BabyOpus

Dear parents;sharing an article forwarded to me by a dear Dr friend of mine:)

One of the most important jobs you have as a parent is keeping your child safe when riding in a vehicle. Each year thousands of young children are killed or injured in car crashes. Proper use of car safety seats helps keep children safe. But with so many different car safety seats on the market, it’s no wonder many parents find this overwhelming.

Types of car safety seats at a glance

The chart below is a quick guide to where to start your search. Once you’ve found your car safety seat, it’s important to read more about the seat in this guide.

The right car safety seat

Infants-rear-facing

The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) recommends that all infants should ride rear-facing starting with their first ride home from the hospital until they have reached at least 1 year of age and weigh at least 20 pounds. It is even better for them to ride rear-facing until they reach the highest weight or height allowed by their car safety seat’s manufacturer.

There are 2 types of rear-facing car safety seats: infant-only seats and convertible seats.

Infant-only car safety seat

Infant-only seats

• Are small and have carrying handles (and sometimes come as part of a stroller system).
• Are used for infants up to 22 to 30 pounds, depending on the model.
  
• Many come with a base that can be left in the car. The seat clicks into and out of the base so you don’t have to install the base each time you use it. Parents can even buy more than one base for additional vehicles.

Convertible seats (used rear-facing)

• Can be used rear-facing then “converted” to forward-facing for older children. This means the seat can be used longer by your child. They are bulkier than infant seats, however, and do not come with carrying handles or a separate base.
  
• Have higher rear-facing weight and height limits than infant-only seats, which makes them ideal for bigger babies.
  
• Have the following types of harnesses:
  • 5-point harness—attach at the shoulders, hips, and between the leg
  • Overhead shield—a padded tray-like shield that swings down over the child
  • T-shield—a padded t-shaped or triangle-shaped shield attached to the shoulder straps

  

Installation tips for rear-facing seats

When using a rear-facing seat, keep the following in mind:

• Make sure the car safety seat is installed tightly in the vehicle and that the harness fits the child snugly.
  
• Never place a rear-facing car safety seat in the front seat of a vehicle that has a front passenger air bag. If the air bag inflates, it
  will hit the back of the car safety seat, right where your baby’s head is, and could cause serious injury or death.
• If your rear-facing seat has more than one set of harness slots, make sure the harnesses are in the slots at or below your baby’s shoulders.
• Be sure you know what kind of seat belts your vehicle has. Some seat belts need locking clips. Locking clips come with all new car safety seats. If you’re not sure, check the manual that came with your vehicle. Locking clips are not needed in most newer vehicles.
• If you are using a convertible seat in the rear-facing position, make sure the seat belt is routed through the correct belt path. Check the instructions that came with the car safety seat to be sure.
• If your vehicle was made after 2002, it may come with the LATCH system, which is used to secure car safety seats. See below for information on using LATCH.
• Make sure the seat is at the correct angle so your infant’s head does not flop forward. Many seats have angle indicators or adjusters that can help prevent this. If your seat does not have an angle adjuster, tilt the car safety seat back by putting a rolled towel or other firm padding (such as a pool noodle) under the base near the point where the back and bottom of the vehicle seat meet.
• Be sure the car safety seat is installed tightly. If you can move the seat more than an inch side to side or front to back, it’s not tight enough.
  
• Still having trouble? There may be a certified Child Passenger Safety (CPS) Technician in your area that can help. See below for information on how to locate one.
  

Common questions

Q: What if my baby weighs more than 20 pounds but is not 1 year old yet?
A:Use a seat that can be used rear-facing by children who weigh more than 20 pounds and keep your baby rear-facing as long as possible, or at least until he has reached his first birthday.

Q: What do I do if my baby slouches down or to the side in his car safety seat?
A: Pad around your child (never under or behind) with rolled-up cloth diapers or blankets. Do not use any sort of car safety seat insert unless it came with the seat or was made by the manufacturer of the seat.

Q: Can I adjust the straps when my baby is wearing thicker clothing, like in the winter?
A: Yes, but make sure the harnesses are still snug. Also remember to tighten the straps again after the thicker clothes are no longer needed. Dress your baby in thinner layers instead of a bulky coat or snowsuit, and tuck a blanket around your baby over the buckled harness straps if needed.

Q: Are rear-facing convertible seats OK to use for preemies?
A: Premature infants should be tested while still in the hospital to make sure they can ride safely in a reclined position. Babies who need to lie flat during travel should ride in a crash-tested car bed. Very small infants who can ride safely in a reclined position usually fit better in infant-only seats; however, if you need to use a convertible seat, choose one without a tray-shield or T-shield harness. The shields often are too big and too far from the body to fit correctly.

Toddlers and preschoolers-forward-facing

Once your child is at least 1 year of age and weighs at least 20 pounds, she can ride forward-facing. However, it is best for her to ride rear-facing to the highest weight or height allowed by the manufacturer of her car safety seat. She should ride in a forward-facing seat with a harness until she outgrows it (usually at around 4 years of age and about 40 pounds).

There are 5 types of car safety seats that can be used forward-facing.

• Convertible seats—seats that “convert” from rear-facing to forward-facing seats.
• Forward-facing toddler seats—these seats can be used forward-facing with a harness for children who weigh up to 40 to 80 pounds (depending on the model).
• Combination forward-facing/booster seats—these seats can be used forward-facing with a harness for children who weigh up to 40 to 65 pounds (depending on the model) or without the harness as a booster (up to 80 to 100 pounds).
• Built-in seats—some vehicles come with forward-facing seats built in. Weight and height limits vary. Read your vehicle owner’s manual or contact the manufacturer for details about how to use these seats.
• Travel vests—these can be worn by children between 20 and 168 pounds and can be an alternative to traditional forward-facing seats. They are also useful for when a vehicle has lap-only seat belts in the rear.

Practice until you get it right potty training method:

•  Introduce the potty to your child

•  Have potty be accessible

•  And then gradually teach him/her to use it.

•  This will include:

•  holding regular practice sessions

•  rewarding child with things such as stickers or candy or whatever works for you child

•  charting progress

•  Gradually transitioning from diapers to potty to underwear.

Updated October 2007

This report covers car seats for newborns up to about 22 pounds in the rear-facing position. Infant car seats also double as carriers, allowing you to remove a sleeping baby from the car without waking him or her. We have a separate report on convertible car seats, which can be used rear-facing for newborns, and front-facing for older babies up to about 40 pounds. Convertible car seats don’t double as an infant carrier, however. Also see our report on booster seats for older kids.

Consumer Reports made headlines in January 2007 when it announced that all but two infant car seats — the Graco SnugRide and the Baby Trend Flex-Loc — had failed their latest crash tests, particularly a side-impact crash test in which one test dummy was even ejected outside the test vehicle. Editors said they had added a new side-impact crash test as part of a campaign to challenge the federal government and car-seat manufacturers to subject infant car seats to more stringent testing.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) is the government body that’s responsible for testing car seats. When it learned of Consumer Reports’ January 2007 test results, NHTSA conducted the same front- and side-impact tests itself. However, in reviewing the data from Consumer Reports, and as a result of its own tests, the NHTSA found that Consumer Reports’ test methodology was flawed. The organization didn’t dispute the methodology of the front-impact tests, but speeds for Consumer Reports’ side-impact tests were incorrectly measured — so much so that Consumer Reports’ side-impact tests actually replicated an impact speed of 70 mph, far higher than the 38-mph speed claimed by Consumer Reports.

Consumer Reports quickly withdrew its ratings and retested the infant car seats according to federal guidelines, posting the revised ratings in August 2007. All the car seats passed the redesigned crash test, and the new report ranks them based mainly on ease of use and how well each seat fits in vehicles. In the meantime, the flawed Consumer Reports test results were the subject of hundreds of newspaper, magazine, website and television reports. NHTSA fielded hundreds of calls from frightened parents worried that their infant car seats were unsafe, and some critics wonder how much damage was done. The NHTSA has urged parents to continue to use their car seats, reassuring them that all infant car seats sold in the U.S. have been adequately crash tested and are safe to use. Indeed, this is what Consumer Reports found after retesting infant car seats.

Despite the controversy, Consumer Reports remains our top-rated reviewer of infant car seats, since it is the only U.S. non-government source that conducts crash testing. We also found some additional reviews for infant car seats. Parent ratings and other reviews are helpful for judging features, ease of use and other facets.

One seat that has proved itself in the past with owners, parents and experts is again judged an excellent infant car seat. The Graco SnugRide (*est. $65 to $150, depending on model) is the best car seat on the market this year, as it has been for several years running. Parents say the SnugRide is easy to use, comfortable and easy to install in most cars. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) says the Graco’s instructions and installation are trouble-free, and the SnugRide performed well even under the admittedly extreme conditions of the flawed January 2007 Consumer Reports crash test.

We also found good reviews for the Baby Trend Flex-Loc Adjustable Back (*est. $80) . The Flex-Loc gets high ratings from parents and in other reviews, and the NHTSA gives it good scores for overall ease of use. CarSeatData.org chooses the similar Baby Trend Latch-Loc and the Graco SnugRide as its top two infant car seats.

Other car seats don’t quite measure up. The Combi Centre DX (*est. $115) and Centre ST (*est. $100) share the same design. The DX model has some additional removable padding for infants. At Amazon.com and BabyCenter.com, some parents complain about the harness on the Combi Centre car seats, saying that it’s just too hard to fasten properly. Professional reviewers also give the Combi car seats mixed scores for ease of use.  

The Infant Method:

•  Most used potty training method in underdeveloped nations around the world and probably the least used potty training method in North America .

•  It basically involves holding the infant over a potty to catch the eliminations.

•  It basically works by having the mom learn the infant’s rhythms and infant learns to recognize physical sensations that precede elimination.

•  This is very effective when the disposable diaper use is minimal or nonexistent.

•  Infants can learn to signal when they need to relieve themselves.

1)Baby Plane Spoon

Ready to make mealtime a lot more fun for your little one? Forget having to use your imagination, our Baby Plane Spoon actually has wings! It’s is a surefire way to get baby to open up wide for a smooth landing. And when you experience a little turbulence and things get messy, the plastic plane easily slips off the stainless steel spoon for effortless cleaning. Makes a fun gift for mom and baby!

2)Bisphenol-a Free Adiri Natural Nurser Ultimate Baby Bottles at The Soft Landing

Adiri’s new simple, soft and safe polycarbonate-free bottle was just introduced! The Adiri bottle has so many great new design features. The nipple is very unique and is shaped more like a mother’s breast than any other I’ve seen. It has an easy to use Fill, Twist and Feed System with a vent that helps reduce colic. There are 3 stages for newborn to 6+ months and the whole bottle is Bisphenol-a free.