bassinet vs infant seat in stroller

Hello:
I recently bought a new stroller for my as-yet-to be born child and am a little torn over the bassinet issue. The stroller I bought (the maxi-cosi to be exact) only comes with the option of using a car seat as opposed to a bassinet. I still have the option of returning the stroller in lieu of another which does have a bassinet - the quinny or Bugaboo being one, albeit far more expensive, alternative. Could anyone comment on the bassinet option and how well it served them. As I recall, my daughter, who is now 2 1/2, was not as fond of lying flat in her crib as she was of being in the infant seat. I appreciate your guidance.
Best,
Nathalie

I have a bugaboo and loved the bassinet option, I used to keep it set up in my living room so I had somewhere to put the baby when he was tiny. Unfortunately he is a big boy and at 4 mos is already in the seat. The bassinet would have lasted my daughter much longer, but I didn't have it when she was a baby. I also rarely took the bassinet out in the car as it didn't fit great in my small trunk. The seat fits much better.
Anyway sorry this doesn't help much. I would go with a bassinet if you do a lot of walking so baby isn't spending hours in the carseat, but if baby is only in the stroller for in and out of malls like my son is, then it may be easier to snap the carseat on till baby gets a bit bigger then just recline the seat fully.
BethAnn

i used my stroller w/ bassinet as a living room bed too!
i liked the bassinet but i never really took my stroller apart because we lived in the city and walked everywhere...i had the carseat adapters but i never really got the hang of clicking the carseat onto the frame

I've never understood the whole bassinet on a stroller thing, it's not something I would have ever used. Even if I had tried my son hated being put down on his back anywhere for any length of time, so I probably wouldn't have used it even if I wanted to.

My son is 10 months old and this is what I tell my newly pregnant friends as far as strollers go:

- get an infant car seat that goes to 30 lbs
- get an infant car seat frame stroller (i.e. must be used with car seat - has no seat on its own - but that makes it very light and portable) that you just pop the car seat into
- get a good umbrella stroller that is good for young babies and fits bigger kids (i.e. up to 55 lbs)
- if you like to carry your baby, get a good carrier like an Ergo (NOT a baby bjorn or other like it that cost $$$ and have limited use)

We got a jogger/car seat combo before the babe was born and we do use the jogger because we live on a dirt road but it is now our "at home only" stroller. Once I got one of those frame strollers that became the car stroller and it is soooo convenient when you just need to get out of the car for a quick errand. We just switched to a convertible seat and I really miss the carrier/stroller. Wouldn't want to actually carry the carrier with a 20 lb + baby in it, but if you can't take the stroller, you just take them out of the seat. Planning on taking my own advice and getting one that goes to 30 lbs for #2. Also eliminates any discussion of whether to ERF!

I could be wrong, but my understanding is/was that infants shouldn't remain in their infant carriers for more than about 30 mins after being out of the car because the angle of the carrier outside of the car is often not the same angle (I believe it comes from the AAP but I can't find a handy link). So I agree with what another poster said about it would be fine if you're going to use it for quick trips, but I wouldn't personally use it for long walks.

I personally think that makes sense and am looking at a stroller that has the bassinet feature (the Uppa Baby Vista) because when DH and I go for walks by ourselves, they are long (an hour to two hour) walks. However, I'm also part of the camp that personally doesn't like to take bucket seats out of the car besides for taking the baby in and out of the house or in extreme weather (but then I always just took my friend's son out of the carrier as soon as we were inside whereever we were headed).

TheNimpsGirl said:

I could be wrong, but my understanding is/was that infants shouldn't remain in their infant carriers for more than about 30 mins after being out of the car because the angle of the carrier outside of the car is often not the same angle (I believe it comes from the AAP but I can't find a handy link). So I agree with what another poster said about it would be fine if you're going to use it for quick trips, but I wouldn't personally use it for long walks.

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I just tried to find reference to why it might be a bad idea to keep your infant in the carrier outside the car (on the AAP site), and all I could find was information about preventing flat spots on their heads, i.e. their head shouldn't be in the same position for long periods of time. That was never a concern for us with DS having a perfectly round head all along. I think if it was an issue for your child it would be something to take into consideration no matter where they are (bassinet, crib, stroller, car seat, play mat etc).

Unless somebody can show me a really good reason why infants should only be in their carrier seats in the car, I consider it fear mongering to suggest to parents that they are doing something wrong if they leave their babies in the car seat either in a stroller or in the house while they sleep or wherever. Parents (especially first-timers) have enough stress and self-doubt to last a lifetime without worrying that they're doing something wrong if they leave their baby in their car seat when that is what is most convenient (and the baby is perfectly happy in there).

Let me be clear that I'm NOT suggesting you should keep your baby in their seat all day long or that you never have to take them out if you are out of the house all day. But hopefully a little common sense takes care of that.

sparkyd said:

I consider it fear mongering to suggest to parents that they are doing something wrong if they leave their babies in the car seat either in a stroller or in the house while they sleep or wherever.

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I said, as far as my understanding went, that was my understanding and I also even said I could be wrong about my understanding. I don't consider posting what my understanding is/was to be "fear mongering". I also didn't say you couldn't, I just said that I wouldn't personally use a stroller like that for long walks.

And you are right about the AAP saying to avoid it due to spots on the back of the head. I think that I must have been thinking of a presentation that was given to me for child care licensing reasons why infant carriers are not permitted to be used once the child reaches care due to the angle of the carriers outside of the car. I thought the presenter said the reasoning came from the AAP, perhaps I heard wrong.

As far as the whole, not keeping them in the house while they sleep in their carriers (yes, the study focuses on unattended children, and NO I'm not saying you or the OP would do that)...

Leaving a Baby Asleep in a Car Seat 'May Cut Off Breathing'

I wasn't trying to comment on anyone's choices or actions or whatnot... I was simply posting what I thought/had been told. :shrug-shoulders:

And it is perfectly legitimate when someone passes on something they "heard" to ask for evidence.

There's a lot of false hearsay floating around, about a lot of things, out there.

And even if something is "dangerous" -- there are levels of danger. Life is learning to balance risks. But in order to knowledgeably balance them, one has to know what they are in the first place.

TheNimpsGirl said:

I said, as far as my understanding went, that was my understanding and I also even said I could be wrong about my understanding. I don't consider posting what my understanding is/was to be "fear mongering". I also didn't say you couldn't, I just said that I wouldn't personally use a stroller like that for long walks.

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Sorry if I came on a little strong with the "fear-mongering" comment, I just get frustrated when people make statements like that with no rationale or anything to back it up. I have an in-law that does it all the time, so I may be a little hyper-sensitive. She gets me all paranoid about things but can't actually explain why she says this-or-that is bad, or she only remembers half of what she heard. Drives me nuts. I'm an evidence-based decision maker. As much as possible, anyway.

Having said that I've done some asking around and I may have something to share on the subject if my friend (that is up on these things for her work) can find some info for me. I will share if possible.

Sorry about what I posted. I didn't mean to start anything. It was late when I posted and sorry I didn't have a link. I'd be interested to see whatever information you come up with.

In reply to your stroller question, I have both a travel system that can be used with or without a car seat and a car set stroller frame. I use the car seat frame for quick trips like school pick ups and such and use the travel system for longer times like walks etc. The travel system lays down so baby can be put at a better angle for sleeping and stuff when they are still little or sleeping when they are older. It is very convenient to just snap the baby into the stroller when she is still sleeping.
I don't know anything about the stroller yoiu currently have, but I do recommend getting a stroller that works with a car seat especially when they are tiny. My DD is 13 mo old and still using her SR seat. It is so nice for those quick trips to not have to take her out of the seat. She is in the stage where she fights being put in the seat in the first place and to not have to remove her for a 5 min trip to the store is very nice.

Good luck!

Evidence or not, I personally do not use my infant carseat for anything other than a carseat becausee I don't think it's healthy (no evidence, just personal opinion) for an infant to be stuck in that position for too long. And for my DS, who has reflux, the infant seat makes things much worse (it bends his body in half, putting too much pressure on his stomach). The only time my infant seat leaves the car is when I bring it in the house, simply because it's easier to strap the baby in it inside.

So, with that in mind, I have never been fond of strollers that work with carseats. When I bought a new stroller for DD a while back, I really wanted one that had a bassinet but couldn't find one that had all the other features I wanted too. In the end, I settled for the Bumbleride Flyer, which has a reversible handle and a seat that folds completely flat. The foot rest also folds upwards, creating a little cocoon for the baby to lay in. Use the included footmuff or a BundleMe to make it even cosier. This has worked very well for me -- in fact I took DS (only 11 days old) out this afternoon in it and he slept the whole time.

My personal opinion (like Niea, this is not necessarily a fact-based opinion) is that babies should change positions fairly often.

If you choose to use a stroller that uses a carseat as the "seat," fine. Just don't have the baby in the carseat in the car for hours, then the carseat on the stroller for hours, and then back in the car for hours. Babies need to change positions and need to be held.

The same goes at home, though. Babies shouldn't sit in a swing, carseat, bouncy chair, etc. for hours at a time. They need to move around and be held.

I think it is up to you. If you know that you will use the baby equipment "appropriately," use what you want.

My sister currently uses a carseat on a stroller frame as her stroller for her newborn (she also has a Maclaren Quest, a Baby Jogger jogging stroller, and a Chariot bike stroller to use when he is bigger.). Her son rarely spends much time in the carseat/stroller, though. He rides in a Baby Bjorn, his parents' arms, and the carseat/stroller.

Do I think it is terrible that she is using a carseat as the stroller seat? Of course not. My DN is moved from place to place so that he gets a "change of scenery" and a change of position. When he is at home, he spends the majority of his time either in someone's arms or playing on the floor. He has two swings, a bouncy chair, and his carseat, but he doesn't spend all that much time in them. Therefore, when he does spend time in his carseat/stroller, I think it is perfectly fine.


Again, these are just my personal opinions. :duck:

it is unsafe for babies to be left in carseats outside the car. i posted something about this recently and am trying to find it. there have been some deaths that have occurred.

there are other articles online but here is one link i found: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/1526517.stm

Personally, if I had the cash, I'd get the nice bassinett. BUT, I would be perfectly comfortable using a Snap-and-Go stroller frame for my child when they were in the infant carrier. Because, I rarely put my infants down. If I go to the mall for 4 hours, babe will be in a sling for 3h 45m. I like to eat with arms free and use the toilet without a baby hovering above the nasty public potty, but that's it. My babies sleep in my arms, eat in my arms, etc. I really don't put them down. Ever.

Also, extended time in car seats may increase the risk of SIDS. http://www.medpagetoday.com/Pediatrics/GeneralPediatrics/tb/6199

I am not fond of infant seats used outside the car, unless there is some pressing reason to do so. Here's some links:
http://www.oandp.org/jpo/library/2003_03_102.asp
http://www.mothering.com/articles/growing_child/child_health/car-seats.html
http://stonyfield.typepad.com/babybabble/2008/02/bouncy-chairs-a.html

In general, it just seems incredibly sad how much time our babies are spending in their car seats, and even in the manuals for these seats its warns that they are for use in the car or stroller only. Babies so much prefer to be held, and a sling, wrap, or pouch, performs this function perfectly while allowing you to keep your hands free, too.

If you are worried about this soon to be here little one not liking the crib I don't blame you. I don't think most babies would choose the crib, if given another option. Its just too big an open, flat space for a baby who just came from tight, warm, noisy, angled and moving quarters. Cosleeping worked for me. I was the most well rested new mom at church b/c with cosleeping, we both actually got to sleep! I highly recommend it. Also, you can make the crib an angled space by placing a fairly thin pillow under the head of the crib mattress, they even make products specifically for this purpose, called a crib wedge, but a pillow works, too. Great for reflux babies, b/c it puts them at an angle of recline without putting pressure or bending them too much.

Another reason I don't like the infant seats much? Many of the ways we in the US use them just aren't safe, like putting them on grocery carts. I have never been oversears, so of course haven't shopped there, so don't know if this applies. But infant seats should never be sat atop grocery carts.
http://www.aap.org/advocacy/releases/aug06shoppingcart.htm
http://www.medem.com/search/article...=/ZZZT24LYQMC.html&soc=AAP&srch_typ=NAV_SERCH

And money-wise it doesn't make sense to me. If I get it to do over again, I will go with a great quality stroller instead of a so-so travel system. The car seat part only lasts a few months, then you're out shopping again. And the stroller needs to last 3-4 years (or more if you're having more kids) so now I get why people buy those expensively made higher quality ones.

My last reason for not liking is more really not liking our perception here - most people assume that when their child outgrows the infant carrier he's ready to be forward facing, which in most cases is far from the truth. It was just this extra, step in car seats that kind of muddied the 'what seat when' waters. So there's my personal opinion. Since you asked.

I had a bassinet on my kidco grand finale because I wanted to be able to see the baby and not have them in a car seat because of the risks of head injury. I liked the concept of it but it really was a pain to have the big bassinet in the van along with the stroller. I sometimes wanted to use just the stroller or use it with the car seat and to move the bassinet out of the way when I got it out. The plan had been to use the bassinet most of the time and only put the car seat in the stroller if it was really cold or raining but honestly only used the bassinet a handful of times and most of the time just put him right in the stroller.

When Elizabeth was born I bought a car seat adapter for my MBUS but I ended up not using it very much either. I bought it because I wanted to be able to have Elizabeth in the stroller and still be able to use my buggy board for Benjamin and I had to have her in the car seat because I couldn't have the seat of the stroller reclined and still use the buggy board. The problem was Benjamin likes the stroller and still falls asleep often! Once when I was at the mall with friends I was kind of stuck because I had the car seat on the MB and Benjamin fell asleep sitting on a chair in the food court! I ended up putting him in the stroller, putting the baby in the wrap, and a friend helped me carry the car seat back to my car. I felt silly! Honestly I would say until Elizabeth was one they would use the stroller about the same amount of time. Just now Benjamin is walking more and I would say he is in it 25% of the time.

I think it is a nice idea to have the bassinet. But it totally depends on how much you walk.
The peg perego has a navetta which can also be a car seat (in EU, I don't know where you live) It has the same weight limit as the car seat, with the advantage that you can lay the baby down.

At first we would bring the stroller inside, but then realized it made a terrible mess. The pp has an accessory which makes the navetta able to stand on its own, making it unnessessary to bring the stroller inside.

With the navetta you would only need that in the car as opposed to that and the car seat. (or vice versa)

I like their bassinett (navetta) better than buying a seperate bassinet.

Also if you want them to lay flat (but I don't think that is what you had wanted) pp has the "true flat" system which the baby can lay flat in the stroller facing you. (I think the p3 switch is the only one that actually is completely flat) but the p3s are supposed to be flat and are with use of the soft bag.

I say take your maxi cosi back and get the peg perego lol I like peg

Reasons I've *heard* for laying down
better circulation in general
lower risk of head falling forward/lowering the oxygen to the brain. etc
flat head

I am sure there are more, but I can't think, baby crawling everywhere.