Feeding tube, oxygen, and developemental delays

I am sure you all hear this question a lot, but I need advice!

I have my 7 month old son in an infant seat and he still fits and will for awhile. It goes to 30 pounds and 30 inches (we are currently at 14.5 pounds and 25 inches). I am starting to look at convertible carseats now before we are out of time so I can buy it and have ready when we are needing to switch.

So, my son has some needs that need to be addressed in his new seat. He is on oxygen and has a g-tube feeding tube. I need a carseat that isn't huge so I can put his oxygen and feeding tube equipment in the car (oxygen can go on the floor behind his seat, but the feeding tube tube isn't long enough to reach the floor. I also need to find straps that don't go right over his belly and irritate his feeding tube (I think I will need to try on carseats for this need). He also is delayed physically. The more of a recline we can get, the better he will do (he is not able to sit at all).

What car seat would every one reccommend and why? Thank you!!!
Jessica

There is a regular poster here whose daughter also carries oxygen and other accouterments. She has found the Graco My Ride 65 to work very well for her special needs daughter.

I encourage you to find a way to secure the oxygen tank in the vehicle, as well as the pump if your child gets continuous feeds. Both those items could become serious projectiles in an accident, and if the pump is attached it could rip the g-tube from your child's body when it goes flying.

Another member's daughter (different than the one Maedze referred to) has a G-tube and her button (I think that's the right term) is rather low. She was having a hard time finding a seat that the buckle didn't irritate it. She found the Radian to have the lowest buckle. You can keep the buckle in the slot that's all the way back, even if it *could* be moved out, to use up some of the length of the crotch strap and effectively shorten it.

The Radian also has a lot of natural recline and will last a long time rear facing (up to 40-45 pounds, depending on model). It doesn't have a whole lot of side support, though some models (80 and XT) come with a body support. You can also use rolled towels or receiving blankets on either side of the child to provide additional support, if that's necessary. I'm not sure if he just needs a decent recline, or significant side support as well.

My foster baby also has a feeding tube, a Mic-key button, and most of the time she is still in the SnugRide but at times she does ride in the TF and thus far we had no problems with it bothering her button. I do keep the TF at a 45 degree angle and she is fine. Since she is barely 16 lbs soaking wet- we can still use it without the head rest on.

I'll just wanted to add:

Placement of a g-tube varies greatly. I've seen low to the L/R, close to the belly button and several in between.

You are correct that you will need to try your little guy in the seat to see how the straps 'hit.'

Hopefully his "button" is off center enough that it will not be an issue.

Hi! My daughter has similar issues. If the infant seat is working now, for strap placement over the tube and such, keep using it as long as he fits. You don't have to keep lugging him around in it if he gets heavy, just keep it in the car and use it like a convertible seat. As he gets bigger, his tube placement will go further up as he grows and won't be such a problem later. I know I worried about that when DD left the NICU at 8 weeks. Later when we went car seat shopping, none of the buckles hit her tube because it was so much further up her belly than it was before.

If you do end up having problems with the buckle hitting the tube, try cutting a hole out of some squishy foam and placing it around his tube, so that it protects it. The actual strap hitting the tube shouldn't be a problem, since it will "give" a little and shouldn't irritate it. The buckles aren't so forgiving. If his tube is very irritable to the point that a strap over it is causing problems, talk to his doctor. Within a couple of months after the initial placement, a tube shouldn't be causing a child pain, so if it is, any problems should be addressed.

For recline and support, my top pick is the graco my ride, which is what my DD rides in. She has no head control and no torso control but does very well in it. I sometimes have to roll a receiving blanket to put on one or both sides of her but she still sits in it better than any other seat. The buckle of it doesn't come up too terribly high, but my DD is 2 1/2 so my perspective might be off. It also has decent leg room which is great for extended rear-facing, particularly for kids with spastic limbs. Not sure if that's an issue for your son or not, but it's something to keep in mind. When forward-facing, the seat still reclines nicely and it will last until the child is big enough to safely and comfortably go into a bigger special needs seat.

What type of feeding pump set up does he have? It seems you should have more tubing than you do unless it's one I'm not familiar with. If the pump comes in a carry bag, you can get a load bearing carabiner clip from a hardware store for just a few bucks and attach the bag to something, like the headrest of the seat in front of it, if it has the type of movable headrest with the metal rods.

I was taught in my CPST class that if there's no good way to secure medical equipment, the best thing to do is place it all on the floor and cover it with a thick blanket. But try securing it with seat belts first if you can. Oxygen tanks are a pain in the butt to secure with a seat belt. Ask your supplier if they have a carry bag for the smaller ones, then you can loop the seat belt through the strap and then wrap it around the tank. Keep bigger ones in the trunk.

The seats I do NOT recommend are: Evenflo triumph advance, sunshine kids radian (unless he's only moderately low-tone in which case they may work beautifully), and any of the britax seats. I haven't tried any other seats actually in the car, just in the store, so I'm not sure how well they'd actually work.

My son's on o2 and has a GJ (and an appendicostomy and portacath) so we have the strap over the tube/line/ostomy issue too. Because of that and pain from pressure and sitting position, we switched to a car harness. I'd totally find a car seat instead of that though unless you have no other choices. The car seat that has worked best for him so far is the Recaro Signo G2. this is the one we had

It had a whole lot of support which was nice, and it didn't really bother his GJ tube too much (the buckle is super low).