*Product Spotlight: CAR SEATS*

rms924

Thanks @janat1717 and @kiddiesandkitties! Clek apparently has a new infant seat too. I’m just screwed bc of the 3 across. Tbh I had a brutal infant and didn’t like it- it seemed a bit chintzy for the price. Chicco ftw! 

Do you guys guys move your car seats a lot? We literally install them and try to keep them in for as long as possible. This may be dumb, but is it better for the seats to be heavy? From a safety perspective 

kraane

@rms924 How heavy or light a car seat is has no impact on how safe it is. They all have to pass the same safety standards to be approved for use. You just have to watch the latch weight restrictions for installation. It depends on the car seat manual as well as the vehicle manual.
 For example I believe my latch weight limit is 65 pounds so if I have my 7 pound seat I can put up to my 57 pound kid in it. Or if the seat weighs 20 pounds I can only have a 45 pound kid in it. Then I would have to install with the seatbelt! 
Also 3 across is possible in some vehicles you just may have to try different combinations of various seats. Although there would be no way I’m getting 3 across in my Hyundai Elantra. 

janat1717

@rms924 Ours does not move unless my husband needs extra hauling space. 

rms924

Got it. I think I’m going to have to shell out to buy them and then try to install. Otherwise we may need to purchase another car. Which really sucks since this car not even 6 months old! Wasting money literally hurts my heart. 

kraane

@rms924 you may be able to try before you buy the seats. I installed mine before I bought it to make sure it fit rear-facing in my vehicle. 

lillywonderland

@rms924 When we were moving to the convertible car seat we got a couple different styles from amazon and had no problem returning the ones we didn’t like that didn’t fit great in our car.

nightdreamr13

So, I recently went to buy buy baby and was shocked to hear the sales associate tell me that I would have a hard time finding a car seat that would fit well in my vehicle. I have a Mazda CX-5 so I didn't think fitting a child in my car would be an issue. She is claiming that the seats are not as deep in these cars so in order to put a carseat in, the front seat needs to be pushed up to almost the dashboard. Anyone else have similar experiences? Really trying to lock in a stroller and carseat and this threw me for a loop.

RedBreast35

@nightdreamr13 I had the CX-3 not the 5, which is definitely smaller, but I had to have the seat wayyy forward to fit the car seat. The infant seat was a little better than the convertible, and it was tight, but it fit. I think you’ll be OK in the 5, unless you’re like 6’3” 😀 They don’t have a sample or something you can test? I feel like some places will do that. 

lillywonderland

@nightdreamr13 Order it from Amazon, test it in your car and if it doesn’t fit (or you don’t like it), just send it back! We did that when we switched to the convertible.

nightdreamr13

@lillywonderland @RedBreast35 I didn't think you could open the box and give it back.

mommyshark13

@nightdreamr13 I would try googling the year, make, and model of your car plus car seat reviews. There are blogs devoted to this kind of thing... to help both with purchasing cars and seats. GL!

ETA: With DS, I was still driving a Pontiac Sunfire that I had in college. I had no trouble with our infant seat (chicco keyfit) but we were unable to get the convertible in when RFing so we traded vehicles bc it was time anyway.

ternsetc

@nightdreamr13 I think it needs to be in new and unused condition, so don't remove any tags, save all the packaging and pack it up again in the bags/box etc it came in if you return it - but I think you should still be able to unwrap it and hook it into your car just to determine fit without compromising any of that. We ordered through Amazon and tested in the car - with both the infant and convertible seats, the seat fit, and we ended up keeping them, so I didn't go through the return process, but I was prepared to and remember thinking it seemed that I could without an issue.

lillywonderland

@nightdreamr13 What @ternsetc said. We kept everything on it and packed it up (basically) exactly how we unboxed it. We just tried it in our car, took it out and repacked it. Easy peasy!!

nda_roxybabe

@nightdreamr13 With most seats you'll be fine in the Mazda 5. I dont know why they had to psych you out like that. A Graco Extend 2 Fit or Cosco Scenera Next will be some of your mostcompact front to back if you're really worried. 

sunshine2417

On Facebook you can also look up the group Car Seats for the Littles and they have tons of great information about safety, fits for cars, three across, etc etc etc. They're a great group to follow! 

themadcamel

Speaking of car seats... I help with dismissing the car riders after school. The amount of adults who drive up with incorrectly installed car seats or no car seats at all baffles me. Yesterday, I went to let a Kindergartner into his car and opened up the back door. The lady picking him up goes, "oh, he rides in the front." Excuse me?!

nomangos23

@themadcamel oy. I.... I don’t know what I’d say. Maybe something like “oh! Is there any reason?” Like trying to start a casual conversation. Then maybe ease into rear car seat safety? 

Also.. does baby go behind driver seat or passenger? Does it matter? 

lillywonderland

@nomangos23 Many FTM’s put baby in the middle of the back seat. It’s a PITA to get baby in and out but it’s supposed to be safer than any other side. We just did passenger side since DH is super tall and can’t do the middle (and he usually drives us all).

RedBreast35

@nomangos23 I remember reading that middle is best, then driver side.  I think the driver's side is because you instinctively protect yourself (and therefore your side of the vehicle) if something were to happen, so it's theoretically safer?

kiddiesandkitties

@nomangos23 @lillywonderland @RedBreast35 in theory the middle is the safest location for the infant seat ONLY if it can be safely installed there. The large majority of cars do not approve LATCH installation in the middle (essentially, there is a LATCH setup behind the driver side, and a second behind the passenger side. To install in the center, you are using the right LATCH hook from the driver and the left hook from the passenger, which compromises the safety of the system.) Unless you have a separate middle seat LATCH system approved by the car manufacturer, behind driver/passenger is safer. We have always installed behind passenger so that if you’re parking on the street, you get baby out on the sidewalk side. 

nomangos23

Such great feedback and good to know there is one “duh, nomangos” answer lol 

zuuls_mom

We have ours on the passenger side and use the LATCH setup. This was deemed the safest for our vehicle and I like having him on the passenger side so I can see him in the mirror. When this LO comes, we'll be switching DS to driver side and installing the infant seat on the passenger side for the same reason. I also recommend a car seat cover! It helps protect your seats. We use this one: https://www.amazon.com/Brica-Seat-Guardian-Car-Protector/dp/B00B7M7BKW/ref=sr_1_3?keywords=Brica+car+seat+protector&qid=1556292704&s=gateway&sr=8-3

RedBreast35

@nomangos23 I think when it comes to most things about babies, there is never one "duh, nomangos" answer 

nda_roxybabe

wait, wait. Let me clear up some unintentional misleading wording.

Statistically, the middle seat is the safest because it's farthest from point of contact. After that, both sides are equally safe (you cant really control where an impact will come from or what the reaction will be)

LATCH is a system for installing the seats. It can ONLY be done in the middle if your car has designated middle lower anchors OR if your car AND carseat allow for latch borrowing, a lot do not. Check your vehicle manual first to see where the lower anchors are and if it allows borrowing. Then check your carseat manual to see if they allow borrowing. Seatbelt is just as safe, so that's always a good "Simpler" option if you can get a good install. 

lillywonderland

FFC? I didn’t know what LATCH was until DS was like 2mo. We just did it the seatbelt way. It was still installed correctly per those specifications, but dang man LATCH made it so much easier to switch the base from car to car quickly!!

eta spelling. urgh!

zuuls_mom

@lillywonderland agreed! The anchors make it soooo much easier! 

mommyshark13

@themadcamel I have seen some wild stuff at pick ups and drop offs while my kids have been in preschool. Including a 4 year old in a front seat.

cheshyre319

Oh man, is there anyway at maybe the start of the year your schools could pass out vehicle safety pamphlets? A kindergartner in the front seat is terrifying! Where is the booster seat so they are safe?

themadcamel

@cheshyre319 that's a good idea. it's very disturbing to see how many people don't practice child safety in their vehicles.

cheshyre319

@themadcamel I joined the FB group mentioned above about carseats and I had no idea on some of it! Lack of knowledge can be scary. 

blitzybee

I initially installed the infant car seat behind the driver seat because I had a c section and needed to access him without feeling like my insides were gonna rip open-how’s that for some awesome imagery!? Then I moved him to the middle once I was healed. My vehicle does have the approved latch system in the middle. I’ll probably do the same this time around, although, now it will depend more on if my son is nice to the baby or not! It would be great to have the 2 next to each other if my older son is a big helper, but if he isn’t so nice, I’ll just keep baby on the opposite side!

Also, a recommendation that I’ve heard many times is to put the child behind the passenger seat so that if you parallel park, you will be getting the child out on the safer side. Depends on where you live if that will be an issue or not.  

LJMoon6

Can I just have a diva moment please. I've had my carseat and stroller combo picked out for months now. I was lucky enough to get a free carseat for the target trade in event and had planned to use the 20% off on the travel system. Well... the color I had picked out is discontinued! At both target and buy buy baby (I'm thinking it's last years model now). The ones I'm finding on Amazon are a couple $100 over original price. The new colors available... suck! I hate them! Ugh I'm so angry! 

blitzybee

@LJMoon6 Ugh. I feel like the colors and models of car seats change so often! It’s hard to keep track and is annoying, especially once you had one all picked out. And sometimes different stores have different colors and models, too! 

cheshyre319

@LJMoon6 Right there with you! Except why does every store carry slightly different colors? And then suddenly all the colors change? Why are there seasonal colors for carseats!?

LJMoon6

Lol, seasonal carseats! I just wish I could see the available colors in person. None of the stores around here carry this style in-store anymore. I know it's silly to get worked up over a simple thing like the color of your carseat. But, damn it, I loved the color we had picked out!