Recommended Carseats for Preemies & Multiples – CarseatBlog’s List of Best Bets
Everyone understands that preemies often come with challenges. However, most expecting parents don’t consider the possibility that the carseat they bought or chose to put on their baby registry might not fit baby well if she or he arrives early or is smaller than average at birth.
Of course, you often have no idea ahead of time that you’re going to have a preemie or smaller-than-average term baby. But if you’re expecting multiples, have a history of preterm labor or just a history of delivering small babies then you really want to be prepared with a carseat that is likely to fit the baby/babies well regardless of whether they’re 4 lbs or 9 lbs at discharge.
There are 3 important factors when choosing a carseat that is likely to fit a smaller baby well. First is the miniumum weight rating. Most carseats are rated from 5 lbs up. But many babies are discharged from the hospital weighing less than 5 lbs and the hospital staff might not let you leave with your under-5 lbs-baby in a carseat that has a 5 lbs mimimum weight rating. Ideally, you want a carseat with a minimum weight rating of 4 lbs or a seat rated simply from “birth” up to whatever the max weight limit is.
However, the minimum weight rating is only one factor in what you’re looking for in a carseat. You’re also going to need lower-than-average bottom harness slots (ideally 6″ or lower), OR a carseat that comes with an insert cushion that goes under baby’s bottom which raises them up so that their shoulder level is even with, or slightly above, the bottom harness slots. To clarify, in a rear-facing carseat, you want the harness straps to be situated “at” or slightly below the child’s shoulder level. In order to evaluate this properly, you may want to remove the harness strap covers if your seat came with them (and don’t use any aftermarket strap covers if your carseat didn’t). In my blog review photos, I almost always ditch the harness strap covers because, in my opinion, they just tend to get in the way more than anything else.
Speaking of getting in the way, I want to take this opportunity to educate you on the plethora of aftermarket carseat stuff that lines the shelves of every baby store. With the exception of a blanket to put over baby in cooler weather, you only want to use the things that came in the box with your carseat. Aftermarket carseat products may look helpful or useful but they can be a real detriment to proper usage so they are not recommended. Products like the Bundle Me are great for the stroller but should never be used with your carseat. Ditto for aftermarket harness strap covers and aftermarket infant support cushions. However, there are some safe, recommended alternatives to such products so if you’re looking for suggestions or advice (on this or any other carseat-related topic), please visit our forums HERE and we’ll be happy to help educate you.
The last but most important aspect of fitting a preemie or small baby in their carseat is to make sure that you can get the harness straps tight enough to fit snugly and properly around the baby’s tiny body. You want the harness straps to be snug enough so that you cannot pinch any slack in the webbing up by the collar bone area.
Since you probably don’t have a good lifelike preemie doll at home to test your carseat with – you can rely on us to steer you in the right direction when it comes to carseats and smaller babies. All of the seats on this recommended list have been tested by either Darren, Heather or myself using the preemie doll made by Huggable Images and we’re confident that these seats will provide a snug and proper harness fit for the vast majority of babies who measure at least 4 lbs and 17″ (the size and weight of this particular doll).
List of Recommended Carseats for Preemies & Multiples
Chicco KeyFit 30 (rated to 30 lbs) and the original model Chicco KeyFit (rated to 22 lbs only - usually sold with stroller as part of a travel system). FULL REVIEW OF KEYFIT 30 HERE
Dorel onBoard 35, onBoard 35 Air & onBoard 35 Air SE (“Air” models have premium base and Air-Protect Technology). FULL REVIEW OF ONBOARD 35 AIR HERE
Britax Chaperone - FULL REVIEW HERE
Also worth mentioning - the new Britax B-Safe infant seat will be arriving in stores soon and appears to be another good option for preemies! Stay tuned for a full review of the B-Safe coming soon. VIDEO UNBOXING PREVIEW HERE: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jaEq4um8-wY
Reader Comments
Thank you! Very well done! What about the new Combi infant seats and the Combi Cocorro?
Thanks for the great post, Kecia! Since preemies have been around since the dawn of man, I’m surprised it’s so difficult to find carseats that can accommodate them safely. Those low bottom harness slots and easy adjusting harness straps are important when dealing with tiny babies who with little tone.
Thanks Kecia – I’m off to link this to our Multiples club web page
what about the new safety 1st Comfy Carry Elite? when it was checked out by other people on the board, it had really nice low bottom slots and was thought to fit preemies well.
Kat, Kecia should be getting the Comfy Carry Elite Plus any day and we hope to have a report soon! It might make an excellent program seat, too.
For the record, this list consists of seats that we can generally recommend without reservation. While there may be other seats that technically fit the criteria for fitting preemies, these are seats that we feel comfortable recommending based on overall ease of use, ease of installation, etc. Currently the Coccoro still has a 5 lb minimum wt rating but we will evaulate the new model once it’s released.
In addition to the Comfy Carry, Evenflo is supposed to be coming out w/ a 4# version of the Embrace (also will go to 35# and have a straight handle), so that might be a decent program seat, too.
I agree that the above mentioned seats are definitely nicer when it comes to ease-of-use, quality, etc. for preemies.
My nephew has the Chaperone, but he was a big baby (8# 3.5oz at birth), so he never needed the extra foam infant insert; in fact, he needed the straps moved up a level. I was pleasantly surprised at how well my preemie sized doll (just a wal-mart doll, not a huggable images doll) fit, especially w/ the foam insert. The insert also changes the interior angle of the seat. I could see how it was helping keep the baby at a better angle that would do a good job of keeping a small baby’s airway open. I believe the Chicco insert is supposed to change the interior angle as well, but I don’t remember it having such a discernible effect on the baby’s head.
What about a seat like the Graco Snugride 30 which is also rated to 4lbs? The Chicco and Britax are both great seats, but they can be on the spendy side. The OnBoard35 is another great seat, but it doesn’t fit on the frame of a double snap and go, which many parents of multiples use in the beginning. In fact only the Chicco on this list seems to fit onto the Snap and Go. Is there a reason the Graco was excluded?
The chicco doesn’t fit on the snap and go correctly…it just sits on their but does not actually snap in like it is suppose to. That is the reason that we went with the Graco snugride 30 seats as well. They are rated to 4 pounds and actually snap into the stroller. Easy to install. I would have liked to see them included or reviewed for this article.
I know this is about carseats but I have to add that we ended up with the Chicco Keyfit 30 seats for our twins after lots of stroller research. Highly recommend the Keyfit 30 seats and the Cortina Together stroller.
SeattleRain,
We have a review prepared for the Graco SnugRide 30, but haven’t yet published it due to some questions regarding fit for preemies. The 4 pound doll we use for reviews is nearly two inches too short to fit in the SnugRide 30. It does fit acceptably in terms of crotch and hip straps on the inner adjustments, though. We have discussed this with Graco, and their research indicates that the doll is not typical of most 4 pound infants. The Britax B-Safe Kecia mentioned also fits the doll well, but our review is still in progress. We will also be reviewing the Safety 1st Comfy Carry Elite Plus soon. What we do know is that the doll does fit the other seats we have reviewed and recommended, so for now, those are the ones we can suggest for low birthweight babies without reservation.
What about the Mia Moda Cerdo? I know that’s rated from 4 lbs., what are the straps like on that?
Also, Combi will provide documentation in writing upon request that the Shuttle 33 may be used with shoulders below the bottom slots as long as the straps can be properly tightened.
KQ – We don’t have any experience with the new version of the Mia Moda infant seat so we can’t comment on it at this time. However, we have reviewed the Shuttle 33 and while it may be a decent fit for some low birth weight babies, it’s not a seat that we feel comfortable recommending without reservation. http://carseatblog.com/7153/combi-shuttle-33-review-is-this-the-one-for-you/