Somewhere in the money saving blogs I follow on Facebook, I came across a great deal on the Carseat Canopy. I thought I'd buy one to review. Let me start by saying that I absolutely refuse to buy and review the carseat covers they make. They are not safe to use. I bought the part that attaches to the infant carseat handle to cover baby.
They have alot of nice patterns to choose from. I would prefer it to be a solid color to match my carseat, but eh, oh well. When it arrived and I felt how thick the fabric was on the underside, I did not have high hopes. In my head I pictured it completely covering the carseat and air not being able to move freely, and that is known to contribute to SIDS.
I happen to have an adorable new charge that uses a Chicco Keyfit 30. I put the Carseat Canopy on her seat and was surprised to see that there are still little corners for air to get in. It has fabric tabs with huge buttons making you think the Carseat Canopy buttons onto the carseat handle. Well, you would be wrong. I was surprised to find the buttons are just for show and it actually velcros onto the carseat handle.
Even with a little air flow, I don't think it's a good idea to leave the Carseat Canopy over baby long term. Using it to create a dark room while Baby sleeps through the grocery store? No. Using it to keep wind off of baby while you walk from the house to the car? Yes. Using it to keep the sun off of Baby at the park? No. Using it to keep baby warm walking from to the mall in the winter? Yes. I think it's a nice thing to have if you use it for just a few minutes at a time. But just remember that it really needs to be open to let air flow freely and keep baby happy and healthy.
I got a Carseat Canopy a few months ago (but did NOT get the car seat cover!). I have a love hate with my canopy. For it's actual purpose (fully covering the car seat), I hate it. For use as a car seat sunshade (only covering 1/2 the car seat), I love it. I keep mine positioned just as you have in your last picture -- it covers 1/2 the car seat. The shade that came with my (pricey) Britax Chaperone is cheap and flimsy. After one to many 'fights' with the shade, I ditched it completely and now use the canopy in it's place.
ReplyDeleteI have this one --- http://www.amazon.com/JJ-Cole-Canopy-Black-Magnolia/dp/B0049O35KK/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1336091668&sr=8-1
ReplyDeleteand I really love it. I always have it open unless the weather is bad, but its so nice bc it still keeps the sun & stuff out of her face with out me having to worry about her being able to breathe!
I'm glad to read a pretty positive review. I got one of these tonight after getting a coupon code with my American Baby magazine. I figure it will be a nice way to keep my baby warm while running around.
ReplyDeleteAwful company! I ordered the whole caboodle and it doesn't fit on my standard infant seat. The company will not issue a refund or exchange the product. The material is also very flimsy and cheap and poor quality.
ReplyDeleteAnother drawback.... The car seat manufacturers do not allow "modifications"I took my baby in car seat to a safety inspection and tgey immediately removed the canopy, said to remove it once I get to the car. Kinda makes it less convenient. But I do love the pattern and material. Andit doubles as a backup blanket too.
ReplyDeleteI considered buying the whole caboodle but after the experience with the customer service I'm not going to take any chances. I emailed them to ask a couple questions because I am concerned that it may not fit my car seat. Well my response was "hello Esther" I replied and asked her to send her reply again, giving benefit of the doubt that it was a simple human error. Only to receive the same reply, she only said hello. No person makes that mistake twice, pure laziness. No thank you I will shop somewhere else because if I have a problem they will only say hello. I tried calling them with my questions only to have them hang up on me. If I can't even inquire about their product I'm not taking any chances.
ReplyDelete