Release the "mommy guilt," cut yourself some slack and take a little "me" time. I'm hoping to combine a cup of fact, and sprinkle in just enough of my own experience along with a dash of my failures to help you see that no matter the recipe you are a better mother than you give yourself credit for! If you have come looking for perfect punctuation and spelling, well then you are in the wrong place. In fact I am totally one of those people who use punctuation as an accessory. Ya know? Like hair bows.



If you need REAL advice from REAL working and stay at home mom's on pregnancy, childbirth and everything from the newborn to teenage year's. You have come to the right place! Sit back, relax, contribute your comments and......don't forget to take time to smell the baby lotion.

Wednesday, August 17, 2011

Carseat Canopy DANGERS!

You probably all have one? Right? Heck, I want one and I don't have a carseat to put it on.
 They are just that cute!

I wish that someone would have thought of this when my babies were babies! I love it! So why am I devoting an entire post to it? Well you see, I am thinking that someone, anyone may be like me and be a little sunny side up. You know? Glass half full kinda girl. I see things, I think they are wonderful and I want it. I am lucky though in that I have friends to bring me back down to earth and remind me to look at something fully when deciding to use it. Just like this. Super cute, eliminates the need for a blanket draped over the top, keeps people from coughing and sneezing all over my newborn, keeps strangers from staring at my baby. It's dark, baby sleeps. IDK, all around fantastic.
Well, maybe not. Maybe pretty wonderful but there are a few things to remember when you are using one of these. They are perfect for protecting your baby from the wind or rain or whatever mother nature is throwing at us that day. Like I said earlier, they are also great for keeping stranger from poking their heads in close and for keeping people from coughing or sneezing all over your baby. The risk involved here is when baby is covered there may not be adequate air flow. While that's the idea it's also the problem. If baby is "rebreathing" it's own Carbon Dioxide it could potentially cause SID's. Just make sure that if you are using one of these covers you take it off when the baby is safe in the car or house and that if you are leaving it down while you are in the store, maybe just make sure to vent out the sides or pull up one side only. While this isn't something that we hear all over the news it's definitely something to be considered. You don't wanna be the one to make the news. Right? At least not for that. Better safe than sorry.

9 comments:

  1. I like the idea of them. The twins will be my first kiddos around when these covers were a big deal and I have already had 2 people offer to make them for the boys. I totally accepted! Considering that twins are usually early and that mine will be born some time after October (RSV season) I am ALL FOR keeping them covered. But I do think that we have to remind parents that too much of anything (even a good thing) is still too much. We are now adding to discharge teaching that babies should not be left in their car seat for prolonged periods of time. What mom hasn't left their baby in the car seat safe in the living room while she unloads groceries or runs potty? But a baby shouldn't LIVE in it's car seat! What if I told you you had to sit in a recliner all day long? Nice, right? At first... after 5 hours you would be miserable!

    So yeah, I intend fully to use these cute covers to shield my boys from sun, wind, rain, snow and RSV. But good reminder that nothing is good if not used in moderation.

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  2. If there is a fire in your car this will burn your children. These are not flame retardant. These void your car seat warranty. Absolutely not worth the risk.

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  3. Blah, blah, blah. Sorry, not directed at the author of the blog. I am the kind of person who doesn't believe children should be left in their car seats for various reasons, and certainly the concern for breathing is one of them! But I am sick and tired of hearing about people saying that after market car seat covers, etc. void the manufacturer's warranty (that's true and not so annoying to hear) and that this is dangerous (not true, and SO annoying to hear).

    People are thinking, but they aren't thinking. Car seat covers are no less than your child wearing clothing in the car seat. We are told by car seat companies that children wearing puffy jackets can cause the straps in a car seat not to work as well. Okay, so what about other kinds of clothing? Or what thickness is safe, and what isn't? The fact of the matter is that an after market cover is not going to significantly alter the way your car seat works, and that by adjusting the straps to fit as tightly on your child as they normally would, there should be no problem. It's the harness and installing the seat correctly that are the significant factors in car seat safety.

    Additionally, there is NO SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH that shows that flame retardants on car seats actually prevents death or injury to children. Flame retardants on car seats may keep fabric from flammability for 12 seconds, but not more and so this has no real benefit. In fact, it may cause more harm because it exposed the child to harmful chemicals day after day and in the event of a fire creates deadly smoke (by the way, it's usually smoke that kills, no fire!).

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    Replies
    1. i like your perspective. i was thinking the same thing that a hanging blanket could not derail the function of a car seat. Thanks for the info about the flame retardant.

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    2. i like your perspective. i was thinking the same thing that a hanging blanket could not derail the function of a car seat. Thanks for the info about the flame retardant.

      Delete
  4. Blah, blah, blah. Sorry, not directed at the author of the blog. I am the kind of person who doesn't believe children should be left in their car seats for various reasons, and certainly the concern for breathing is one of them! But I am sick and tired of hearing about people saying that after market car seat covers, etc. void the manufacturer's warranty (that's true and not so annoying to hear) and that this is dangerous (not true, and SO annoying to hear).

    People are thinking, but they aren't thinking. Car seat covers are no less than your child wearing clothing in the car seat. We are told by car seat companies that children wearing puffy jackets can cause the straps in a car seat not to work as well. Okay, so what about other kinds of clothing? Or what thickness is safe, and what isn't? The fact of the matter is that an after market cover is not going to significantly alter the way your car seat works, and that by adjusting the straps to fit as tightly on your child as they normally would, there should be no problem. It's the harness and installing the seat correctly that are the significant factors in car seat safety.

    Additionally, there is NO SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH that shows that flame retardants on car seats actually prevents death or injury to children. Flame retardants on car seats may keep fabric from flammability for 12 seconds, but not more and so this has no real benefit. In fact, it may cause more harm because it exposed the child to harmful chemicals day after day and in the event of a fire creates deadly smoke (by the way, it's usually smoke that kills, no fire!).

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  5. Also, Carseat Canopy representatives say that their fabrics meet carseat fire requirements. So unless the person I'm talking to from the company is wrong or lying, then the person who commented above is wrong.

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  6. I like your own perspective. I thought precisely the exact thing that a dangling blanket could not derail a car seat's role Car Covers. Thanks for the info regarding the fire retardant.

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  7. our blog is very helpful. We want updates from your blog regularly. Thanks for Sharing. Carseat Canopy Promo Codes

    ReplyDelete