Now that cold weather is here keep in mind that safety experts do not recommend puffy or bulky buntings, snowsuits, coats or jackets in car seats or boosters. They can interfere with the proper functioning of the harness. Also, the puffy insulation compresses during a crash, which equals a loose harness, which equals less crash protection. I live in New England and know it's simply too cold to go without a coat, but the key is to shop for outerwear that is light weight yet warm. Polar fleece and Thinsulate are good examples. When it's really cold my kids wear their polar fleece jackets, buckle into their carseats/boosters and then put their Thinsulate winter coats on backwards on top of the harness/seat belt. It's also OK to put a blanket on top of the harness/seat belt once the child is buckled in but it's not OK to put anything puffy or bulky between the baby/child and the car seat or harness.

For infant carrier car seats there are really cool covers that stretch over the top and do not interfere with the harness.
EXAMPLES:
The Nuzzler





Trina

By Trina~moderator on Wednesday, December 14, 2005 - 04:59 pm:

Bumpity Bump...

And now that I have your attention, don't forget to check the Short Stories, Poetry and Articles board every now and then.

By Bobbie~moderatr on Wednesday, December 14, 2005 - 08:21 pm:

LOL Trina.. good bump... And good advice...

My sister actually used one of those with both of her babies and she loved it.. Because after the car would warm, going on long rides, she could just reach back and remove it. Or in a store it was easily removed. You always worry about over heating the darn kids anyway.. LOL

By Ginny~moderator on Wednesday, December 14, 2005 - 10:27 pm:

Based on your advice, Trina, I got the nuzzler for my beautiful granddaughter, and my dil & son think it is terrific. I've seen it now, and agree.

By Trina~moderator on Thursday, December 15, 2005 - 09:10 am:

Oh good, Ginny! I was going to ask you about the Nuzzler. I've never seen it IRL and was curious how it was working out. Glad to hear it's getting a .