Maxi-Cosi:

Elizabeth Hasslebeck’s son, Taylor Thomas Hasselbeck, uses Maxi-Cosi Mico whenever they go out for a drive. Believe it or not, Taylor was one of the first children in the United States to ride in one of these.

Graco:

Salma Hayek received a Graco Snug Ride car seat at her baby shower, she gave birth to a little girl named, Valentina Paloma, in 2007.  Matt Damon always makes sure his precious Isabella is in a car seat, I’m not sure what he always uses but as an infant they used the Graco Snugride in Family Tree.

  Britax:

Britney Spears purchased a Britax car seat after getting nailed with putting her baby in her lap while driving. This is NOT something mothers should do, always place your baby in the proper car seat for their age/size.  There’s currently a big sale on Britax Marathon right now.

Post from: Babylune

Newborns should only have Newborn car seats or a rear-facing. Rear-facing car seats are perfect up to a year old or 20 pounds. Many of these seats come with a base, you can either leave the base in your vehicle or take it out for your stroller. (Some strollers come with the infant base and car seat) Leaving the base in the car will make loading your baby that much easier. Always make sure the base and seat click together, if you don’t hear it click it is NOT in there properly.

If you are like me, you worry when your baby’s head hits the side or she/he slumps down. Am I right? This is an easy fix, these days they have all types of padding to  fit in the infant car seats to protect your child. Make sure it fits and that your child’s face is never directly in it. To make you feel even better, you may want to purchase a backseat mirror.

Check the Harness: This is the seat belt that you place over your baby in the car seat. Mine always had three levels, the bottom was for newborn and then as the baby grew you placed the harness through the higher holes. Make sure the harness is neither too tight or lose. Always make sure you fasten the harness as well, some think just because the baby is in the car seat they don’t need the straps to be snapped over the baby’s chest. They do!

Toddlers can actually have a variety of different seats: Combo, forward-facing or a convertible. Experts suggest keeping them in a forward-facing car seat as long as possible. Keep in mind the rear-facing car seats are meant for 20 lbs and under.

Older Children can use booster seats or what my daughter calls a lap seat.  These should be worn until your child can fit comfortably in a regular seat belt, if they do not, keep them in a booster seat.  This is normally around 8-12 years of age, so as you can see car seats will be a thing you should get to know really well.

A child that is no longer in a booster seat should still wear a seat belt. Make sure he/she knows how to put it on properly. A seat belt should fit across their lap and chest, make sure it is not going into their neck.  

If you are ever concerned about the car seat you can always go to a Child Protective Safety Technician to make sure it is installed properly of for more instructions. Or you can read the manual that comes with your seat, this normally has a phone number you can call as well.

 NEVER: Allow your child to ride in a vehicle without a seat belt. I’ve seen too many times a child was injured because they were moving around in the back of a vehicle or worse they were sitting still but didn’t have a belt on and were thrown from the car.

NEVER: Place a rear-facing car seat in the passenger side of the vehicle (Up front), airbags will explode forward, hitting the car seat and injuring your baby.

Tip: If you own a jeep, you’ve probably already learned this but even an older child must sit in a booster seat.  We did not know this, we thought once our older son was a certain weight or age (as it was in that state) he’d be able to just sit in the seat. An officer pulled us over and explained, any child should sit in a booster seat under teen years as their necks can be injured if you hit a bump or get in an accident.

Post from: Babylune

-  Try to see if you can put a car seat inside your vehicle. This will help ya learn all about the car seat and what you will need to learn. You may want to make sure the harness is set for a newborn, but remember once the baby is born you may still need to adjust the straps.

Post from: Babylune

You know after four kids it has become natural for us to have everything ready for us when the baby is brought home. However, that doesn’t mean the first time parent knows what to do. It may not even occur to them to have a car seat ready before the baby is born. Or maybe they postpone it until the last minute and now they are rushing to ER to give birth. Am I right?

Normally picking up a infant car seat from Walmart, Kmart or Target can normally do the trick. But there are times when an infant car seat won’t work, for instance a baby born really big or a premie may need special additions or seats to be safe.

Ways to Pick a Car Seat:

Check to see what type of seat will work in your vehicle. Hubby and I had one that we were given that did not actually fit right in the car, so we had to go out and get a new one. For some reason the way our seats were it made the baby almost sit upright instead of slanted like it should be. Many people suggested putting towels under to make it fit right, however this is not a safe thing to do with any child. (I don’t recommend it)

 Colors & Prints:
Boys- blue, green, puppies, stripes, Nascar
Girls- Pink, purple, red, yellow, orange, bright colors, flowers, teddy bears, etc
Neutral- Colors that are neutral work for both boy or girl, as well as spots, dots, stripes and plain patterns.

What are some tips you can think of that would help a new parent pick out a car seat?

(Next up, car seat safety)

Post from: Babylune