Winter Safety

namara5532

One of my facebook friends who's a trained car seat technician has been putting up lots of info to keep baby warm and safe in a carseat in winter.  I thought I'd pass along a link she posted with some suggestions.  I know we've all had to deal with this as we had winter babies, but a reminder doesn't hurt.

https://thestir.cafemom.com/baby/109699/6_tips_for_winter_car

jnickers98

Thank you for reminding everyone.

shortstuff15

Yes we've had to deal with it but last winter the majority of us were using infant carseats  where blankets were easy to use.  Now most of us will be using convertible seats which changes things entirely.

One thing that she doesn't mention that is actually approved by most carseat technicians is to do this**.  That is what I do because it is quite literally too cold here to not use a coat and to stand there and take the coat on and off everytime you get into and out of the vehicle is also too cold.

If you go by the rule that toddlers need only the same amount of clothes that you need, then here they do need jackets because there is no way I am driving or going outside without a full winter jacket on.

**For those who can't click the link, basically you unzip the jackets, pull the sides through the harness with the arms and then buckle the harness up.  The harness is still sitting flat on the child's chest but the jacket is still on and keeping warmth.  You can then either zip up the jacket overtop of the harness or leave it unzipped.

bigbear

Thank you for this! Like PP said, it was different last winter as we had brand new babies and the car seat and everyhting else was completely different.

I will fully admit (and I think I even mentioned it just yesterday) that we had the bulkiness problem so I don't put the coat on in the car anymore. Well we use the one piece suit which works great but when it gets really cold here in Minnesota we'll have no choice but to have a thick jacket on. So this is great info!

lp0

LibraryChica:

Personally, I choose to avoid this entire issue by living where it rarely makes it below 50. Drive south, my friends, drive south.

But thanks! We may take a roadtrip this winter and this link will be good to have.

love this!

I tried to squeeze my poor ds into the bundle me yesterday and it was pretty comical. I have a hard time dressing him too warmly in the car because he comes out soaked in sweat. I think I'm going to continue covering him with blankets to block the cold and wind until we get into the car and then uncover him and leave the blanket over his lap. I also have a jacket with a hood that I can put him in if I leave the car seat in the car and just take him.

namara5532

dhviel:

**For those who can't click the link, basically you unzip the jackets, pull the sides through the harness with the arms and then buckle the harness up.  The harness is still sitting flat on the child's chest but the jacket is still on and keeping warmth.  You can then either zip up the jacket overtop of the harness or leave it unzipped.

Actually, it isn't entirely safe as it is still putting squishy material behind your child.  Bundle Me does the same thing.  It's probably not the worst thing you can do (like not pulling the strap tight at all) if it's what's necessary to keep LO warm, but it does make the seat more unsafe.  You may want to consider a poncho jacket with snap up sleeves.

shortstuff15

namara5532:

dhviel:

**For those who can't click the link, basically you unzip the jackets, pull the sides through the harness with the arms and then buckle the harness up.  The harness is still sitting flat on the child's chest but the jacket is still on and keeping warmth.  You can then either zip up the jacket overtop of the harness or leave it unzipped.

Actually, it isn't entirely safe as it is still putting squishy material behind your child.  Bundle Me does the same thing.  It's probably not the worst thing you can do (like not pulling the strap tight at all) if it's what's necessary to keep LO warm, but it does make the seat more unsafe.  You may want to consider a poncho jacket with snap up sleeves.

Well I haven't adjusted my kids carseat straps from the summer to the winter so if it fits exactly the same as it would when she's not wearing any coat at all I'm thinking it's fine. The poncho coat would do nothing here while outside. We quite literally have close to a month of -40 plus a windchill and poncho coats won't do anything at all.

namara5532

Depending on what kind of seat you have, you're supposed to adjust the fit each time you put LO in the seat.  I only know about the kind with the strap you pull, so I may be uneducated about your seat type.  If you like, I can get an opinion from my car seat tech friend.  Best I can offer you to stay safest is to heat up the car before you put LO in, then take the jacket off before putting them in the seat.  Like I said though, there's worse you can do than leaving a jacket on in the seat as long as you realize it isn't the safest configuration.

js13524

Thanks for the info. The kid in the video is so darn cute!

SmittyPants

According to the AAP, it's perfectly fine to have your child in a car seat with a coat on so long as you make sure the straps are as snug as possible. They do not recommend huge, bulky coats however. 

shortstuff15

Well we'll just have to agree to disagree.  I start my car when we head out the door so that by the time I've put the girls in it's been running about 5 minutes.  It's harmful to the engine to let it idle much more then that.  Our seat does have the strap you pull to adjust but I have never heard about adjusting it everytime you put the kid in.  But like I said, taking the coat on and off during winter is not really possible here because going outside without a coat on carries a risk of frostbite, even in only a couple minutes at times.  So while ideally they ride with no coat, the little bit of layer that the coat adds on the back is no more then a sweater would add and so I'm comfortable with that.

aboynamedbarry

Namara you are correct in saying that the straps need to be adjusted to fit the child every time you strap them in. Some car seats this is a pita to do, usually the cheaper ones. I personally can't get my dd out of the car seat without loosening the straps and honestly that's how it should be. So to pp who said that you should agree to disagree just know that you're not disagreeing with namara, you are disagreeing with safety. I realize you are in a tough situation, but im sure you want the safest situation for your child and that you will figure out how to make sure that happens.