[blparent] More on Car Seats?

[Corbb O'Connor]

From our friend C. J. 

So… I have three children and have been using Grayco travel systems/car seat since my oldest was born about 4 1/2 years ago. I have chosen them for the same reasons that you are considering: easy to carry seat, snaps into stroller, compact, and affordable. My husband and I are both blind as well, so we needed to meet these criteria for the same reasons you and your fiancé do. It has worked very well for me, even now juggling two other children in addition to my 10-month-old. The way I make it work is that I do not carry the base. I only use the base when I am going on long trips where I will be in the same vehicle. What you have heard is true… The installation depends on the car. Some seats are more angled, and some are flatter. Some are too short for the base, and others fit it perfectly. This is why I do not lug the base around with me, well also because it is more cumbersome to do so. You can install just the car seat with the seatbelt. However, you guys have probably noticed that the bottom is curved so that it rocks when it is not clicked into the base. I usually have a Bjorn baby Carrier and/or blanket with me when I travel, so I wedge it underneath the edge of the curve closest to the seat back, in order to make it level in the event of a crash. If it is not level, it could technically throw the baby forward into the back of the seat. With something firm wedged in under it, it is less likely and more secure. Also, you pull the seatbelt across the seat and slide both pieces of the strap under the slots on the top of the seat. When you have finished doing this, pole on the shoulder strap until it locks. Of course, before securing the seat you want to make sure that the baby is tilted back just the right amount, not sitting straight up and down or tilted too far back so that the feet are level with the head. The only reason I say this is because in cars with more tilted seats you can't just go by the way the car seat feels to you. I have set up my seat several times, only to check the baby and noticed that she is not positioned properly in comparison to the bottom of the car if you will. Always step back and check the babies position in comparison to your own body instead of depending on the seats position only. These are the workarounds that I have come up with over the past several years. I will throw out there that it is still not as safe as having your car seat properly installed to a permanent vehicle, but as you well know this isn't an option for us. This is the best I can do with what I have. No, I do not think that you have to spend a bunch of money on the car seat and stroller's if you don't want to. I never have, and things have worked out well for me, even in a car accident. We ended up in a ditch one time, and my baby boy, my first born, never left the position he was in. He remained completely secure using these methods. I hope this helps. Feel free to contact me with any other questions. I would be more than happy to help! Good luck! Congratulations to you! 
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