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October 2015 Moms
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Car seat installation

bgriestbgriest member
in October 2015 Moms
Hey ladies! Not sure if this has ever been mentioned but today we had the car seat installed in my car! My fiancé works for a local police department and he told me that there's an officer there that does car seat installations and it's free! A lot of towns offer it!

I actually learned some things about car seat safety and securing it properly that I never knew! He told us that the safest place is the center seat as it provides more space and "cushion" should you get into a side collision. I was planning on putting the car seat behind the passenger side but once he said that I had him put it in the center. He walked us through securing it tightly but leaving a little wiggle room, no more than an inch side to side. He went through the best way to get it nice and snug and also where the "level" should be on the base. Initially it should be all light blue (for our brand) and around 3 months should be adjusted so it's darker blue.

He also went through properly strapping the baby in the car seat and how tight it shoukd be on him, where his shoulders should be in comparison to the straps and where the chest clip should go.

It was far more informative than I thought it'd be and he was super nice! He said when we're ready to switch him to a bigger car seat to come back and he'd help install that and teach us that one.

Just wanted to share in case anyone else out there wasn't aware of such free services offered by police departments and would like a little course on proper safety and installation!
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Re: Car seat installation

  • mommy_wife_nursemommy_wife_nurse member
    Our L&D nurses go through car seat installation and safety with all new parents before they let them leave the hospital.
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  • nbpa3027nbpa3027 member
    A big mistake that people make with the car seats is that they use the LATCH and the seatbelt because they think that they are making it more secure. You are only supposed to use one and they are both crash tested and equally safe.

    This isn't as much of an issue with the infant seat, but becomes an issue as the baby grows, but the LATCH system actually has a weight limit. It is somewhere around 65 pounds. And it is for the weight of the child and the seat! Some seats are much heavier than others and since kids are supposed to be in their seats until they are much much older than before, it is something to pay attention to.
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  • JaqiDec04JaqiDec04 member
    I'm so jealous you have latch connectors in your middle seat. My Ford Flex does not. So DD will be behind the passenger and DS behind the driver, meaning I can't use my third row at all. It's a bummer.
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  • MamaOwl15MamaOwl15 member
    Thanks for posting this. A lot of parents don't seem to realize how important car seat safety is. Most localities offer some sort of safety check at your fire or police department. I highly recommend it!

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  • MamaOwl15MamaOwl15 member
    edited July 2015
    JaqiDec04 said:

    I'm so jealous you have latch connectors in your middle seat. My Ford Flex does not. So DD will be behind the passenger and DS behind the driver, meaning I can't use my third row at all. It's a bummer.

    My car (Which we no longer have) wouldn't fit a seat in the middle when DS was born, so I used one of the side seats. DS's convertible doesn't fit in the middle of my husband's car, so he's been riding behind the passenger seat. He'll move over to the driver's side when we install the infant seat because that one won't fit behind my husband when he's driving. The middle is ideal, but kids can be safe on the side seats in they're properly buckled in to a safely latched seat!

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  • JaqiDec04JaqiDec04 member
    edited July 2015
    MamaOwl15 said:

    JaqiDec04 said:

    I'm so jealous you have latch connectors in your middle seat. My Ford Flex does not. So DD will be behind the passenger and DS behind the driver, meaning I can't use my third row at all. It's a bummer.

    My car (Which we no longer have) wouldn't fit a seat in the middle when DS was born, so I used one of the side seats. DS's convertible doesn't fit in the middle of my husband's car, so he's been riding behind the passenger seat. He'll move over to the driver's side when we install the infant seat because that one won't fit behind my husband when he's driving. The middle is ideal, but kids can be safe on the side seats in they're properly buckled in to a safely latched seat!
    It's not a safety thing, it's a convenience thing. With both seats installed, we cannot use the back seat of our Ford Flex at all.
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  • MamaOwl15MamaOwl15 member
    JaqiDec04 said:

    MamaOwl15 said:

    JaqiDec04 said:

    I'm so jealous you have latch connectors in your middle seat. My Ford Flex does not. So DD will be behind the passenger and DS behind the driver, meaning I can't use my third row at all. It's a bummer.

    My car (Which we no longer have) wouldn't fit a seat in the middle when DS was born, so I used one of the side seats. DS's convertible doesn't fit in the middle of my husband's car, so he's been riding behind the passenger seat. He'll move over to the driver's side when we install the infant seat because that one won't fit behind my husband when he's driving. The middle is ideal, but kids can be safe on the side seats in they're properly buckled in to a safely latched seat!
    It's not a safety thing, it's a convenience thing. With both seats installed, we cannot use the back seat of our Ford Flex at all.
    We won't be able to use the back seat of our Civic, either. Fortunately we don't really need to . . .

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  • Rachel623Rachel623 member
    There's a Facebook group, Car Seats For the Littles. A bunch of certified carseat techs run it and they are so helpful. I highly suggest it to any parent.
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  • rue:Drue:D member
    Most fire stations will inspect them as well. Our hospital does if you make an appointment.
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  • ToriMintonToriMinton member
    calling my police department today to see if they offer that! how neat 
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  • bgriestbgriest member
    edited July 2015
    So glad that people have responded with so many options! I definitely learned on Saturday that I have installed car seats wrong or not as securely in the past!
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  • Sweet Sadie MaeSweet Sadie Mae member
    There is also a Facebook page you can join on this too. I learned so much from that page. I can't remember the exact name of it but I'm sure a search will bring it up. Car seats are super tricky!
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  • casserole27casserole27 member
    edited July 2015
    Sbrouwer0706 said:
    Thanks for the info!

    A lot of fire stations do it as well. 

    seatcheck.org will give you other places that do inspections based on your zip code! 
    Thanks for sharing this website!  I have known there are places that do this but figured I was going to have to call the fire stations near by to find out, this saves me time.
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