Just checking in on everyone! Did everyone get all of their questions answered? Or have new questions or new pictures? 🙂

@rybugg413, ok well next time you put her in just double check :) if she isn’t quite tall enough let me know/send me a picture and I can try to see what the manufacturer might allow to help. They might have an approved solution, some companies do and some don’t.

@rybugg413, how old is she and do you know her weight and length?

It’s a baby trend flex-loc car seat and they don’t always have a great fit to newborns, unless they have a long torso, because the bottom harness slots are about an inch and a half higher than every other infant car seat on the market :/

@nerdymommyplus2, very occasionally I’ll prefer the lower anchors.. but it’s rare. Lol
I also prefer to teach caregivers seatbelt installs over lower anchor installs because if I don’t and they end up in a vehicle without lower anchor attachments then they don’t know the proper way to install.

@tegandavis16
For me it depends on whose car .
Sometimes I get a nice install with latch. Other time I get super tight with seatbelt

@nerdymommyplus2, I prefer a seatbelt install any day of the week. Lol I use lower anchors for forward facing just because it gets in my nerves when I’m trying to put my child in the seat and their gets get all tangled up in the dang shoulder belt - unless it’s a middle seat and I can put them in from the other side. Lol

@tegandavis16
Yeah top tether was attached.
I used seatbelt install anyways. In my car and carseat she hasn't reached the max. But I was with my dad and didn't want to use latch

@nerdymommyplus2, super awesome that your 2 yo is still rear facing! Way to go momma! 😄

@nerdymommyplus2, your 6yo’s harness straps look great! 😊 are you using the top tether? And if you have the seat installed with the lower anchors make sure you check the lower anchor weight limit (it will be on a sticker on the side of your seat) most car seats require a seatbelt install after the child reaches 40-45 pounds :)

@rybugg413, next time you strap her in snap a picture for me so I can help you adjust if you need to 😊 also, are her harness straps above or below her shoulders?

@tegandavis16, thank you soooo mich❣️❣️❣️ you really have been very helpful 😘

@parsley, of course! So there are multiple different types of car seat - as I’m sure you’ve figured out by now. Lol

But the basics types are:
• Infant carrier - a rear facing only seat that last from birth to approximately 12-18 months. They have a base that stay in the vehicle and you click the car seat in and out of it for convenience.
• Convertible - this car seat rear faces up to 40-50lbs depending on the brand, and then can be turned forward facing up to 40-65lbs also depending on the brand. Many of these can be used from birth and will rear face up to age 4 (the minimum recommended age to rear face is age 2, but to age 3-4 is ideal), and will typically last to at least age 6 for forward facing for most children.
• combination - this seat is a forward facing only seat that will use a 5 point harness that can be used up to 65-90lbs depending on the brand. The it will turn into a belt positioning booster for a child who meets the minimum height and weight requirements of the seat AND is mature enough to sit correctly in a lap shoulder belt at all times (this generally happens around ages 6-8, sometimes longer).
• High back booster: only used as a belt positioning booster for a lap shoulder belt, it has a back and usually headwings attached to it. Recommended minimum age for a booster is 5, ages 6-7 is ideal.
• No back booster: is just a seat that boosts the child up to position the lap portion of the lap shoulder belt at the hips instead of on their abdomen.

*any seat used in booster mode MUST be used with a lap shoulder belt. And NOT a lap only belt as that is not an approved method of use.

• all in one/multi-mode seats - these go from rear facing, to forward facing, to belt positioning high back booster, and some of them even become a no back booster. Typically they cost more in the long run (and get pretty gross after 10 years of use. Lol)

And then of course there’s about 50 different brands to choose from 😆

@rybugg413, so the easiest way is to put baby in the car seat and buckle the crotch buckle (leave the chest clip undone at first), then pull the slack up from the legs by pulling on each harness right over the crotch buckle, then hold it as you pull the adjuster to tighten. Next, buckle the chest clip but keep it below the chest (JUST FOR NOW 😬) and pull the slack up through the chest clip and tighten the adjuster again. And the position the chest clip at arm pit level and you should be good to go 😊

@tegandavis16, oh wow I did not know all that! Thank you so much for helping!!!! The seat will be in a
2007 328xi BMW
I have zero clue about all this and really glad you offer your help😊 Thank you again❤️

@gingiej1207, great! I am glad! But it never hurts to have a second set of eyes to look things over :) I can also help with install questions as well.

An astonishing 72% of child restraints are misused - the most common types of misuse are improper Installation (this includes many factors such as tightness of the install, proper recline use for the direction the seat is facing, how much of the child restraints hangs over the edge of the vehicle seat, etc) and improper harnessing. Other types of misuse are using the incorrect seat for a particular age/size of child, using a damaged car seat, and the addition of aftermarket products.

Vehicle crashes are a leading cause of death and injury among children ages 12 and under. Roughly 650 children die, and 148,000 are injured, each year in vehicle crash. Through research we have learned that up to 71% of these deaths and injuries could have been avoided with proper child restraint usage. 71 percent! That is so many lives that could have been saved if any of those children had been checked over by a CPST.

With statistics like that it is never a bad idea to allow a CPST, online or in person, to check over your car seat install or your child’s harness while buckled in. The majority of CPSTs do not charge for a car seat check! 🙂 so there is nothing to lose, but so much to be gained. And making sure our children are riding safely and correctly, 100% of the time, is our top priority ❤️

@parsley, hi! The safest car seat is the one that fits your car, fits your child, is installed properly, and is used correctly 100% of the time 😊 in the U.S. all child restraints pass the same crash testing, whether is a $40 seat or a $400 seat, the crash tests are the same. The more features, the nicer the fabric, the ease of install, etc. all affect the price. So it’s really a personal preference.
If you tell me what kind of vehicle(s) you have (year/make/model) that the car seat will be installed in I can give you some ideas of what will work for you and possibly some to avoid due to the fit in your vehicle 😊

One brand I don’t recommend is baby trend. Their infant car seats have high harness slots so they typically do not fit your average size newborn properly - as rear facing the straps are to be below the shoulders and an average/small baby is too short to get the straps below their shoulders in this particular seat. And their car seat for older children has several different “rules” which leads to an extremely high rate of misuse. 🙂

If you see any seats you are interested in you can let me know and I can let you know pros/cons if I have experience with that particular seat :)

Don't worry my child straps and buckle always looks like that I'm fully aware how to buckle my child but I guess it is common people don't

Hey we are still early pregnant. And i have looked around a bit for good product. Could you recommend a brand or model that’s good ? Thank you 😊