Don't forget the registration card

What's that? It's a card that comes attached to your carseat. One side has space for you to fill in your name and address, the other side is rreaddressed and postage paid to mail it back to the manufacturer. You should always fill this out and mail it in as soon as you can. I know if I don't, I'll forget, and even loose the card.

What if I've already lost my card? Don't worry, you can call the manufacturer to register. Get all the information off your carseat (date of manufacture, serial number, batch number, item number, whatever is on the sticker). Call the manufacturer and tell them you want to register your carseat. They'll do it for you over the phone.

Why do I need to register my seat? If the seat is recalled, you will be notified if you registered your carseat. Sometimes, manufacturers even issue an Advisory that isn't a full recall. You may have no way of knowing of the advisory if you haven't registered the seat.

Some good videos to watch

I went to an ADCAN meeting last night to talk about carseat safety. I had wanted to show some videos, but the community center has Youtube blocked. So, here are the ones I wanted to show you.

Joel's Journey
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q8gU9zzCGA8
Joel is the 18 month old I talked about that had serious injuries because he was forward facing too young. I also wrote about him in my blog, here.

We talked not using puffy coats in the carseat, just a fleece. Here is a video about that
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UM1LJaOIu34

Here is a forward facing vs rear facing crash test video. I think it's from Sweden, so you will see the rear facing seat in the front seat, but they can turn off their air bags.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UM1LJaOIu34

Here is another rear facing crash test. See how supported the child is by the seat?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K62Ea8Fs4ng

Here is a video about a little girl that died because she was in a booster seat too young. Children should be in a harness until at least 4 years and 40 pounds, preferably longer.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y2LFo8vVi04

My fight with the Radian continues

I thought I had won, but I was wrong. The Radian kept reclined more and more. Sofi's weight was compressing the vehicle seat cushion. I took the Radian out to let the seat decompress and try again. For some reason, this time I couldn't get the LATCH tight enough. I was told it's a 2 person job.... So I enlisted my brother to help me :) All we succeeded at doing was bruising his hands :(

I have been told the new Radain SL LATCH is easier to tighten. So tomorrow I'm headed to Buy Buy Baby to try it out. I'll let you know how it goes.


EDIT: I still loose. I couldn't get the Radian SL any tighter than I can the regular Radian. I've given up for now, and bought a True Fit Premier. I will have a review after it arrives :)

Q and A

Q: What do you think of the Evenflo Symphony?


A: It's not high on my list :)

The Evenflo Symphony is a convertible carseat. It can be used rearfacing from 5-35 pounds. It can be used harnessed forward facing up to 40 pounds, and as a booster up to 100 pounds. It has SureLatch, which is supposed to make installation easier. You attach the LATCH, and push the seat down (to allow the SureLatch to retract and tighten), and you're done! Except..... it's not always that easy :) In my opinion, it's expensive for a seat that only goes up to 40 pounds with a harness. And if you're not using LATCH, you're paying alot for a feature you don't even need. However, it is nocely lined with EPS foam, for good side impact protection. It's has a nice no rethread harness, so the harness is always right at the child's shoulder (though the red tabs bother some children). It has nice infant padding,a nd should fit a newborn well.

There is a newer version called the Symphony 65 that is just coming to stores now. It has the same features, but the harness can be used up to 65 pounds. The weight increase bumped it up a little on my list ;)