When to put the infant seat in?

[thepeach80]

O.K. so I'm going to move AJ's seat maybe tonight, maybe tomorrow (I have to bring in the extra seats that grandma used on Sat and that may take all my energy, lol) back to his new spot in the van. So, should I put the infant seat next week (after he has gotten used to his new spot, I don't want him to feel like his spot is being replaced if that makes sense) or when I'm in labor? I love the idea of having it in now just so I can look at it, and to finally get it out of the way, but it seems early though I won't be surprised if I go at 37wks (o.k. probably wishful thinking).

[stayinhomewithmy4]

I think you should do it by the time you're 36 weeks, so I guess thats about now! My oldest was 3 1/2 weeks early, and I was SO glad I had the car seat installed before I went into labor. Its always better to be prepared, right? :)

[lovinwaves]

I guess I was kind of "extra prepared", bc with both of my kids I had the seats in like 2 months ahead of time. I had people looking at me funny, but you just never know "when ya'll go"! Then again I had both of my babies rooms ready to go(clothes washed and hung, diaper and wipes bought, everything in it's place) by the time I was 4 months pregnant.

I agree w/ "stayathome" it is always better to be prepared then to be caught rushing doing all of this "stuff".

[Jeanum]

Another "be prepared" mom here. I would try to do it before labor and as soon as you can ideally. I know the SafeSeat is pretty easy to install, but I wouldn't want to have to install it or any other seat during labor, especially when subsequent labors have the potential to be faster than first or second ones. :) This advice brought to you by a mom of 2 whose babies were born about 3 weeks early and 10 days early, respectively, after fast labors, lol.

[skaterbabscpst]

I did a test fit around 7-8 mos, but then took the seat out until much closer (like, within 2 weeks) of my due date because I didn't want to dela with replacing a brand new infant seat if (God forbid!) we were in a crash before the baby arrived. LOL

[lovinwaves]

I did a test fit around 7-8 mos, but then took the seat out until much closer (like, within 2 weeks) of my due date because I didn't want to dela with replacing a brand new infant seat if (God forbid!) we were in a crash before the baby arrived. LOL

oooo, that's a really good point. I never thought about that!

[wendytthomas]

I guess I'm the odd woman out here. Piper's seat (a Britax Advantage, so not an infant) was in the trunk for the last several weeks. Bad mommy-to-be that I was, I laid across the back seat for the five mile ride when I was in labor. No way in hell was I sitting up. And since I didn't know how I was going to travel to the birthing center I didn't want the carseat installed. Nathan and a friend installed it when Piper was about 10 hours old. LOL Took them 45 minutes in the hot muggy dark. Kind of funny since now I can install a seat in about four minutes, IF I don't know it. LOL And that was in a Volvo with a RFing tether anchor on the floor.

Anyway, that's my two cents. I doubt you'll be splayed across a second row captain's chair in labor, but for me it's what worked best. But if you feel you may be up for it right after the baby is born, then maybe install it before you're discharged. Just keep it with you, or if you're going to be in the hospital for a couple of days, or at the birthing center for several hours, or at home in which case you have all the time you want, you can just have your husband grab it when he runs home, or have the other kids' caretakers bring it to you when you're ready.

Wendy

[hsjwmom]

:o
I didn't even GET my carseat until my daughter was born! I went into labor at 32 weeks and ended up staying in the hospital until I delivered at 35 weeks. My co-workers chipped in to get my infant seat and dh brought it to the hospital the day after I delivered. It was still in the box! We had to put the cover on and figure out how to install it immediately because we were taking Abby home that day.

I had no idea how well we actually did...it was our very first time installing ANY carseat!! :eek:

I didn't become a Britax junky until Abby was about 9 months old :)

[skaterbabscpst]

oooo, that's a really good point. I never thought about that!

LOL since I'd rolled my van at 5 weeks pg, I wasn't taking the chance!

[KaysKidz]

Since you are worried about AJ feeling displaced, why not have him help you install his baby sisters seat? Then just leave the base in the car, but keep the seat in the house until you actually need it (that way only the base needs replacing in the event of an accident). But when they are napping, you can sneak the seat out to the van to play with it! LOL

[Kellyr2]

I left mine out for 2 reasons - in September it was still pretty hot and I figured I'd spare it the additional heat exposure, and it was also in the way. It was easier to get in and buckle Mikayla without the seat there. Of course NOW, I have to either go around to the other side or lean back from the front seat, but I put that off as long as possible LOL.

[thepeach80]

Thanks everyone! It's definitely not hot here now and I don't forsee it getting that way again. W/ as cold as it is today I'm scared about how much snow we might get. I'm NOT a snow person. ;) I went ahead and moved AJ's seat back to the back row, he was very excited about it so that's good. He doesn't want to be in the middle of the row for some reason, but that's where the tether is so he has no choice. I can't tell if he just wants to be on the side of if he wants to be rfing again, which he can't do that either. lol I don't think he'll have any problems w/ Ilana coming (other than he can't seem to poo in the potty lately, ugh) and he seems very excited about it. Evan is going to be the one I have more problems w/, he's very protective of mommy at work and makes a beeline to me anytime I pick up one of the other kids. AJ has his sibling class this weekend and gets to make a present for Ilana so that should be fun and help him get ready. He's been asking to see her since I was like 4 mos pg! The diaper bag is ready (the new pink one, oolala), I need to pick out a bag for me, new bras are bought, and all the clothes are washed and ready to go. I have 3 outfits in the bag for her b/c I couldn't decide what she'd need! They're all super pink!

[BrookeSLP]

Well, my due date is TODAY, and I don't have the infant seat installed. I have a LATCH-LOC, so it is a super easy LATCH install. I am not sure which vehicle we will come home from the hospital in, so it will stay home until then.

Brooke

[thepeach80]

Come on Brooke's baby! Well, we only have 1 vehicle that will hold us all so that choice is easy for me. lol

[lovinwaves]

I have 3 outfits in the bag for her b/c I couldn't decide what she'd need! They're all super pink!

I couldn't decide either and brought three outfits too! :)
I had them laid out on the counter and the nurses would come by and give their vote! It seemed like I went through like 10 nurses before the two days was up. That is how we decided which outfit to bring our little girl and little boy home in. It was kind of fun getting the nurses involved. :D

[Kellyr2]

We had a homebirth so didn't need a coming home outfit, and picking out the first outfit was no biggie to me. My big decision was whether I'd want a disposable or cloth diaper on him! I didn't want to put chemicals on his brand new little butt but also wasn't sure I wanted to deal with the laundry right away. Disposables won, because Dh was doing so much work already, I didn't want to add to his laundry load.

[skaterbabscpst]

I took two outfits to the hospital for Joyjoy too, but for more practical reasons. :p Va in October can be very warm (yesterday was near 80*) or VERY cold. (50s and raining, or even snow some years!). So I had one lightweight outfit in case it was warm, and one heavy outfit in case it was cold. LOL

Both were pink, of course. ;)

[LEAW]

Heh, I put the seat in at T'giving since I was home for a few days, baby was due the last day of xmas break... so I got used to hearing it rattle in the base while I drove... of course she was 42.3 weeks so the seat was in the van for a LONG time w/no babe.

This time I might move dd to the driver side and give her a few weeks or so to get used to it, and then put the base in on the passenger side. We're planning a HB but I know we'll be out and about eventually, and installing in the snow isn't a fun idea.

With dd, I had one of those giant shower cap covers that goes over the outside of the seat, adn I packed herhospital gear in there and zipped the cover shut. Worked great to keep her things apart from my hospital things, adn they were clean and organized when I needed them... outfit, socks, hat, blankets, she was born in the worst snowstorm of the year. Mostly the benefit was for me.... in that I didn' thave to dig through baby stuff when I needed something from my bag'o'birthing stuff.

[skaterbabscpst]

I packed two different bags, a diaper bag with all of her stuff, and things like my pump, and a duffle bag for my stuff. That way I just grabbed whichever bag I needed and I didn't have to sort through anything I didn't.

[Jeanum]

The first time around, I had barely begun packing my bag the day before I went into labor about 3 weeks early. I think I felt more concerned about going post-dates than early, yet also a bit superstitious, like if I packed my bag too early then it would happen earlier. I ended up with no slippers and one baby outfit at the hospital, lol, and my feet swelled up to the point that I had to wear the shoes I wore into the hospital as mules. In retrospect most of the things I did the last day before I went into labor were nesting behaviors, but I didn't quite nest enough to get the bag completely packed and mainly missed my slippers. The infant seat bases were installed well in advance in both of our cars because the cars (Saturn S-series models) and Evenflo infant seat were kind of challenging for carseat installation.

With baby number 2, I installed infant seat bases and packed bags about 6 to 8 weeks in advance, and kept a bag in the back of my van from that point forward. I knew we likely would need to move quickly when the time came and wanted to be as ready as possible, plus I was extra concerned about going into labor early and quickly. I actually would have loved to have had planned home births but our insurance coverage and a reluctant DH had other policies. :( I really hate hospitals and was not eager to get there too soon nor stay longer than absolutely necessary, but I also didn't want to give birth by the side of the road. I intentionally didn't bother to pack slippers when packing for baby number 2, preferring to wear some Minnetonka mocassins that were extra roomy and still fit no matter how much my feet swelled. :D All I can say in retrospect is thank goodness it wasn't rush hour or else it would have been a minivan birth despite the advance preparation, lol.

Hope everything goes smoothly for all of the expectant mommies. :D

[thepeach80]

We're going to start w/ disposables and then the idea is to move to a diaper service. The idea of washing my own this time isn't sitting well w/ me since I have so much other laundry. Having 3 kids 3 and under will keep me busy enough. lol

[Kashi]

We put Boo's seat in early - like 2 months before he was born. I think it was first baby stuff - we were SO excited.

With Bug - her seat went in about 36 weeks I think.

This one - I'm 31 weeks and a bit, and we still don't really know how we're going to arrange the seats. But once we get the Intera, I'll have the chance to play with the set up a bit and we'll get everything installed pretty much right away - because the idea of doing installations in December is not a pleasant one.


Coming home outfits :

With Boo - we packed 2 or 3 outfits in the bag for the hospital. We didn't know if he was going to be a boy or a girl, so had at least one of each. If I remember correctly, he wore a lightweight blue sleeper on the way home.

With Bug - she was a planned homebirth. Her first outfit was a diaper (CLOTH !) and a onsie.

This baby - again, a planned homebirth. First outfit will be a diaper (CLOTH) and a pair of wool longies and a shirt.