I've been meaning to post this rant but *gasp* have not had time to sit and properly write it out! I just feel like possibly it could save a life... A little one's life.
Way back when we first found out we were pregnant, I spent hours upon hours upon hours researching which car seat, stroller, wrap, crib, travel bed, etc. to get for our baby to come. I ended up deciding on the Chicco Keyfit 30 after hearing rave reviews from friends and reading all the wonderful safety features it has.
Little Miss was brought home from the hospital in this car seat. We began noticing a pattern though with each outing, the screams. We dreaded taking her anywhere as should would scream, not just a fussy get-me-out-of-here-scream but a blood curtailing scream of life or death scream. We hardly ever took the infant carrier out of the car, instead just took her out of the carrier and either carried her or put her in the Moby wrap to prevent the screams.
It was thanks to the Moby Wrap that I started connecting the dots... The instruction manual for the Moby has a warning section on ways to make sure your little one is safe while being carried in the wrap. One is that baby's chin does not rest on its chest for fear of cutting off airway and suffocating. I began noticing that no matter how we positioned Little Miss in the car seat or changed the base itself, her chin was always resting on her chest.
And then I watched her during a car ride while sitting next to her in the back seat... The first few minutes in the car seat were fine. She would fuss, give up and start drifting off to sleep. This is when it would start. She would awaken from sleep gasping for air in such a startled shock that it would be the heart wrenching screams that would follow. She would scream so much that it would wear her out and she would drift off to sleep again and thus the patter would continue. When I put two and two together we immediately ordered another car seat.
Instead of going with another infant carrier with all the same incline angles, we ordered a convertible that would allow us to manually adjust the incline for her needs. I took the new car seat to the Fire Station for them to install and inspect and was actually told to have Charles recheck it as he did such a fantastic job installing the infant carrier. She is riding pretty now in the Sunshine Kids Radian 80 in Primrose print.
It was such a night and day difference! Now, she'll fuss occasionally but most of the time rides beautifully either asleep or just looking around at what's going on. I still freak out as she's so quiet now in the car that I wonder if she's still breathing! I think it's scarred me for life! It is such night and day difference with her that my heart aches knowing that she suffered in what was supposed to be the safest place for her for 8 weeks! I am just so thankful that she is healthy and alert enough of a baby to indeed scream when she lost air supply. I do not want to even think about what would have happened had she not been healthy enough to cry so she would get oxygen!
So my caution to parents- Instead of believing that you just happen to have a child that hates the car seat and screams every time you go anywhere, make sure they are positioned properly and if not, get a new car seat! It was worth the extra money knowing she's now really truly safe in the car! Yes, some kids do just hate the car seat and that's okay once you have ruled out they are actually breathing properly in it. :-)
Way back when we first found out we were pregnant, I spent hours upon hours upon hours researching which car seat, stroller, wrap, crib, travel bed, etc. to get for our baby to come. I ended up deciding on the Chicco Keyfit 30 after hearing rave reviews from friends and reading all the wonderful safety features it has.
Little Miss was brought home from the hospital in this car seat. We began noticing a pattern though with each outing, the screams. We dreaded taking her anywhere as should would scream, not just a fussy get-me-out-of-here-scream but a blood curtailing scream of life or death scream. We hardly ever took the infant carrier out of the car, instead just took her out of the carrier and either carried her or put her in the Moby wrap to prevent the screams.
It was thanks to the Moby Wrap that I started connecting the dots... The instruction manual for the Moby has a warning section on ways to make sure your little one is safe while being carried in the wrap. One is that baby's chin does not rest on its chest for fear of cutting off airway and suffocating. I began noticing that no matter how we positioned Little Miss in the car seat or changed the base itself, her chin was always resting on her chest.
And then I watched her during a car ride while sitting next to her in the back seat... The first few minutes in the car seat were fine. She would fuss, give up and start drifting off to sleep. This is when it would start. She would awaken from sleep gasping for air in such a startled shock that it would be the heart wrenching screams that would follow. She would scream so much that it would wear her out and she would drift off to sleep again and thus the patter would continue. When I put two and two together we immediately ordered another car seat.
Instead of going with another infant carrier with all the same incline angles, we ordered a convertible that would allow us to manually adjust the incline for her needs. I took the new car seat to the Fire Station for them to install and inspect and was actually told to have Charles recheck it as he did such a fantastic job installing the infant carrier. She is riding pretty now in the Sunshine Kids Radian 80 in Primrose print.
It was such a night and day difference! Now, she'll fuss occasionally but most of the time rides beautifully either asleep or just looking around at what's going on. I still freak out as she's so quiet now in the car that I wonder if she's still breathing! I think it's scarred me for life! It is such night and day difference with her that my heart aches knowing that she suffered in what was supposed to be the safest place for her for 8 weeks! I am just so thankful that she is healthy and alert enough of a baby to indeed scream when she lost air supply. I do not want to even think about what would have happened had she not been healthy enough to cry so she would get oxygen!
So my caution to parents- Instead of believing that you just happen to have a child that hates the car seat and screams every time you go anywhere, make sure they are positioned properly and if not, get a new car seat! It was worth the extra money knowing she's now really truly safe in the car! Yes, some kids do just hate the car seat and that's okay once you have ruled out they are actually breathing properly in it. :-)
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hopefully by sharing you will help to keep others safe.