Summer Travel

Spring is here and summer is coming fast. Families are planning vacations. Are you planning for safe transportation as well? The laws of physics don't change just because you're on vacation. Your child still needs his carseat or booster in a rental car or taxi. Young children should even use a carseat on the plane. Children 2 and under should have a seat, and a rear facing carseat just like they do in the car. FAA guidelines allow use of an FAA certified carseat (most of them are) on the plane. 

Have you heard of the BubbleBum? I hope you have, since I posted about it before :) It's an inflatable booster. It is small when deflated so it can fit in a suite case, backpack, or even a purse. 

There is also the Ride Safer Travel Vest for children over age 3. It positions the car's seatbelt properly on the child, but is safer than a booster for children that are too small or too you g for a booster. You must have a lap/should belt or a lap belt and tether. 

There is also a new booster coming to the US called Boostapak. It's a backpack that is also a booster seat!

Cold weather is coming

It's October. I don't know about where you live, but where I live the cold weather is coming. We all want to keep our kids warm when outside, but did you know that their winter coat may not be safe to use in their carseat? Over the past few years I have blogged about way to keep your baby and/or child safe and warm in the carseat. Here a few of the blog posts (you can click on the name to be taken to the blog post).

Carseat Poncho


Carseat Canopy


 CuddleBabe
 

Keeping Baby Warm in the Car

How to Wear a Winter Coat in the Carseat

The Buckle Bopper

Have you heard of the Buckle Bopper? I hadn't until a few weeks ago. I contacted Marlene, the inventor, and she sent me one to review.

The Buckle Bopper is designed to help caregivers open the crotch buckle on their child's carseat. Many carseat manufacturers are making their crotch buckles more difficult to open, to prevent young children from unbuckling when they shouldn't. Unfortunately, this sometimes makes it more difficult for caregivers. If you have arthritis, carpel tunnel, tendonitis, Parkinson's, or even just long finger nails, you may have a hard time opening your child's crotch buckle. The Buckle Bopper was created so you can open the crotch buckle without using your fingers.



 Simply hold the Buckle Bopper in the palm of your hand. You can wrap your fingers around it if you want to, but it's not necessary.

Then place your other hand under the crotch buckle, between the child and the buckle

Use the Buckle Bopper to push the button to release the crotch buckle.


Since I don't have any problems with my hands, I gave the Buckle Bopper to a friend to try. She has a problem with the bones in her lower arm and hand, and can't do much with her right hand. The crotch buckle she has the hardest time with is the one Britax uses. On a scale of 1 (no problems opening) to 10 (absolutely can't open it), Britax gets a 10 for her. With the Buckle Bopper, she rated it a 4 or 5, because she had to put pressure on it which is still difficult for her.

I love the Buckle Bopper and have added it to my tech bag to show to parents at private seat checks. I really think this will help a lot of caregivers!

Carseat Canopy Review

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.

Carseat Poncho Review

A carseat poncho is a safe alternative to using bulky coats in the carseat. I was actually surprised at how thick the fleece was on the poncho. It seemed thick and warm. You can unzip the top a bit to get it over the child's head, then rezip. You can unzip from the bottom for buckling and unbuckling, then rezip again.

I will admit, when Sofi first saw it and tried it on, she HATED it! Today I finally convinced her that she had to at least let me take pictures of her in it, she changed her mind. When she saw how easy it was to use and still buckle herself (that independence is important!), she declared she LOVED it!

I don't think it'd be good for days where the child is running around and playing outside. But I do think it's great for running errands, or just a drive from point a to point b. It's also great for layering. Afraid your child's thin fleece carseat-safe coat isn't going to be warm enough for the cold winter? Add a poncho on top! Sofi could easily wear her thin fleece coat under the poncho, and if she gets too hot in the car, unzip it to cool off a bit.

Put the Poncho on the child when she's in the warm house. Have the child sit in her carseat and put the back part above her head, on the seat.

Unzip from the bottom to buckle child or have her buckle herself.

Make sure harness is properly buckled and tightened. (note, in this picture, the chest clip is still low and needs to be raised)

Zip the poncho back down to keep her warm.

Clek Olli Review

Clek Olli is for 40-120 pounds and over 4 years old. It is a very nice backless booster. One of the things I love most about it, is it has LATCH. When used with LATCH, you don't have to worry about remembering to buckle the seat when not in use, and you don't have to worry about it becoming a projectile in a crash. Olli has a quick release strap for easy removal. Pull the strap and LATCH releases.

The Olli's cover is easily removable for quick cleaning or changing to a different color. It is also treated to resist stains, which makes cleaning spills so much easier.

Where backless boosters are concerned, I really love Olli.

This child is 7 years old and 48 pounds. She fits quite nicely in Olli.

This child is 9 years old. She too fits quite well in Olli. She looks and feels squished in several other backless boosters, but is quite comfy in this one.

Diono vs Sunshine Kids

In 2011, Sunshine Kids Juvenile Products changed their name to Diono. Their seats stayed mostly the same, with some changes made to add a booster mode. However, the Radian has changed alot over the years and it can be quite confusing, especially with retroactively increasing their rear facing weight limits in 2008. Here is a break down of the major differences in the seats. Along with the weight limits, I'd like to note there are height limits as well, which I do not have listed here. ***Sunhine Kids/Diono says some of their seats can be used up to the full 65/80 pounds with LATCH if your vehicle was made after Sept 2005. However, I feel it's important to point out that most vehicle manufacturers also have a weight limit for LATCH, and you should abide by that as well.

Diono Radian RXT- Rear facing 5-45 pounds. Forward facing up to 80 pounds. Booster mode up to 120 pounds. ***Diono says LATCH can be used up to 80 pounds in harness mode if your vehicle was made after Sept 2005.

Diono Radian R120- Rear facing 5-45 pounds. Forward facing up to 80 pounds. Booster mode up to 120 pounds. ***Diono says LATCH can be used up to 80 pounds with the harness if your vehicle was made after Sept 2005.

Diono Radian R100- Rear facing 5-40 pounds. Forward facing up to 65 pounds. Booster mode up to 100 pounds. ***Diono says LATCH can be used up to 65 pounds with the harness if your vehicle was made after Sept 2005.

Sunshine Kids Radian XTSL- Rear facing 5-45 pounds. Forward facing up to 80 pounds. Has adjustable headwings. ***Sunshine Kids says LATCH can be used up to 80 pounds if your vehicle was made after Sept 2005.

Sunshine Kids Radian 80SL- Rear facing 5-45 pounds. Forward facing up to 80 pounds. ***Sunshine Kids says LATCH can be used up to 80 pounds if your vehicle was made after Sept 2005.

Sunshine Kids Radian 65SL- Rear facing 5-40 pounds. Forward facing up to 65 pounds. ***Sunshine Kids says LATCH can be used up to 65 pounds

Sunshine Kids Radian XT- Rear facing 5-40 pounds. Forward facing up to 80 pounds. Has adjustable headwings

Sunshine Kids Radian 80- Rear facing 5-35 pounds. Forward facing up to 80 pounds. Seats manufactured after Sept 1, 2008 can be used up to 40 pounds rear facing.

Sunshine Kids Radian 65- Rear facing 5-35 pounds. Forward facing up to 65 pounds. Seats manufactured after Sept ,1 2008 can be used rear facing up to 40 pounds.

Is rear facing safe when you're rear ended?

That is a question that gets asked alot when we try to explain the benefits of rear facing. I'm sure you've read my post about Anne's crash. Well, now I'm going to tell you about Rachel's crash.

Rachel's family was traveling in their 2005 Toyota Sienna. She was traveling with her husband, and 3 sons. Her oldest, T1 was 3.5 years old and riding rear facing passenger's side 3rd row in a Radian 80SL. Her middle son, T2 was 2.5 years old and riding rear facing driver's side in the 3rd row in a Radian 80SL. Her youngest, T3 was 13 months and riding rear facing in the 2nd row in a Combi Coccoro.

They were on the highway and saw traffic had stopped ahead because of a crash. As any attentive driver would do, they slowed to a stop. Unfortunately, the tractor trailer behind them didn't have time to stop. He swerved onto the shoulder to avoid hitting the Sienna in front of him. When he swerved, he jackknifed and the trailer hit the Sienna at an estimated 50mph.

This is what Rachel's van looked like

See the vehicle headrest sticking out of the back window? That is the 3rd row center seat. T2 was sitting on the driver's side. See how smashed in that is? T2 was rear facing, in a rear end collision. T2 had the ONLY injuries in the car.

(ignore the crayon in his hand). He had 12 stitches in his forehead. The paramedics couldn't believe the child sitting there survived.

Rachel is not a Child Passenger Safety Technician. Rachel is a Mom that wants the best for her children. She knew to keep her children rear facing. She knew how to make sure she was using and installing her seats properly. What she did, saved her sons lives. All 3 boys were rear facing, and all 3 boys walked away from the crash. So my answer is yes, rear facing is still safe in a rear end collision. If you have any questions as to whether or not your carseat is used and/or installed properly, please visit a CPST and have it checked.

When you're involved in a crash, it is usually safest to leave the child buckled in their seat. The carseat acts like a built in body board, and the paramedics should try to remove the entire seat with child still in it. However, sometimes you need to remove the child. Rachel commented that she took the boys out of their seats for a few reasons.

"There was gas on the ground from another vehicle and they were terrified. They were screaming and trying to unbuckle and get out and I just... I couldn't leave them there. I couldn't leave T2 pinned to his seat with a hunk of metal in his face. Also we couldn't get the big boys seats out, I tried for a few seconds but gave up."

Rescuers were amazed that they all walked away. Here is another quote from Rachel:

"Yeah, I don't understand how we are all ok. Especially T2... every single person coming on scene thought they were dealing with at LEAST a medvac, if not a casualty. People didn't believe us when we told them the 2 year old I was holding that kept shrieking "I can't want a bandaid!!!!!" was the kid sitting there"

T2 is in the blue shirt in this picture.

(Rachel was 7 months pregnant at the time of the crash)

Cuddlebabe review

CuddleBabe was kind enough to give me a sample to review. I asked for a 9-18 month because the model is 9 months and I wanted this to get her through the winter. The CuddleBabe is a wearable blanket that is SAFE to use in the carseat.

You put the CuddleBabe in the carseat, with the hole where the harness is.

Then you put baby in. Put baby's head in the hat, and legs in the legs of the blanket.

Fold the body flap up over baby's body


Wrap the sides around baby, and button the blanket closed.

This blanket does not interfere with the harness at all, so it's safe to use. It warps around baby and buttons (with a BIG button, not a choking hazard) so baby can't kick it off. I had my model use CuddleBabe for a week before asking what her Mom thought of it. And what did she think? She LOVED IT!! She said everyone loved it and was asking where she got it :)

CarseatNanny loves the CuddleBabe! CuddleBabe must love CarseatNanny too, because they have offered a discount just for my readers! Enter the code carseatnanny at checkout for 10% off your purchase!

Keeping Baby warm in the car

Fall is here, and winter is quickly approaching. The air is getting cooler. How do you keep your baby warm in the car? Baby can not wear a puffy coat in the car. The puffiness will keep you from getting the harness tight enough, and when it compresses in a crash, baby may be ejected from the seat. Here is a look at some options.

Here is an adorable baby. She's about 8 months old in this picture, and she rides in a Graco Snugride. Here she is wearing her coat. The coat is actually a fairly thin fleece, but it's a size or 2 too big (I think it's actually cut large).

Here she is, wearing the coat in her carseat. I've buckled her in, and tightened the harness as much as the coat allows me to.

Here, I took her out of the carseat, without loosening the harness. I took her coat off, and put her back in without adjusting the harness.

When a harness is properly tightened, you shouldn't be able to pinch any of it. Your fingers should just slide off. You can see in this photo how much I am able to pinch

A thin fleece that is too big is just as bad as a puffy coat. A thin fleece is safe, as long as it fits the child snugly.

Here is a good option. There are carseat covers that go over top of the carseat like a hairnet. These don't interfere with the harness, and don't prevent you from getting the harness tight enough.

Lula Clips Review

First, I want to thank the creator of Lula Clips for kindly sending me a sample to use and review. I had heard about them at the ABC trade show, and wanted to check them out. I was actually very excited.


What are Lula Clips? They are orange pins, shaped like hands. They attach to the carseat with a safety fin, attached to their back. You pin it on the carseat cover, and put the buckle tongues (the metal pieces that go in the crotch buckle) on the hands. The hands have a strong magnet inside, so ideally the keep the harness out of the way while you put the baby/child in the carseat.

From their site:

Lulaclips™ hold the car seat harness out of the way when loading your child. They are like an extra set of hands when you need it most. Lulaclips™ ensure that you never have to dig the buckles out from under your child and make sure you never risk waking a sleeping baby. They will make you and your baby smile!

I tried it on my daughter's Radian. I wasn't terribly fond of it. I take excellent care of my carseats and their covers. I didn't like putting holes in the cover. And there is a safety feature to the safety pin, so you must use 2 hands to open the pin. I felt like trying to get it off my seat, I was going to rip a huge chunk out of my cover :(



I also tried it on a friend's infant carseat. I had her use it for a week, to see what she thought. I thought it was easier to get on and off the infant seat, perhaps because I could flip the seat around however I wanted (without baby in, obviously). My friend said she didn't like the clips much either :(



I know on the website, they put the clips up near the baby's head. I chose to put them lower because in a crash, I don't want anything extra near my child's head.

Clek Oobr

The Oobr is a high back booster seat made by Clek. It is for children weighing 33-100 pounds in high back mode and 40-100 pounds in backless mode. The back is made from magnesium, and the headrest is attached with steel rods, just like your vehicle headrest. It has lower anchors to lock the booster into place with your vehicle's LATCH system.

I managed to get my hands on an Oobr to try out. First I tried a friend's daughter. She is 6 years old and weighs 45 pounds.




Then I tried Sofi. She's 5 years, 35 pounds.




Sofi is too light to be using a booster, but I am beginning to look at my options for when she is 40 pounds. So, what are my thoughts? I love that it's LATCHable, so kids don't have to remember to buckle it when they get out. I love how sturdy it is. Unfortunately, it's nearly impossible to buckle next to the Frontier 85 in my van, and the girls didn't think it was comfortable. The lapbelt is higher than we usually like to see with booster (though still acceptable). There is very little leg support, except for my short legged 5 year old. It was also very difficult to pull the shoulder belt through the belt guide when trying to buckle. All that combined with a price around $300, puts it at the bottom of my list.

Product reviews to come....

Wow, it's been over a month since I blogged. Well, the good new is good things come to those who wait. I have a few product reviews lined up. I will be reviewing Lula Clips, the Diono Angle Adjuster, Clek Oobr, and the Graco Turbo booster.

Who is Diono?

Sunshine Kids makes 2 seats. The Radian (65, 80, XT, 65SL, 80SL, XTSL) and the Monterey. In an attempt to become a more global company, they have decided to change their name. Sunshine Kids Juvenile Products will be Dinono as of Sept 1, 2011. They are also changing their seats a bit, once again. The new seats should be released in October 2011. Their Radians will be getting new names, and will have belt guides to provide for booster mode. They will have a minimum weight of 50 pounds for booster mode, and a maximum of 100-120 pounds (depending on which Radian it is). If you are confused by their seats, look for a future blog post explaining them all.

Now, here's the big question. How do you pronounce 'Diono'?

Comparing the BubbleBum to other seats

Here are some comparison pictures, to see how small the BubbleBum really is.

Here is the BubbleBum sitting on a RadianXT. The Radian is 17 inches at it's widest point. The BubbleBum is about 12 inches wide.


Here is the BubbleBum sitting in a Graco TurboBooster. The backs of the 2 boosters are even, so you can see the difference in leg support.

BubbleBum Inflatable Booster Seat

You read right, INFLATABLE booster seat. I admit, I was a skeptic. How on earth could something inflatable be safe for my child in the car? But if you think about it, some other safety devices are inflatable; life rafts for one. The BbbbleBum is made of thick plastic, similar to a life raft. The cover is also an integral part of the seat. The cover has straps around it made of webbing, similar to that of seatbelts.

The BubbleBum comes deflated, in a purple bag. You take it out of the bag, and open the black valve. Blow into the valve to fully inflate the seat, then close the valve. I found that after inflating it the first time, it will mostly inflate itself in the future. It has seat belt positioning clips on each side that the child places the lap portion of the lap/shoulder belt in. Those position the lap belt just like the arm rests would on other booster seats. The US version comes with a shoulder belt positioning clip too. The Bubble Bum measures 12-12.5 inches across, and about 13 inches from back to front when fully inflated.

The BubbleBum is rated for children 40-80 pounds and between 40- 52 inches tall.

Here are 3 children modeling seatbelt fit.

This child does not ride in a booster seat at all. She is only 4 years old and no where near mature enough, she still rides harnessed. But she weighs 40 pounds.


This child is 6 years old and 42 pounds. She regularly rides in backless boosters. I hope to have some comparison shots of her in other boosters in the next few weeks. It doesn't look to provide alot of leg support.



This child is 8 years old and 84 pounds. While she does not fit by weight and therefore can't use the seat, I wanted to demonstrate a child at the top of the weight limit. She actually passes the 5 step test in this seating position and doesn't normally use a booster there at all. It doesn't seem to position the seatbelt any differently than if she wasn't in a booster seat.




I also plan to have picture of this booster in a 3 across in my 3rd row in a few weeks as well, so keep checking back!