Are you putting anything under LO's car seat?

knedell · January 2010

I was wondering the other day if they make a seat protector to put under LO's carseat to keep things from falling down and staining/ruining the leather seats in your car? Has anyone heard of something like this?

pandagirl15 · January 2010

We registered for one at BRU. I think it's just called car seat undermat or something.

lilitaliangirl · January 2010

Yes, you can get an Eddie Bauer under mat at target.

sarajo317 · January 2010

like this? https://www.toysrus.com/product/index.jsp?productId=3695514

aegrimm · January 2010

The lady that did the car seat talk at our childbirth class said to never put anything under the car seat because it interferes with how tightly the seat can be strapped down and, in the case of an accident, the seat can slip/move causing injury to the child.

It kind of sucks, because the car seat can ruin the seat, but, to me, it's a small price to pay.

Aliliv · January 2010

Check with the carseat's manufacturer to see what they suggest. Here's a link that discusses carseat protectors and compares a lot of them....

https://carseatblog.com/?p=3275

knedell · January 2010

Yes! Thank you!

melissabshelton · January 2010

We have the Eddie Bauer ones from Target. 3+ years later and they're still holding up great.

CTri17 · January 2010

I put an old towel under there , a friend told us to do that because carseats can tear up the car and then obviously when they get older and there is food etc that gets thrown out.

whitward87 · January 2010

You can get them at either Target or BRU. My DH and I are both getting one.

https://www.toysrus.com/product/index.jsp?productId=3695514

aegrimm · January 2010

Aliliv:

Check with the carseat's manufacturer to see what they suggest. Here's a link that discusses carseat protectors and compares a lot of them....

https://carseatblog.com/?p=3275

This is an awesome link. I never thought to check w/ the manufacturer. I just took that lady's word for it. (You'd think she'd know what she's talking about Confused ) I'll do a little more research now, since I'd like to use a seat protector if possible. Thank you!

Jibbelle · January 2010

I was scolded by the fireman that did my car seat inspection for having one...he made me remove it before he would give me a pass.

ditzydi_2000 · January 2010

Yes because DH is anal about the cleanliness of his car. So to try and help him adjust to it being messy due to baby I went ahead and registered for a under seat mat thingie.

butterbeansmama · January 2010

We have a full size body towel that is the same color as the cushion down under the carseat. We didn't put down anything when he was an infant, but now that he is standing on the seat to get into the carseat himelf, I don't want dirty shoes directly on the cushions.

MrsJWeaver · January 2010

Its not big deal fro my car because I drive a Honda Element, the seats are pretty stain resistant and the car has a lot of miles. I assume we won't get much if anything when we decide to trade it in so I'm not too worried about protecting it. We might get one for DH's car because he has a very nice Accord with super low mileage. We want to keep it in great shape since it will get better trade in value when we are ready to make a change. The good thing is that we barely use his car and will rarely have LO in there for long periods of time.

MrsHK · January 2010

You will (and have) see both sides on this debate. Some inspectors say absolutely not. Our PD and FD (who inspected two different carseats for me on two different occasions) recommend using a small piece of shelf liner, the textured kind. They actually have that and the pool noodles on hand as needed for installation. I believe they were recommending it on the basis of adding a little traction especially for leather seats.

However, in my experience I really like the Prince Lionheart 2 stage seat protector. DS1 is still rearfacing so it's nice to have that second piece of protector to keep the top part of our seats clean from his muddy shoes.

The big difference I saw between the shelf liner and protector was how much it preserved our leather seats. We did have a problem with DS1's carseat eventually wearing down the seat in our Vue. Not the leather material but it left an impression in the seat itself. Then the carseat would feel a little looser to me because it was sunken in the seat a bit. This was only after using just the shelf liner for a couple of months. We switched to the seat protector and haven't had the problem since.

This fall we also jumped into the world of minivan drivers and have only cloth seats now too. I still wanted to make sure we got another seat protector to use for DS2 from the get go.

72206johnson · January 2010

The firefighter that did our carseat inspection put one of those shelf liners (the rubber kind with the little holes) on our leather seats under the carseat. He said it helps keep the carseat from sliding. He had a bunch already precut and said that he gives them to parents with leather seats to ground the carseat.

Becca070408 · January 2010

aegrimm:

The lady that did the car seat talk at our childbirth class said to never put anything under the car seat because it interferes with how tightly the seat can be strapped down and, in the case of an accident, the seat can slip/move causing injury to the child.

It kind of sucks, because the car seat can ruin the seat, but, to me, it's a small price to pay.

* we heard this at our class too....car seat manufacturer's do not perform crash tests with any additions, such as car seat protectors, comfort straps for shoulders, etc. Therefore, if (God forbid) you're in an accident, insurance-wise they will not do anything for you...took them off my registry aftering hearing this

aocain02@yahoo.com · January 2010

lilitaliangirl:
Yes, you can get an Eddie Bauer under mat at target.

Same one I got and the carseat is super secure with it.

Love your dog!

Aliliv · January 2010

aegrimm:
Aliliv:

Check with the carseat's manufacturer to see what they suggest. Here's a link that discusses carseat protectors and compares a lot of them....

https://carseatblog.com/?p=3275

This is an awesome link. I never thought to check w/ the manufacturer. I just took that lady's word for it. (You'd think she'd know what she's talking about ) I'll do a little more research now, since I'd like to use a seat protector if possible. Thank you!

I always thought not to use one, too. I still don't use one and have no intentions on ever using one, but I thought the link was an interesting comparison:)

Hip2Bsquare · January 2010

Well I will just have to figure something out when I start giving my baby cookies and bottles. Until that point I have nothing for under my car seat. I bought the Chicco because of the better base....it had a smooth underside so it's less damaging to the car. It was the one thing that sold me over the snugride. I have cloth seats and a fairly new car so it was important to me.

Kiki-licioius · January 2010

I put a every cheap and thin towel under DD1's seat.

I'm talking about the age when they start eating the dang nabit goldfish and things. lol

jennymariee · January 2010

With DD#1 we did a carseat inspection and they took our undermat out. I like the info on the carseat website provided and will look in to it further. Thanks for the info!

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