So what do you do between putting LO in the carseat...

DoubleDiamond · October 2009

and forgetting to buckle him/her up?

I'm seriously asking this question. Nothing in my routine comes between DD being put in the car seat and her being buckled in and I honestly can't imagine what could?

Child in car seat

Knit hat? Watch movie? Bake cookies?

Buckle in

I know, I know. I'm one of the "perfect parents" who doesn't make mistakes. But I'm also the friend of a guy whose 2 month old died in a car accident because he wasn't properly buckled. And guess what? That friend of mine? Suicidal. So yeah...I'll flame to help people NOT make this mistake. You can bet your hotass I will. YWIA

mavilabride · October 2009

That happened to me once.

My mom took her out of her car seat when we were in BRU. She put her back down when I was in line to pay and I just put her in the car. I didn't realize until we went across the street that she wasn't buckled in. I thought my mom took care of it and my mom, who never once used a car seat with us, didn't think twice about it.

No one is allowed to take her out anymore when we go in stores.

Nicavesani · October 2009

I've never forgotten, thank God, but I could see how you could if you wrap baby in a blanket first. I'm always telling DH not to wrap him up, but to put the blanket on AFTER he's in.

BitterOldHag · October 2009

Not a damn thing.

DS#1 goes in, gets fastened, gets additional stroller belt fastened. Then DS#2 goes in and repeat.

And when they are both in, 2 sets of harness and 2 sets of straps are checked and re-checked.

Out carseats are always in the stroller or car so its not an issue.

emlady · October 2009

I think they are putting the baby in the seat and carrying them to the car and then just clicking the seat in. Also, not a safe thing to do.

Beccaboo0713 · October 2009

I also don't see how you can forget that you have a baby and leave them in the car. I read about these things happening pre-parenthood and was so worried I would be so sleep deprived that I would forget him in the car or at the house or something. I don't see how it's possible, he is always on my mind. I mean even if you are so tired you can't think straight you at least have to remember WHY you are tired...the baby!

kaylenpar1 · October 2009

Yeah, the second she's in there I buckle her up. Duh. You put the kid in, you buckle up. I don't get how people can make this mistake, but maybe that's just me.

And I'm sorry to hear about your friend. I can't imagine going through that.

penguingrrl · October 2009

I've known one or two parents who have driven with DC unbuckled. I think it's usually when you go to the mall or somewhere like that, leave DC in the carseat, put the carseat in a stroller or shopping cart, loosen the buckles or unbuckle the kid while walking around (not a great idea, but my girls hate the carseat so I never leave them in it) then forget when you leave that you unbuckled it. In winter when the kid has a blanket over them I could see this happening. I think the issue is actually carseats that don't stay in the car. Yes they are very convenient, but if you are getting in the car and putting DC in the car as you get in this can't happen (or at least is less likely). My girls hate the carseat so much that they're only in it for car rides.

mikeandjen · October 2009

I don't understand why people put LO in the carseat without buckling them up? Wouldn't the LO be laying on the straps/buckles? That's gotta be uncomfortable.

mavilabride · October 2009

emlady:
I think they are putting the baby in the seat and carrying them to the car and then just clicking the seat in. Also, not a safe thing to do.

Why is this not safe?

I don't keep the car seat in the car. I keep it upstairs because otherwise it would be too hot to put her in. So I put her in, strap, and then click it in to the base when I get down stairs.

DoubleDiamond · October 2009

kaylenpar1:

And I'm sorry to hear about your friend. I can't imagine going through that.

Thank you. It was horrible. His DS was born 2 weeks before my DD and they were on their way to introduce the babe to her parents who live out of state. The accident wasn't that bad and at first they couldn't imagine how the babe was so badly injured...

mburkhe · October 2009

I did it one time. B fell asleep in the car so when we got home I unbuckled her so she could move around and put a blanket over her. We had to leave again while she was still sleeping, DH grabbed her and took her to the car like normal. When we got to where we were going we went to take her out of the seat and realized what we had done.

I even told myself to not forget to re-buckle her. Luckily she was fine, but it is not something I want to happen EVER again.

PearlGirl519 · October 2009

I double check these things.

I always lokk, look, and look again. Simply out of paranoia.

Shweensickle · October 2009

I don't have a carrier seat, so I just bring DD right to the car and into the seat. One she's in, she's in & buckled.

kaylenpar1 · October 2009

mavilabride:

emlady:
I think they are putting the baby in the seat and carrying them to the car and then just clicking the seat in. Also, not a safe thing to do.

Why is this not safe?

I don't keep the car seat in the car. I keep it upstairs because otherwise it would be too hot to put her in. So I put her in, strap, and then click it in to the base when I get down stairs.

I think she meant carrying the carseat without them buckled in.

aelyngstad · October 2009

I did it once. Normally I simply take DD out of the car seat so it was routine to buckle her when I put her in the car seat. I took DD to the mall for the first time and used the snap and go. When I got done I put the car seat in the car first and then put the stroller and purchases away. I admittedly didn't have a good system for this and was overwhelmed with trying to make sure I didn't forget anything. I got in the car and pulled out. DD was screaming so I pulled into a different parking spot in the lot and got in back to feed DD. My heart stopped when I realized she wasn't buckled. I'm certainly not proud of this, nor have I ever done it again. I was SO thankful that she was hungry so I didn't even make it out of the parking lot.

Temp159135562506975 · October 2009

it has never happend to me b/c i'm a bit OCD about checking ... but I can totally see how it can happen- esp when you have more than one child and are just trying to get them all into the damn car without going crazy...

it's really easy to pass judgement on other parents when it hasn't happened to you--- then one day it happens and you realize how easy it is for that kind of thing to happen...... never say never... just do the best job you can about making sure it doesn't happen. Have a plan, be aware that it CAN happen, etc.

orion09 · October 2009

mavilabride:

emlady:
I think they are putting the baby in the seat and carrying them to the car and then just clicking the seat in. Also, not a safe thing to do.

Why is this not safe?

I don't keep the car seat in the car. I keep it upstairs because otherwise it would be too hot to put her in. So I put her in, strap, and then click it in to the base when I get down stairs.

we also strap DD in inside the house and then carry her to the car. I've never forgotten to strap her in this way. i too have a friend that lost her 1 year old due to not strapping the baby in properly. So i'm ocd about this.... as we all should be because it's very important.

saj&jaj · October 2009

Maybe I'm just dense I don't understand (a). forgetting to buckle LO in or (b). unbuckling LO while in the stroller/snap n go (if using an infant carrier). I put DS in the carseat (we're still using the infant carrier), buckle him in, and then put him in the car. I leave him buckled up when I put him in the snap n go, so he is only unbuckled when I get home and take him out. I don't claim to be a perfect parent but this just seems like common sense.

bulldog_mama23 · October 2009

I have even taken DD out of the carseat when we've been out at restaurants or whatever, but I have never forgotten to buckle her back in. I am sure it is an honest mistake and could potentially happen to anyone. I would just hope the first time it happened would be the last time! Reading about it on this boards sure makes me double check everytime

mavilabride · October 2009

saj&jaj:

Maybe I'm just dense I don't understand (a). forgetting to buckle LO in or (b). unbuckling LO while in the stroller/snap n go (if using an infant carrier). I put DS in the carseat (we're still using the infant carrier), buckle him in, and then put him in the car. I leave him buckled up when I put him in the snap n go, so he is only unbuckled when I get home and take him out. I don't claim to be a perfect parent but this just seems like common sense.

We sometimes unbuckle when we're at the mall but that's because we live in Florida and most of the malls we go to are outside. She gets sweaty. We did purchase a little fan though so we haven't had to unbuckle recently.

MrsDough527 · October 2009

I usually make burritos before I belt them in.

I'm lucky though, I have another kid looking at me to remind me to buckle them in. I haven't forgotten yet.

Pesky · October 2009

It happens to DH more than me. But the time it has happened, I'm pickign him up from DC, he is partially buckled in and usually I end up being distracted by a teacher or having to grab something else that's about to fall or talking to DD through the window, etc. It's still very rare though.

applewonders · October 2009

It's never happened to me, but just the other day actually I was sitting in the back with DS while FI was driving. After about half an hour of driving I realized that the base of the car seat was not buckled in! I immediately told FI to pull over and asked him how that happened. I was so mad at him b/c I know it's him who forgot to buckle it in...despite not admitting it to this day. I know it's him b/c he always takes the kids car seats out whenever he goes golfing so that he can put his gear in the back seat. I bet he just put the base in, got distracted with a ringing cell phone or whatever, and totally forgot about buckling the base in.

MrsWanee · October 2009

mikeandjen:
I don't understand why people put LO in the carseat without buckling them up? Wouldn't the LO be laying on the straps/buckles? That's gotta be uncomfortable.

this. seriously, people.

Adam'sGirl · October 2009

This is one thing I couldn't imagine ever doing. I am extremely anal about making sure he's buckled and the straps are tight enough. I double and triple check this every time.

MrsAmers · October 2009

mburkhe:
I did it one time. B fell asleep in the car so when we got home I unbuckled her so she could move around and put a blanket over her. We had to leave again while she was still sleeping, DH grabbed her and took her to the car like normal. When we got to where we were going we went to take her out of the seat and realized what we had done.

I even told myself to not forget to re-buckle her. Luckily she was fine, but it is not something I want to happen EVER again.

Similar to this. I never did it with DD, but I did it with DS and I felt HORRIBLE when I got home and realized what happened. I was using his car seat as a place to put him while sleeping when we were visiting a friend. When it was time to go he was already sleeping and covered with a blanket, and I forgot that he wasn't buckled.

DD hated being in the seat 90% of the time and rarely slept in it, but DS is a pretty content kid and has taken quite a few naps in the seat.

I'm certainly not proud of it and I'm very OCD about checking it now...but we all make mistakes. Some just have more tragic consequences than others. Sorry about your friend...

BelleBaby · October 2009

The one time it happened to me I had taken Eli out of his seat when we were going through Sam's Club because he was fussing (the car seats were in the stroller). I just set him back in to go through the check out line and figured I'd snap him in when we got to the car. DH actually took him out of the stoller and put him in the car, so nothing triggered my mind to make sure he was buckled. Believe me, when I got home I was beside myself. It was a ONE TIME mistake and I always check now, regardless. DH usually doesn't even bother to put them in their seats now because I have to check them anyway to be 100% certain. He figures it's just easier to let me do it!

robbie3982 · October 2009

saj&jaj:
Maybe I'm just dense I don't understand (a). forgetting to buckle LO in or (b). unbuckling LO while in the stroller/snap n go (if using an infant carrier). I put DS in the carseat (we're still using the infant carrier), buckle him in, and then put him in the car. I leave him buckled up when I put him in the snap n go, so he is only unbuckled when I get home and take him out. I don't claim to be a perfect parent but this just seems like common sense.

Apparently your kid doesn't scream when in the car seat. DS used to scream bloody murder anytime he was in the car seat. Sometimes he would trick us into thinking he'd be ok to be in the stroller (snap n go) only to start screaming his head off as soon as we'd get inside. I'd take him out of the seat until he calmed down enough and put him back eventually. Unless I was heading straight to the car though I wouldn't tighten him up (he would be buckled though) or he'd start screaming again.

I've only forgotten to tighten the harness once. That was enough.

jacksjerseygirl · October 2009

DoubleDiamond:

So yeah...I'll flame to help people NOT make this mistake. You can bet your hotass I will. YWIA

Yean because someone is going to say ... ooo ooo I better not do that because this message board person DD will flame me or did flame me or thought about flaming me or tried to flame me. ::eye roll::

I'm sorry about your friend and what his family has been through. Events that happen in our lives do tend to shape how WE handle events in our own lives.

In most cases that have been brought up on this board - it was a one time event. So your flaming after the fact really has no impact other than to beat a dead horse.

To answer your question: I've never forgotten after putting LO directly in the car seat and into the car. The forgotten time was a result of LO already being in the car seat and had been UNbuckled while taking a stroller walk due then lifting the car seat off of the stroller frame back into the car.

jacksjerseygirl · October 2009

saj&jaj:

Maybe I'm just dense I don't understand (a). forgetting to buckle LO in or (b). unbuckling LO while in the stroller/snap n go (if using an infant carrier). I put DS in the carseat (we're still using the infant carrier), buckle him in, and then put him in the car. I leave him buckled up when I put him in the snap n go, so he is only unbuckled when I get home and take him out. I don't claim to be a perfect parent but this just seems like common sense.

DS, when he was still small enough to put in a car seat and then into the snap n go (now he is just taken out of the car and put into a stroller) ... HATED to be in the stroller and buckled in. And often times, he would need to be taken out of the stroller at some point in the store for soothing. Hence, being unbuckled while in the stroller from time to time. In general, I think it is safer for them to be buckled into the car seat even when in a stroller but what SHOULD BE doesn't always align with reality.

mavilabride · October 2009

jacksjerseygirl:

In most cases that have been brought up on this board - it was a one time event. So your flaming after the fact really has no impact other than to beat a dead horse.

This was in reference to a 0-3 post where the OP mentioned it happening twice and another poster mentioning it happened 3 times. Most people would remember after 1 time not to do it again but I think those two ladies need a serious reality check if it is happening more than once.

rebus82 · October 2009

If we're in the store and he's snapped into the stroller, if we take him out for something we usually don't strap him back in until we're leaving, because he sometimes starts getting really fussy or sick and we have to take him out quickly. We actually did forget to strap him back in once (he was covered in a blanket) and I cried when we got home and noticed it. Since then I have religiously checked his straps before leaving any store, even if I know I never took him out. I'm not happy DH and I made that mistake, but I'm damn glad that it made me more diligent about checking.?

If he's just in the carrier (not the stroller) he's always buckled in. Even if it's sitting stationary somewhere. It would be next to impossible to knock him out of the carrier while it's snapped into the stroller.?

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