I'm tired of using the bucket seat...

[amanda]

Just had to say it.

I'm ready to move into a big girl car seat - before we are 2 perhaps? I'm tired of wearing 6-9 mo old clothes and having even a few 3-6 mo old pants fit (even if they look like capris - thank god they are 'in'). I ready to be able to buy toddler clothes and get out of the infant racks.

Don't misunderstand - I'm thrilled that we are finally walking but I'd like to hear a word - a real word - I don't care anymore WHAT the word is - I've even taken to teaching her some 'not nice' words to see if I'll have to EAT my words when I say that I don't care what she says.

I'd like to take 10 pounds of the fat that I have and give it to her - painlessly of course.

I never thought I would say this but I'm ready for my baby to grow up a little. Just a little.

Okay - pity party done.

[kara]

Hey Amanda,

I can relate. DD wore a 3 month dress to her first birthday party, and a 9 month outfit to her 2nd birthday. I saved a ton of money because she could wear outfits through multiple seasons. Even shoes! My friends say they have to buy new shoes like 4 times a year!! Avery typically wears them for a year - she also has teensy feet, even for her smallish size. But there is a point where you're like...ARRRRGGGHHH!

How big is she now, and how old? Many of the infant car seats (not buckets) are safe for 5 lbs and up, even. Our pedi told us that her muscle tone and development/maturity where more important than hitting the limits on the bucket seat, as long as she was within the new seat minimums.

We switched to a booster seat with a back, a few months ago (30lbs+). I just weighed her yesterday, fully clothed (that counts, right?) and she is 29.5 lbs. Called the pedi, he said that common sense prevails in that she's old enough (nearly 4 yrs) and mature enough with good muscle tone, and sits well enough that it's fine. Obviously if she was a 30 lb one year old, it would not be good sense to switch them to a booster.

Talk to your ped about the bucket. I dont' remember the limits/weights anymore. Avery felt like SUCH a big girl when we moved to the regular rear-facing seat.
Hugs!

[jamie w]

Although my Anna was not a preemie we still struggle with a lot of your same issues and I feel your frustration. She still fits in 3-6 month stuff. I will not have any need to buy new winter clothes because the ones from last year still fit. Anna is in a regular car seat and does so much better init. She is so much more comfortable. The one we have was like Kara said- it could start at 5 lbs. Is early intervention still seeing her? Our ST is soooo awesome and has our Anna finally starting to say a few words and she is starting to babble like she should have done over a year ago. If you are really concerned I would ahve her checked out and see if she qualifies. It has made all of the difference with us. We are still behind but FINALLY gaining some ground. I get your frustrations. (((HUGS)))

[missgamecock]

Kirsten was like that. She weighed 15 lbs 3ozs at a year. She didn't hit 20lbs till she was 3. When she started school, she gained 20lbs in 2nd grade and has caught up now. Hugs!!

[sckitzo]

I feel for you. This spring I actually got rid of all her 18 month clothes,(some were actually to small some I just got tired of looking at for another season) She is 4 and a 1/2. We just moved her to a booster seat a couple of months ago. It is for 30pds and up, but we got the ok from our ped, she more then meets the age and like Kara said, she may not techincally weigh enough, but she is right on age wise developmentally. She is 27-28 pds, Depending on if she decides to eat and what clothes she is wearing LOL.

I think we gave up at 2 1/2 years waiting for her to "Make Weight" to switch out of the rear facing infant car seat. She should have been 20 pds but I swear she was 19pds for the longest time. What do you do.

I felt so bad for her this weekend. We went to the state fair, but there were not very many rides she could ride because the cutoff on most of them are 42" and she is 38-39". She saw the other kids her age riding the rides.

Just try to enjoy the cost savings and that fact the clothes may even be worn enough to get worn out! Unlike most kids this age.

[mother bear]

<hugs>

I hear you. We finally switched from rear-facing to front facing at 19 months, and 18 and a half pounds with diaper. Because, er, her sister needed the rear-facing seat to come home from the hospital in. We called it good enough.

She had like 10 different grunts that we called words at 2 years old, so she qualified for speech therapy four hours a month. Then, sometime around 33 months, suddenly she went from a whole 30 "words" (including grunts) over the process of 6 weeks to 20 word paragraphs that were gramatically correct including proper pronoun choice and verb tense. The speech therapist was shocked. I wasn't. You can bet that I was frustrated with her, and her with herself all the way up until that point. Her sister on the other hand... (rolls eyes upward), I had no idea that not yet 2 year olds could talk in spontaneous and comprehensible 7 word sentences. Quite a difference from 10 different grunts at the same age that her sister had. Aarghh!! I hope yours learns to talk soon. Go talk with early intervention and at least get an assessment.

I don't have 10 pounds to give her at the moment, but I'd love to take your generous offer of 6 pounds of your fat and painlessly stick them on her so that she'll hit what she's supposed to weigh for her age. Hey! We're finally back up and sticking to the 3rd percentile! <small victories require rejoicing>. We'll probably talk to the pedi at 4 years old and ask about the underweight booster seat thing too. If she continues to follow her curve, she'll be 28 pounds by then.

The biggest problem in my household, is that her sister is now into 2T clothing. And... the older sister remembers it and still wears some of it. I was hoping the fighting over clothing would wait until teenagehood, but alas, it is not to be.

This too shall pass. Quickly.

[trish]

(((HUGS))) mama!! Ali is talking so I don't share that worry but I feel your pain on the weight/height. 6-9 month pants still fit lengthwise & I think we'll be in 12 month pants all winter. 3-6 month & 6-9 month shorts fit fine & so do 6-9 month 2 piece outfits. Thankfully in the past 2 months (right about 18 months) we retired 6-9 month onesies & just use 12 and 12-18 month ones. Her 6-12 month robeez still work but today when I tried to put on her size 3 Keds they didn't fit! Maybe it was thicker socks but we're moving on into 4's finally!

We do use a "big kid" carseat (a Triumph 5) but still RF because I'm not sure she's 20 lbs yet. And because I'm a carseat freak. My 5 year old (who'll be 6 in Nov.) is still in a 5 pt. carseat. She finally hit 40 lbs last month & while I could have moved her to a backless booster I bought a new 5 pt. seat for her that goes up to 60 lbs. We won't keep her in the 5pt harness *that* long but probably another year & then just use it as a booster. And my 4.5 year old who is about 32 lbs will be in her 5 pt. seat for a long while too. They buckle and unbuckle themselves so it's no big deal for for me.

Now we do still use the bucket seat sometimes at night - particularly when she is congested but sometimes just when she is having trouble settling down. She slept in it for nearly a year for reflux & I think it's her "safe & comfy" place. I guess it's good she's still small enough to buckle her loosely in it because some nights I don't know what else we'd do! One of these days she *will* be too big for it & we'll have to find other solutions.

Now the fat transfer I'd willingly do. :) And if I could figure a way to get an energy transfer back from them that would be even better.

Amber - my middle girl Katie wasn't a preemie, she's just kinda small. She was *very* disappointed when we went to Disney in Feb. (right before she turned 4) that she was not tall enough to ride the "big kid" rides with her sister & cousin. Even with shoes on she was still an inch shy of the 40 inch cutoff. :(

[amanda]

Sorry it's been a while since I came back - its been a little crazy around here. :)

I asked about the big kid car seat when I went to the pedi the other day. She weighed...are you ready? 18.2 pds. Frighteningly I know the .2 pounds. I still remember how many grams=ounce and how many ounces=pound - interestingly I cannot apply this knowledge to cooking. Go figure.

The car seat. They were like, yeah move her - what are you waiting on? Funny? At 15 months they were like, don't move her, keep her in the bucket as long as possible. When I commented about the difference they were like, well, technically, a bucket IS safer. Great! So now I can move her to the 'less safe' seat because I want her to be a big girl OR I can keep her in the 'more safe' bucket. Thanks for letting mama make THAT decision.

Clothes.
I give up. I've just taken all the winter stuff that will be going onto it's 3rd winter and given it away. I'm buying fresh stuff for this winter AND I am going to have it altered to fit. Hopefully someone around will have a teeny tiny one around that can wear them someday.

Grunting.
OMG I'm so tired of the grunt...usually it comes with a whine too! She did way 'wow' last night and, thank goodness she's started to shake her head "no" when she doesn't want something. It's a start. She knows WHAT the words mean though.

I need to do the IE but I have no idea when I would be able for them to see her - I wonder if they would go to daycare. I think I'll check on that today.

Thanks guys - I knew you would understand. UGH - just grow already!!

[kdreher]

Michael is 9 mos and a little over 15 lbs, however he is wearing 6-9 tops and mainly 6 mos bottoms. I went ahead and got some 6 mos for winter and 9 mos as well. I just figured I'd buy a lot of separates and got a lot of great stuff at the Carter's outlet. I find Carter's fits him best so that's what we'll stick to.

I know it's incredibly hard and you just want to speed things up. Many of us feel your pain...just remember we might be small, but we are mighty...and she's healthy and happy too so that's all that matters.

[missgamecock]

Carters outlet rocks!! Great deals. Just tried on fall/winter clothes on Cate yesterday - she is in a size 3/6 mos at 7 1/2 mos old. Actually the Carter's 3/6 mos sleeper/pants/shirts was a little big while Target Circo brand is a perfect fit. Old Navy 6 mos is HUGE HUGE HUGE on her as is the Gap. Her teacher today told me they had a 2 week old come in and visit the room. She was holding Cate. She said OMG Cate was that size at 4 mos old when she started. To me she looks big because she is 3 times the size she was when she was born. However, to other people, she is tiny. Cate's daycare is set within a nursing home. She said when they go out in the stroller, people often say how cute. She is advanced for her age. Is she about 4 mos old? Her daycare teacher replies, um no she is 7 1/2 mos old!!


As we found out with Kirsten, they do tend to catch up eventually. For her it was like 2nd grade and bam she gained 20lbs. You can't even tell now she was so small.