JJ Cole Bundle Me

imsoexcited915

I've been using this (wraps over the infant carrier) since its been pretty cold out lately and I'm wondering if you moms add a blanket covering LO inside since there is room. I don't use a coat on LO since I've read it's not safe to have so much cushioning between baby and straps. Wondering what others do. Do you put it all the way up evER?

buckleyk

I have one and put a blanket under it just to make it a little more cozy. She also likes grabbing it and chewing on the end of her blankie.

When it's really cold, I flip the cover over her face only when we're outside. Once we're in the car, I pull it back down.

jht4

The BundleMe is not safe to use with a car seat because the straps go through it and it goes between baby and the harness. It can be used with strollers, etc.
https://jjcolecollections.com/bundleme

JJ Cole also makes a car seat cover that is like a "shower cap" (I'm thinking you may mean this one as you said it goes over the seat) that is safe to use with a car seat. I use this one and yes, I use a blanket underneath when it is really cold.
https://jjcolecollections.com/car-seat-cover

Here is some info about why bundle me is not safe.
https://csftl.org/hello-winter-good-bye-coats/
https://csftl.org/non-regulated-products/

ForeverEverAfter

For the bucket seat, I dress baby on regular clothes, a wool bonnet, tuck a blanket over her, then throw a heavy fleece blanket over the whole seat.

If we're using the convertible (other car) I just put her in a thin fleece suit over her clothes, a bonnet and wrap her in a blanket to get to the car, then lay that over her.

It's been -10C and snowy here and this has worked.

laur3877

I use the car seat cover form JJ Cole with a blanket over it when we go outside. I always let the car warm up but Once were in the car, I take the blanket off and she just has the bundle me on. It's freezing up here (-18!) and only the beginning so I hope LO is warm.

BrittanyM1015

We use this same cover(goes over the seat not underneath baby at all). I usually put a blanket in with her. If she seems warm I'll take it off but she has one she prefers so I usually leave it in. I put the cover over her outside but always pull it back when she's in the car.

aharders89

We have the shower cap cover and it just depends on the temp outside. If it's in the high 30s-40s LO honestly seems comfortable with just the cover on. Her little hands and face never feel cold, but she's also just out long enough to get to the car. But if it's any colder than that I do put a blanket under the flap then take it off when we get to the car. DH was out of town most of this week and with the wind chill it was in single digits and below 0 a few days so LO and I didn't even leave the house. Thank god we had plenty of formula or I would've had to take her out in it!

imsoexcited915

@jht4 yes i meant the car seat cover not the bundle me. My mistake!

jht4

imsoexcited915 said:

@jht4 yes i meant the car seat cover not the bundle me. My mistake!

I thought you meant that! I just wanted to leave that information there for anyone else who may be using the bundle me

asfoxworth

I have a cozy cover and it suits my LO just fine. Keeps him nice and comfy!

CaboBride2015

We use the Bundle Me but ours doesn't look as thick as the ones in the pictures linked above. The back is almost non-existent, it's thinner than a fleece jacket would be. We love it and with our sub zero temps and winds, a blanket would not cut it.

dmbfan46835

@jht4 we used the bundle me, but I just ordered the shower cap kind thanks to your post! Looks like he may be rocking a fleece outfit and a blanket for a few days. Now I'm all worried about the bundle me, lol. Thank you for the detailed post, very helpful!!

Sully3302

The bundle me is really not for driving!?! Why would you want to push LO in a stroller in frigid temps. I am going to look into the car seat cover!

jht4

They certainly do a good job of marketing it for driving, don't they?! The bundle me packing has a statement on it informing the consumer to only use if the car seat approves it. Well, no car seat does. In fact, there will be a statement in your car seat manual about not adding anything to the seat that didn't come with your seat (the link in my first post regarding after market items has photos of the wording used in britax, chicco, and graco manuals). By routing the straps through the bundle me and putting something between the child and seat you are altering the seat and it may affect performance of the seat in a crash. It also may not affect the seat, we have no way of knowing for sure. I certainly won't be using my child as a crash test dummy.

Some after market products even say "crash tested". Unfortunately, there are no standards for crash testing after market items (unlike car seats which do have standards). I could throw an after market item against the wall and call it "crash tested" because it didn't break.

I hope I'm not hiding my distain for the marketing and selling of this item and other after market items. What new mom is going to read all the fine print on the packaging for something as non-assuming as a modified blanket and then remember every detail in the car seat manual?!

Essentially, it is not illegal to sell a bundle me because it can be safely used for strollers (although I am with you on not walking my LO when it is that cold). It is, however, illegal to use a bundle me on a car seat while driving if you are in a "proper use state" because the manual forbids it (not that this is likely to be enforced).

I hope this is helpful! My aim in posting this information and the links above is to hopefully inform other moms and then they can make whatever choice they want for their LO. If you want to learn more about car seat safety, the "car seats for the littles" Facebook page and website are great resources. You can ask questions on the facebook page and get information from CPSTs.

Sully3302

On the jj Cole website it says that the bundle me was crash tested....interesting!

callistosmile

We got the bundle me at our shower and I DID read all the fine print in both the bundle me and car seat manual (who doesn't do this?!?!) so I realized it wasn't safe before baby showed up. We have a stroller that turns into a bassinet style (urbini omni, love it so much) and I use it in that. I live in Portland, Oregon, so our weather is pretty mild. It's perfect because I can put him in with just a fleece jacket over a regular indoor outfit (long sleeve onesie and pants), plus wool socks, a hat, and his mittens, and he stays nice and toasty. I personally run cold, so I want to make sure little man stays warm if he's like me at all. For car trips he just gets a super thick blanket over the same layers and we take the blanket off when we're in the car.