having a hard time putting infant in next fit

[melli]

im a first time mom, just got a c section 2 days ago and of course not feeling good.
so the time has come to take my baby home and so i put my 6 lb, 18.5 lenght baby in the chicco next fit. he was swaddled when i placed him in the carseat.

so i unswaddle him in the seat so i can start bringing his arms, legs through the straps, and thats when all hell broke loose.

he started screaming and kicking while i was trying to put him in. it was so hard, then i notice i had to adjust lots of straps in the mix of all this craziness.

at one point i had all the straps buckled but notice there had to to be some adjustments made here and there and my baby got quiet all of a sudden and he looked like he passed out? and im saying to myself no way his breathing could of stopped the seat is reclined to #1. so in a panic i ripped him out of the carseat and told bf to drive home. i was holding my baby to make sure he was breathing the whole ride home.

i was so pissed off at myself but scared at the same time that i thought i was loosing my baby while he was sitting in his carseat.

i have to go to my baby's first doctors visit tomorrow so i really need advise with putting my baby in this carseat. there is a seat cushion that came with this carseat and im not to sure if i should use it or not?

i notice that if i take out the cushion the seat looks deeper and makes me think if i put him in without this cushion that his chin will definitely be on his chest.

please, someone help me! thanks

 

[Stelvis]

Welcome!

Congratulations on your son and I'm sorry you aren't feeling so great. How scary! Car seats sure can be stressful amidst all the other things you're trying to figure out with a new baby, and your own recovery! We're glad you're here.

Someone with specific experience with newborns and nextfits will be along soon. Was your son full term? When he appeared to pass out, was his chin on his chest? Or off to the side? Chin on chest can definitely be a problem for newborn breathing.

Also, are you able to post a picture of him in the seat? That would help. And, can you recline the seat any further?

 

[melli]

my plan tomorrow is to go to my car way early in the morning before my appt and see how im suppose to adjust everything. then i will try to get baby in the seat. i think i need to roll up some receiving banker around his head and put one over the bottom buckle. that bottom buckle looks like it going to hurt his crotch.
i thought putting him in the car seat was going to be easy breezy but it turn out to be a nightmare.
i will try to post pics tomorrow.

 

[finn]

How scary for you

I would have a good read through the manual tonight and maybe see if you could find some YouTube videos that show you how to place your baby in the car seat.

I'm not sure but I think you can place a pool noodle under the seat to recline it more & that should help

 

[trippsmom]

Newborns fight car seats. It doesn't feel secure. The startle reflex startles them and they fuss. Sometimes they go to sleep once they are nestled in for the ride.

One thing I recommend before going back out is to bring the seat in and try him in it. Read the manual first, if you haven't already. Set it up so that the recline level is for a newborn. Then buckle him in. Sit with him for a few minutes. Make sure the fit is good. Keep the insert in the seat! You need it due to his size.

If everything checks out, go to the car to install it. Check the recline. Be sure it is level for a newborn. Now, fit your son in the seat. Sit in the backseat with him for ride. You should be able to rest your hand on him and feel him breathing. If for some reason you are still uneasy, maybe your doctors office can help calm your fears. Don't let them tell you that you must have an infant seat, but maybe ask that they do a tolerance test in office or see if they can turn you to a tech to help at your car. My ped's office has a tech on staff.

If you want to add pictures of the install, they'd be very helpful. Maybe there is something we could spot that would make it an easy fix.

Congratulations!!!

 

[Stelvis]

I don't agree that she should be uninstalling and reinstalling her seat. It's heavy, and she just had a c-section. She can check it in the car with some extra time.

I'm pretty sure the Nextfit has such a wide range of recline that a pool noodle should not be necessary and maybe isn't even allowed.

OP, a baby's head falling to the side is NOT a safety issue. Falling forward IS a safety issue. The cure for falling forward is more recline. Towels around the head won't fix it.

Make sure you have the harness lowered to the lowest setting. Next time take the swaddling blanket off first, because it could be interfering with the straps. After you have him buckled, you can use the blanket to tightly swaddle on top of him. And yes, it's normal for babies to fight car seats and even freak out when you put them in.

Here's a rather long video, but she talks about head position and I think that's helpful. http://youtu.be/MvzPZfba4ys

 

[TheNimpsGirl]

I'm sorry to hear that your first attempt at using your car seat went less than smooth. I think trippsmom gave some great suggestions about the manual and how babies react to car seats. My son hated his car seat with a passion every time we went to put him in it for the first few weeks - he would cry, arch his back and turn red from crying until I could get him settled in. It can be nerve wracking for sure!

It sounds as if you already have the seat installed with the most recline available (number 1) from the manufactorer but the slope of your actual seats in your car (for example, my Equinox is fairly flat but my husband's old Grand Am had slopped seats) and your driveway can counter it and mess with the bubble adjuster. For pictures check out http://www.carseatsite.com/reclineangle.htm - it also shows what people are talking about when they say to use pool noodles or tightly rolled thin towels.

Like trippsmom stated, keep the infant insert in the seat. The manual on page 27 states it should be used for infants who weigh between 5 and 11lbs. Your baby needs the extra padding not only to fit properly but to help feel more secure.

You can also place tightly rolled thin receiving blankets on either side of your babies head - as other's said, it isn't a safety concern for a babies head to tilt to either side as much of a mom concern (it bugs me for comfort). This picture shows it well - http://www.carseatsite.com/rolledblankets.jpg

You voiced some concerns about the crotch strap - page 26 of the manual shows that there are different settings. I would double check that you have the crotch strap as close to your baby as possible. If there is still a gap between your baby and the crotch strap that would allow your baby to slouch down in the seat, you can use a wash cloth tightly rolled between your baby and the crotch strap. This post has a great photo that shows what I mean - http://www.car-seat.org/showpost.php?p=1336066&postcount=5

As far as the harness, the Nextfit has what is known as a no-rethread harness, this means that you adjust the harness by squeezing the button on the harness top and bringing it up or down. You will probably want the harness in the lowest setting right now, so as far down as it will go. The harness needs to be at or below your babies shoulders. If you aren't sure they are at or below (sometimes the padding of the seat and shoulder straps get in the way), press down the padding to ensure that you can see the way the straps are coming out of the shell (hard part) of the seat.

Another thing that could be affecting him is the harness straps. The manual states they must not be removed which means they might be getting in your way when you tighten the straps - my friend had one seat that as I tightened the straps it would almost pull the harness pads back into the seat so it would appear they would get lodged in the seats' cover and the harness always felt loose. I just had to remember to slowly tighten and readjust the harness pads down towards the clip as much as I adjusted it. Chicco actually has a photo that shows this well, granted that baby is a lot bigger than yours, but you get the idea - http://www.chiccousa.com/Images/gear/car-seats/nextfit-car-seat/NextFit-Harness-Pads_360.jpg

Let us know how it goes!

 

[Pixelated]

I'm not sure but I think you can place a pool noodle under the seat to recline it more & that should help

I'm pretty sure the Nextfit has such a wide range of recline that a pool noodle should not be necessary and maybe isn't even allowed.

It sounds as if you already have the seat installed with the most recline available (number 1) from the manufactorer but the slope of your actual seats in your car (for example, my Equinox is fairly flat but my husband's old Grand Am had slopped seats) and your driveway can counter it and mess with the bubble adjuster. For pictures check out http://www.carseatsite.com/reclineangle.htm - it also shows what people are talking about when they say to use pool noodles or tightly rolled thin towels.

The NextFit does not allow noodles/towels to increase the recline and all adjusting must be done with the built-in mechanism.

OP you've been given some great advice, but if you're still struggling pictures would help tremendously. Pictures of the whole seat from both sides with the doors open and enough of them in it to see the angle, and pictures of your son in the seat once he's buckled up.

 

[Unregistered]

i put him in today. today was way different than yesterday. i went online to read the manual and used what i remember at a car seat safety class i took.

my carseat was installed by a tech.

i went to my car this morning to check out how to adjust the straps and tighten them. i had my carseat installed about 2 months ago so when i left the hospital and put the baby in the car, my mind went into a complete blank. i was trying to put the baby's leg through the bottom straps instead of just crossing it over his lap.


how do i add pics?

 

[melli]

im trying to post a pic from my flicker acct but im having problems. any other way to post pics? thanks

 

[Jessica61624]

Maybe try photo bucket?

 

[TheNimpsGirl]

The NextFit does not allow noodles/towels to increase the recline and all adjusting must be done with the built-in mechanism.

OP you've been given some great advice, but if you're still struggling pictures would help tremendously. Pictures of the whole seat from both sides with the doors open and enough of them in it to see the angle, and pictures of your son in the seat once he's buckled up.

I read through the manual but didn't see where it is prohibited - just cause I'm curouis, do you know what page it says that on?

 

[Pixelated]

It doesn't say it's prohibited but it doesn't give instructions for how to do it. Just like the Radian and the KeyFit also don't say "you can't do this."

It's one of those 'rules' that isn't a hard a fast rule, and would be highly impractical for manufacturers to say we know that most other car seats allow this but we do not, so don't do it

From a conversation I had with the Canadian distributor of the NextFit (and bummer, it isn't even here yet!) the range of recline gives sufficient options in every car it was tested in, including the supposed ten most difficult. Of course which ten those were I could not pry out of him

 

[melli]

Sorry I haven't responded been busy w the baby I signed up for the app on my phone so I hope u see the pic now

 

[melli]

Ok it worked. So I have the seat recline and it's placed in the middle of the back seat. What worries me is that his chin is on his chest. This pic was taken 3 days after he was born. He's going on 2 months in 5 days and I'm guessing he's a little over 11 lbs. once he reaches 12 lbs I will remove the insert it came with. I put him in the seat today without the insert and his chin is on his chest, even with the insert as we'll. I'm wondering if I should just move the seat to the side and use the latch system? By the way the bubble is on the middle, don't know if that matters?

 

[melli]

 

[Jessica61624]

You want to remove the insert now not when he hits 12lbs. The seat is in the most reclined postion(#1)? It would be great if you could post a current picture without the insert.

 

[melli]

I will post a pic later on today. It's so much easier to post a pic though the app

 

[melli]

It's on 1 the most reclined

 

[jess71903]

I'm sorry you're having so much trouble.

FWIW, I hate the "chin to chest" description for newborns. A newborn's chin is ALWAYS on his chest unless you let his head flop backwards. Their chins and chests are just so close together at that age!

I think you can get the seat more reclined (so it's more toward the furthest rear-facing line) without any additions. Get your hubby to get install the seat by getting behind it and pushing more in toward the trunk while he tightens, rather than all the force going down where baby's feet go. I think if you mess around with it like that, you can get it more reclined.