We called and emailed about two weeks ago to get an appointment for a car seat inspection at the Aspen Hill location (they are there on Thursdays from 8 am to 12 noon). We got a call back the same day, and they were able to make an appointment for 9 am.
We installed the car seat this morning (Chicco Keyfit 30) before we went out and while we followed all of the directions, we weren't quite sure we'd gotten it right. We had tried the center with the shoulder belt, but it didn't seem tight enough, so we did the LATCH on the passenger side, which we thought was tight enough but wanted a double-check.
We showed up at the Aspen Hill location at about 8:55. They were running a little behind, but had us fill out paperwork sitting inside the building (which is kind of sketchy looking and behind a 7-11 whose parking lot was filled with day laborers). They got to us about 10 minutes later, and apologized for running behind. The tech asked us questions about our car seat, and then had us bring the carrier inside. She reviewed the functions of the carrier (what all the little handles and levers do), and had us practice putting a baby doll into the carrier to make sure we knew how to tighten the straps. She reviewed safety issues like when to take out the newborn insert, and not having baby wear coats/jackets in the car. Nothing I didn't know from reading the bump for so long and being a paranoid first-time parent, but it was good for DH to hear it from an authority (I think I've become the Charlie Brown teacher voice to him when it comes to baby stuff now). She also went over when to switch to front-facing, when to switch to a convertible seat, etc.
Then we went out to the car and she checked our rear passenger LATCH install, which was actually fine! Yay us! We wanted to have it in the center for safety, so she moved it over and showed us how to install it with the shoulder belt, and then had DH do it himself and checked it. She asked if we were comfortable with doing it for our other car (and we are) and then we were free to go.
Even though we had installed it correctly in our car and baby would have been safe, I am glad that we went and that this is a service that MoCo still offers. While we were there, we saw 6 other families, whose needs ranged from installing a convertible seat, to installing a 3rd car seat, to picking up an infant seat with a voucher (that couple had brought their baby with them, and I don't even want to know how they got there). As so many other counties have cut this service, it is gratifying to see that Montgomery County has continued it, and I sent an email/facebook messages to our council members to ask them to make sure this stays funded.
Re: MoCo Car Seat Check - Review (long)
I love this service! We used it for our Graco Snugride and then when we switched to the Britax. Made me feel so much better about the process and J's safety.
. . . Especially when my ILs rode in the back a few weekends ago and accidentally undid the seat belt latching the carseat in! Gah!
TTC #2: BFP 12/17/11, m/c 1/7/12 and D&C 1/12/12
baby blog/cooking blog
@ladywalton - I thought of you when we were there! I have now posted on the facebook pages of MoCo fire and rescue, as well as the council members I'm facebook friends with to tell them to keep this in the budget. It's so important.
I found them really helpful, too...
(Getting certified is actually one of my 2011 goals... so, hopefully I'll be able to find the time to do it!)
Yeah, the in laws have used the same place for both of the carseats C has used in their car and were pleased. MIL car doesn't have LATCH and is a total PITA, so they really needed help.
ETA: the non-LATCH is a PITA, not MIL. For the most part.