Carolee said:
"I have gotten the impression that the criticism of these carseats comes
from mothers of older children who, perhaps, have forgotten what it is like
to parent small babies."

Interesting point! And quite shocking to realize that "oh, maybe she means
*me*! I think maybe you're right, to some degree; or at least I'm willing to
give it some thought. It's certainly the case that when my babies were
little they didn't even have those things, at least not in that portable
carseat form (the dreaded bucket) - there were "infant seats" (for in the
house, not car-safe), and there were carseats (safe ones were just starting
to come out then), but there was no such thing as both safe in the car and
portable.

I will *never*, believe me, forget what it was like to be managing my infant
twins and my toddler out in public doing errands! (Although, not having had
a car, and hence no seats, the "bucket" wasn't an option). I well remember
the days of putting one twin in the Snugli front carrier and the other in
the Gerri back carrier, strapping on my Ice Creepers in the winter so I
wouldn't fall on the ice, and holding my son's hand as we did our errands.
Also stuffing them into a melon crate lined with pillows, which I strapped
onto the sled. Later I put them all in a big red wagon with high sides (took
all my income tax refund *and* my birthday money to buy, but boy did we get
our money's worth out of that thing!) Kept them in that wagon till the girls
were about 4 - it was the equivalent of a car for us. One of my worst
parenting "moments" was when the wagon, loaded with 2 girls and a load of
groceries, tipped over in the middle of the busy highway we had to cross to
get to the grocery store - out sprawled my precious daughters, and potatoes
and cabbages were rolling down the highway, and milk was rupturing out the
bottom of the wagon, and traffic was stopping and honking and staring at us
poor people making a spectacle in the middle of the road.

So it's not for lack of understanding for the young mothers who use these
buckets that I worry about their over-use; I guess it just seems so sad for
the babies, who never seem to get taken out & talked to. I think it must
feel real scary for them to be swung around that way, too. But maybe you're
right, maybe I just haven't gotten used to these new-fangled things yet!

Cathy Bargr, RN, IBCLC Ithaca NY

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