Carseat and Automobile Safety

[JOURDYSMOM]

Oh one question.

My daughter is 2...she was using my son's old alpha omega seat...it was going to expire in about 1.5 years...then she spilled an entire sippy cup of milk into it...and I couldn't get all the milk out underneath...and well..DS had puked so much in previously...it was just gross...so I chucked it.

She's just in a cheap carseat/booster that we had for my oldest...(5 point harness obviously) but I would like to get her a nicer seat..

At first I considered maybe getting her the nautilus as well...but then thought...when she's 7 that is going to be one nasty seat...even though it would be nice to purchase just one more seat and not have to go bigger....

If I go with something a bit smaller than the nautilus...and then knowing that about age 6 ish...I'll get her her last one...what would you suggest now??. Her seat is in the minivan...and it's a captain's chair.

Let me ponder this one while I run to a grad party... will let you know ASAP :)

Her weight and height? your vehicle make model and year?

[CW&M Mom]

She is 25lbs

35 inches long

She is 2

Ford Windstar 02 She's in the captains chair

She will not RR...in fact it's basically torture to take her anywhere...we drug the 8 year old...so she doesn't get carsick..so we can put a movie on for the 2 year old to watch...otherwise she screams the whole time.

I hate driving with her...and canceled our family vacation to yellowstone because the thought of having to be in the car with her for that many days made me want to jump in a lake.

[JOURDYSMOM]

Oh one question.

what would you suggest now??.

I would suggest for a cheaper but decent seat, an Evenflo Maestro. They harness up to 50 lbs. You can get one at Sears or Burlington Baby Depot for about $79, better if you can get a coupon or sale deal. I paid $72 each with a 15% off Q at Baby Depot, including our shameful state tax of nearly 10% (GAG)

We own 2, as well as 2 Britax seats. We use the Maestros for spares in DH's car and gramma/grampa etc. They are pretty nice, covers wash nice, and are cheap enough to not have to stress a ton about them :)

They even have cool cup holders! By far my kiddos favorite thing LOL

[MrsPinecone]

A reminder to read over Post #18 for some good tips on carseat safety.

I saw someone with the shoulder straps BEHIND the kid's shoulders, underneath the armpits and the chest clip at belly button level. I actually corrected a perfect stranger, because that kid could have shot out of the infant seat in an accident.

The new parents had misinterpreted the info that the straps need to be below the baby's shoulders in the infant seat. Don't ask me how they got past checkout at the hospital like that.

[CouponQueen23]

Nice thread.. bookmarking and going to follow up on some of the links posted in the threads.. I am going to be bringing home bundle of joy # 4 in March, and I always love reading these types of articles because things change and I learn things I never knew..

[BigDog]

A reminder to read over Post #18 for some good tips on carseat safety.

I saw someone with the shoulder straps BEHIND the kid's shoulders, underneath the armpits and the chest clip at belly button level. I actually corrected a perfect stranger, because that kid could have shot out of the infant seat in an accident.

The new parents had misinterpreted the info that the straps need to be below the baby's shoulders in the infant seat. Don't ask me how they got past checkout at the hospital like that.

Hey. Not all hospitals check out of 6 children only one hospital cared. The last one won't let you bring them into the hospital due to safety.

And we've had 2 seats that had diagrams saying to be at or BELOW shoulder level. But that is crazy on the chest clip.

[MrsPinecone]

And we've had 2 seats that had diagrams saying to be at or BELOW shoulder level. But that is crazy on the chest clip.

Yes, pretty much all of them say 'at or below shoulder level', but that means that the straps go up the front of the baby, are held in place by the chest clip at chest level, then over the tops of the shoulders and slightly behind them where they attach to the seat again.

The people in question had the lower part of the straps around the baby's hips, the chest clip at around waist level and the tops of the straps underneath the baby's armpits and behind the baby. The baby would have shot out the tops of the straps in the event of an accident.

Many people also have the straps FAR too loose. If you can pinch any kind of fold in the fabric of the strap, it's too loose. They have to be quite tight. Babies are used to being constricted and it's not uncomfortable for them.

Improper seat use is as bad as no seat at all. I don't know why anyone would get defensive about being corrected so that the child is as safe as possible.