Have Combi Infant Seat - do I need something else for a preemie?

We purchased a Combi Centre DX carseat when I was pregnant - found a great deal and it fits our stroller so we were happy with it. Unfortunately our little girl was born 9 weeks premature and we are getting ready to bring her home in the next 3 weeks. I am wondering if this will be satisfactory for a 4+ pound baby or if we should be looking at purchasing something else. Overall, how does this car seat fare?
Thank you!

Hi and welcome to Car-Seat.org.

Just a note to those who reply to this thread, that the original poster has a Canadian IP address. :thumbsup:

I have the US centry (not sure how different, if it is then yours). Bottom slots are fairly low. It may or may not be ok depending on how long your babay's torso is. My son was 21inches when he came home and was on the second harness slot.

The Centre will likely adjust low and tight enough for a small baby; however, the minimum weight is 5#, so if you use it for a baby weighing less than 5# you would be doing so against manufacturer's instructions.

Unregistered said:

We purchased a Combi Centre DX carseat when I was pregnant - found a great deal and it fits our stroller so we were happy with it. Unfortunately our little girl was born 9 weeks premature and we are getting ready to bring her home in the next 3 weeks. I am wondering if this will be satisfactory for a 4+ pound baby or if we should be looking at purchasing something else. Overall, how does this car seat fare?
Thank you!

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I've not personally used a Combi carseat, but I have had 2 preemies. DS1 was born at 29 wks and came home at exactly 4 lbs. We did use our carseat "against manufacturer's instructions" (5 lbs and up seat), b/c we couldn't afford another seat and it did actually fit him really well. With ds2, we had a Compass I400 (now the Learning Curve/First Years Via), and while it had the lower minimum weight of 4 lbs and low shoulder straps, the straps across the hips didn't work well for him at all. It's not just the height of the shoulder straps, it's also the overall fit of the straps--where they fall on the baby. With the Compass seat, they came down so far on ds2's legs, that he could easily pull his knees up and have the "hip straps" at his ankles. So, when it's close to time for your baby to come home, I would take your Combi seat in to the NICU and strap your baby in to see how the seat fits. It's okay to use rolled receiving blankets on either side of her body to fill the space b/t her body and the sides and give her support, as well as use a rolled up washcloth b/t her legs and the crotch strap to keep her from sliding down. If she fits well, even if she needs the rolled blankets on the sides, I would feel pretty comfortable using it. She will be 5 lbs soooo quickly, and you won't be taking her anywhere really over the next few weeks anyways (except doc's appts) If not, I'd return it and pick a different seat (Chicco Key Fit or Safety First On Board). Depending on which stroller you bought, other seats may fit in it, and if not, you can buy a stroller frame made to use w/infant seats in the meantime.

hths

and CONGRATULATIONS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

henrietta

I'm assuming the hospital staff has done/will do an angle tolerance test.

http://www.archildrens.org/medical_services/nicu/carseat-safety.asp

I appreciate so much your replies!

My husband has looked closely at the seat and thinks the straps will be low enough - as for the question about the other hip straps, we will have to try her out in it to make sure.

I was more concerned that maybe the seat wasn't good enough -should I have something better (more expensive?) to better protect her. Perhaps it is because we got such a good price on this one that I think something must be wrong with it?

Our little girl has to be 4 pounds 5 ounces (about) to come home so it won't be long before she is 5#.

I have small babies (3lbs, 8oz & 5lbs, 9oz) and chose to use a Centre DX for the baby who came home at just over 5lbs because it was/is one of the better infant seats for smaller babies. The bottom harness position is about 6.5" if I recall correctly, and I was able to get the harness snugged down quite tight. I did have to remove the harness pads because they got in the way of proper chest clip placement and were just too bulky overall, but other than that it worked well.

Congrats on your new addition.