as we went inside. MUCH easier!

I really do hate seeing babies actually carried in those bucket-style seats.


This may have worked for you, but I have had two children, both of which would wake screaming if I attempted to transfer them from the carseat to the sling. And they wouldn't get calmed back down, so I had to rush through the store with a crying baby. But if I just left them in their carseats, they would sleep through the whole trip.


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## RunnerDuck (Sep 12, 2003)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *felix23* 
This may have worked for you, but I have had two children, both of which would wake screaming if I attempted to transfer them from the carseat to the sling. And they wouldn't get calmed back down, so I had to rush through the store with a crying baby. But if I just left them in their carseats, they would sleep through the whole trip.

My son would never sleep through a transfer from car seat to house until he was well past the 2 mark - meaning if he fell asleep in the car around nap time I could get home and move him to his bed and have him wake a little but go back to sleep. Ditto my girls - they're 14 months and I think we have had one instance where they were asleep in the car and I moved them to their cribs and they went back to sleep. Usually they will either spring back up fully recharged so I don't even bother putting them down - or they scream in their cribs until I give up, even though I know the quiet I get from that is going to ruin the rest of the day because they will be crabby from not napping. Now if my kids are asleep in the car, I just drive. I call it the 18mpg nap. It's not very enviromentally sound... but ... you just never, never, never move a sleeping baby if you don't have to.


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## felix23 (Nov 7, 2006)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *RunnerDuck* 
My son would never sleep through a transfer from car seat to house until he was well past the 2 mark - meaning if he fell asleep in the car around nap time I could get home and move him to his bed and have him wake a little but go back to sleep. Ditto my girls - they're 14 months and I think we have had one instance where they were asleep in the car and I moved them to their cribs and they went back to sleep. Usually they will either spring back up fully recharged so I don't even bother putting them down - or they scream in their cribs until I give up, even though I know the quiet I get from that is going to ruin the rest of the day because they will be crabby from not napping. Now if my kids are asleep in the car, I just drive. I call it the 18mpg nap. It's not very enviromentally sound... but ... you just never, never, never move a sleeping baby if you don't have to.









I think that there has only been one time that I have been able to pick Lilly up from the carseat and put her in her bed. And that was at night after a day of really, really hard play. I've driven around with sleeping children too. Missing nap means that the rest of the day is going to be spent with whiny, grumpy kids. I try to avoid that if at all possible.


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## queenjane (May 17, 2004)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *RunnerDuck* 
Now if my kids are asleep in the car, I just drive. I call it the 18mpg nap. It's not very enviromentally sound... but ... you just never, never, never move a sleeping baby if you don't have to.









Yep. Me too.

Sometimes i'm lucky enough to have someone else in the car with me, and while my son (who is almost 17 mos) naps i can run into the grocery store, back home and put them away, to the bank, whatever. But if i try to get him out and lay him down, he will wake up and that nap is gone for the day.

I also never got the hang of eating with a big baby strapped to my chest.

I used to make assumptions about people and their strollers or plastic carriers, back when i had my older son (who is now 12), i thought that it was a statement about attachment to have these devices. Now i have a child who didnt like the many carriers i tried to use, who was content to sit in the baby carseat, who doesnt mind at all being pushed around in his umbrella stroller....and who, as an infant, was in arms almost the whole time we were at home...so now i know that when i see a baby being carried around in the carseats they very well could be cosleeping at home yknow?

Katherine


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## amj'smommy (Feb 24, 2005)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *eloise24* 
They are just like anything else in parenting . . . there is NO one-size-one piece of equipment fits-all. Different things work for different families, in different situations. If you don't like them, don't buy one!


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## sapphire_chan (May 2, 2005)

Bother, I know I've read about what you're thinking of. A warning about not having the baby nap in the carseat or some such...

http://www.sleepywrap.com/index.php?...r-baby-carrier
Obviously, the source of the article is biased, but it gives some further reading that you might be able to hunt down with the help of a librarian.


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## karina5 (Apr 15, 2006)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Eclipsepearl* 
_Man, I could never bring myself to wake a sleeping infant to put them in a sling, then wake them up and put them back in a car seat. Especially not for super quick trips into the store when DS would just sleep through the whole thing_.

*Who says you have to wake them???* One of the big advantages of the sling is that you can transfer the baby between the sling and the car seat _without_ waking them. Both my girls slept right through the transfers.

Once you get the hang of the sling, it's really not necessary to take the car seat out of the car. I used to use the car seat if we were going to a restaurant and even then, I didn't carry the baby in it. I transferred her to the sling and held the carrier sideways as we went inside. MUCH easier!

I really do hate seeing babies actually carried in those bucket-style seats.


It's not that I would wake him on purpose, but if I moved him, he woke up. Every time. This is in that "why try to fix what ain't broken" category. If he is happily sleeping, and it worked for me to carry him in the restaurant, then why not?

I don't see the downside on letting a happily sleeping baby sleep.

Let's not be so extreme in our thinking that a bucket is ALWAYS bad. Trust me, my son was held pretty much all the time, and it really bothers me to think that someone was looking at us with disdain b/c he was sleeping in a bucket for 45 minutes.


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## RunnerDuck (Sep 12, 2003)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *karina5* 

Let's not be so extreme in our thinking that a bucket is ALWAYS bad. Trust me, my son was held pretty much all the time, and it really bothers me to think that someone was looking at us with disdain b/c he was sleeping in a bucket for 45 minutes.









Are you sure it was disdain? It could have been envy.







Because I'm the kind of person that stares at sleeping babies in buckets in resturaunts and thinks, Why did they get one of those babies?

My son was not one of those babies... he didn't do the "sleep in a bucket in a resturaunt" thing. He did the "scream until someone holds me" thing. There were meals I would eat standing up with him in a baby bjorn on my front so he was happy. Then when DH was done eating - he eats fast to the point that it seems unhealthy - he would take over and I could sit and eat. We didn't go out to eat much when he was little...

I am still amazed when I see someone in a restaurant with a baby in a bucket... and the baby just sleeps the entire meal... it's possible I do stare longingly and people might think I am staring meanly... I hope not. But it's possible...


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## karina5 (Apr 15, 2006)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *RunnerDuck* 
*Are you sure it was disdain? It could have been envy*.







Because I'm the kind of person that stares at sleeping babies in buckets in resturaunts and thinks, Why did they get one of those babies?

My son was not one of those babies... he didn't do the "sleep in a bucket in a resturaunt" thing. He did the "scream until someone holds me" thing. There were meals I would eat standing up with him in a baby bjorn on my front so he was happy. Then when DH was done eating - he eats fast to the point that it seems unhealthy - he would take over and I could sit and eat. We didn't go out to eat much when he was little...

I am still amazed when I see someone in a restaurant with a baby in a bucket... and the baby just sleeps the entire meal... it's possible I do stare longingly and people might think I am staring meanly... I hope not. But it's possible...









He was also a "hold me all the time" baby and that is why on the rare occassion he would fall asleep in his car seat we knew enough to leave very well alone and enjoy those moments.

I think he really did it only a small handful of times, which is why it's weird to me that someone would have a problem with this.


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## shibababy (Feb 27, 2003)

If my child couldn't be in a carseat for more than 30minutes a day, it would be no point in having a carseat, nor ever leaving the house. It takes me at least 45minutes one-way to get anywhere because I live in a rural area, lol!

I think the problems with the travel systems come in when a parent buckles child into the careseat for the trip say to a mall, puts the child into the stroller/carseat system and strolls the mall for an hour, then babe goes back into the car for the trip to the restaurant where babe is then propped into the highchair (still in infant carseat) while parent enjoys a nice lunch and then back into the carseat for the ride home. Once home, oh he/she is sleeping so peacefully so let's just leave him/her in the carseat in the living room while I put my packages away, then maybe I'll change a dipe. Even if there is no restaurant stop or nap in seat once home, this is still a long time to be strapped into one position with limited movement. And yes, I have known many mommas who have done this, repeatedly. If baby isn't fussy, he/she must be okay right? That's their justification.

Have you ever been in your car and fiddled around with the seatbelt several times to get more comfy? Or had to stretch your legs after driving a distance? Just think how the baby feels strapped so snuggly in a five-point harness for hours.

I love the slings for intermediate trips such as a walk outside or at the playground, a short shopping trip, but if I'm running into a Seven-11 or gas station convenience store/walgreens, etc. It's more convenient to just leave baby in infant seat. For the mall or zoo/amusement park, I would place baby in a reclined stroller without infant seat. If I'm maybe doing a trip into a store where I might be trying on clothes/using the restroom, I will do the infant seat/stroller combo.

so, i don't think the products have those disadvantages. i think some parents could be using the products in a disadvantageous manner. I also think that babycarriers can also be overused if the child is never able to get down and make use of muscles in order to develop their gross motor skills.


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