Is a SS1 good for tiny babies? How long do most babies last in it?

Holly

New member
I am thinking about getting rid of my snugride and buying a SS1 for when we have dc#3 (should be due around next spring if we get pg shortly after trying).
So far, my babies have been transfered to convertibles at 6 and 7 months, so that would be about October/November 2009 or about that, but I think it would be a pain to have to worry about thin coats for a baby or young toddler, so I think it would be easier to be able to keep using the bucket and just use my shower-cap style carrier cover with a blanket underneath it (but over the buckled harness).

Is the SS1 really heavy? Is it easy to carry? Does it fit newborns well?
My kids were 7 lbs 10 oz and 8 lbs 13 oz at birth
 
ADS

crunchierthanthou

New member
It's not great for tiny babies. The chestclip dwarfs even average sized newborns. The upside is that they grow fast and it's only bothersome for about the first month. It should last most babies until 18 months (especially if #3 is petite like your girls)- some posters here have reported that their children still fit in the SS1 at 24 months.
 

mcomommy

New member
My friends son who was 7lbs 11oz fit great in her SS1 and my almost 17 month old can still fit in ours with room to grow. As far as weight I would personally just use it as a convertible after my kid hit 20 pounds because is a little heavier than the Snugride and that is a lot to carry around. But it is doable and I have seen people use them as carriers till their kiddos grew out of them, maybe I am weak lol
 

brightredmtn

Well-known member
Considering my 21 month old DS fit just barely by length today in a SnugRide he would definitely be in a SS1 until 24 months or longer... Almost makes me want to go out and buy a SS1 for the two air trips we have coming up.
 

jmm3

New member
We used our SS1 from birth, and had no trouble with the fit or chest clip. DD was a big baby (9lbs, 7oz). She's still in it now at 13 months.

It was somewhat heavy, but I don't think it was much worse than most other seats. We didn't carry it around much. Now, we leave it in the car all the time. I tried carrying it once with her in it now, and I could barely do it. She weighs 23 lbs though. She still has about 2" of shell above her head I'd say.
 

fyrfightermomma

New member
I loved it. It was heavier but I did stop carrying it and used it as a "convertible" from about 10 months on for DD1 and 8 months on for DD2. But its nice to be able to skip the jackets and if you do have to carry it, you have that option.

Like PP said, its not the best fit for a tiny baby (DD1 was 6.14 lbs and didnt fit well but DD2 was 8.11 lbs and fit fine) but within a month my peanut fit into it.

As for how long they fit, my 2.5 year old still *technically* fits. She is 36 inches (still has about an inch and a half of shell above her head) and 23 pounds. I obviously never put her in it, but she still does fit.

My baby who turned 1 last week and is 31 inches and 23 pounds also has a lot of room yet and could fit into it utnil age 2 or so. So you'll get your use out of it. I coudl have probably kept DD1 in it until she could FF if I wanted to! (we are turning FF at 3 yrs old)
 

thepeach80

Senior Community Member
Ilana was 6#7oz when she went home and that's probably the smallest I would say would be o.k. (again depending on torso, she was 20" at birth). The chest clip was big, but there was no safety reason for her to not use the seat. I moved her at 16 mos to her MA b/c she was getting really close to the top.
 

TechnoGranola

Forum Ambassador
DD was 7 pounds 8 oz at birth, 21" I think and it fit her nicely. DD is 18.5 months and just outgrowing it now at 23.5#, 31". It's still chilly where we live so we still put in her in the seat in the house and carry her out to the vehicle in the SS. I am a weak, twig and I can do it, although I wouldn't make it much further than the 35' to our vehicle. :) So, DH carries her most days. If we go shopping or anything like that, she is always taken out of her seat unless it's Costco where we can put her seat inside a big cart, then take her out once we get inside. That way, her seat still stays warm. :)
 

Dillipop

Well-known member
DS2 was 8 lbs 7 ounces at birth and he fit great!

Here he is at 1 week, so probably back to his birth weight.
July2006pt3009.jpg
 

Mae

Well-known member
My DN was moved into a convertible by mom/dad because he "outgrew" it at 6 months. We continued to use it in my car because they simply didnt have the harness set for a larger baby. I moved him out of it in my car at about 10 or 11 months (he weighed at least 27-8 lbs). He was a BIG baby though! Always 97-98 percentile for both height and weight.

I'm now using his safeseat for a girl I babysit in my car because she uses a SR in moms car but I didnt want to by a base, and I like to be able to snap it into my stroller so we skipped the convertible for now. In her SR shes in the top harness position and in my SS1 she's in the 2nd to top. She's almost 8 months and maybe 18lbs.

I'd say you'll get plenty of use out of it.
 

Amaris

New member
DD was 7lbs 7ozs and 20 inches at birth, but she had a short torso. She barely had enough room. She was barely even with the bottom slots and possibly a hair below them. The chest clip was sitting on the buckle, and there was barely any room between the clip and her neck. I thought about having dh go by a smaller seat. I would definately say it depends on the build of the baby!
 

tl01

New member
DS fit very nicely in the SS1 from birth but he was 8 lbs 5 ozs. He fit in the seat until about 10-11 months b/c he outgrew the seat by height. He is a big kid though. I would say that most kids would fit in this seat for quite a bit more time. The SS1 isn't particularly heavy w/o a baby in it but obviously once you put a 25 lb baby in it, the seat is harder to lug around. We usually put it in a Snap n Go if we were taking the seat out of the car so we didn't have to carry it far. If you live in a cold climate then I think having a bucket seat would be very nice.
 

stayinhomewithmy6

Senior Community Member
I already have a Companion for my baby that is due in May, but I have thought about the same thing, that there is no way the baby will last through next winter in the Companion, so I'm already planning on buying an SS1 just to get us through the winter without having to deal with jackets/snowsuits, etc.... I'm totally with you on wanting to be able to use a shower cap style cover with blankets under it during the winter for as long as possible because it's just so convenient! I also like that once you get in the car and it is warm, you can take the cover off so the baby doesn't get overheated. I thought about skipping the Companion and just going with the SS1, but I was worried about how a tiny newborn would fit. My babies are usually right around 7 1/2 lbs and I want them to fit in their seats perfectly right from the start. Since we will likely be having more babies that will be able to use both seats, it doesn't bother me to spend the extra money, especially with the SS1 on sale so often. If you already have a Snugride, could you keep it in case you need it for the new baby in the early days? Or wait and sell it after you see how the baby fits in the SS1? It would make me feel better just knowing that I had the Snugride to use, just in case.
 

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