[JoyandNumberFive]

I don't know how many of you have heard this but it's not safe to have your baby in a bulky coat/snowsuit in a car seat. It makes the seat straps ineffective in an accident. The straps need to fit snugly on the baby and they can't with bulky snow-wear in between the baby and the seat straps.

So I've been thinking about how to keep the baby warm since it's going to be cold a lot of places when our babies are born.

I was thinking for sure hat, mitts, a carseat cover, and blanket but I feel funny not having a "coat" of some kind on the baby. Of course we need to watch over heating too because that can be dangerous. I keep going back and forth but I've looked at fleece suits. They aren't thick and I think they'd be ok in the carseat.

Anyone else give any thought to this?

[MommyKent910]

It never gets that cold here, so I am no help! I hope someone has some advice but we always have a blanket and layer clothes

[artisticmind]

be careful with those snuggle covers (whatever the carseat covers are called) a lot of car seat instruction booklets say that anything added to the carseat, in the event of an accident, will void all liabilities and warranties covered by the manufacturers say if for example the straps broke in an accident for some unexplainable reason. The manufacturer can come back and claim you were not using the car seat as designed. That also goes for any toys that hook on to the handles and those little strap covers that have the monkeys or dogs on them. That came directly from the car seat tech at our appointment to make sure we installed Riley's infant seat correctly. We had the monkey strap covers and she said to take them off. If it's not on the car seat and tested by the manufacture when they do their research do no put it on or in your carseat. The neck stabilizers are another big after market item that should be avoided.

That being said, we live in nebraska and Riley was born in March, we had a snow storm 2 days before he arrived. We just always made sure he was dressed in warm clothes- pants, a onesie, and a lightweight jacket. We always threw a warm blanket over the seat before leaving the house, we would warm the vehicle up before leaving if possible, but if not the blanket (or 2!) over the seat until we got in the truck and then folding it down and removing it as needed to prevent him from overheating seemed to work as we never had problems with him feeling cold to the touch. And being the little, crunched up in a snowsuit or bunting of some type probably would have made him absolutely miserable.

[JoyandNumberFive]

Interesting! I never thought about all the little things you add on to car seats. Thanks, always nice to brainstorm these things with other mamas!

[beccasmom7718]

where I live its always cold from november til march, when my littlest was a baby, we used to put him in comfy warm cloths(sweats) and a onsie, hat, gloves(that never stayed on) and a really warm blanket over top.
When I used to take him for walks i put him in his carseat and then the stroller and i used to HATE trying to get the straps around the snowsuit and then having to tighten them again when we went in the car.

[sweety_pie]

I was thinking about getting one of those bundle me carseat covers, never thought about it being a problem. It will be pretty cold here in feb, guess I'll have to figure something out.

[sarah*]

We don't drive so the only time baby will be in the carseat will be on the way home from hospital in whoever takes us home car, my babies have all been born in warmer months (April, June, June) so we didn't have to worry, i was going to bring my baby home in a snowsuit! but will re-think

[JaneDoe]

Yes the snowsuits or puffy coats are bad as in an accident, the strong forces can compress the filler in them so much that it's effectively as though you left the straps very loose, and baby could be ejected.

DD was born in October and truthfully we never had to worry about it much that winter. We always took the car seat inside so it was always warm. If we'd had a long walk to the car we probably would have tucked blankets around her but removed them at the car (so I wouldn't worry about them sliding over her face while we were driving, and not noticing - I couldn't generally sit next to her in the back due to motion sickness). When we brought her home from the hospital I know we tucked some blankets over her (and I sat with her) as for the first few days she got cold so easily. Otherwise we just did sweaters. Usually the car was garaged which certainly helped, and if we were out somewhere all day/night on a cold day then DH might warm up the car, but if we had just gone to a store or something we didn't worry about it and she never had a problem. I do remember one bitter cold windy day where we put on a thick hat and tucked some thick blankets in (that we likely removed in the car), but that was it, it was so unusual that we took a picture or I wouldn't have remembered.

I still won't let her wear more than the thinnest jackets in the carseat, and if it's a slick material I pull the shoulders out to the side of the straps so they're resting on her shirt.

I have heard that shower-cap style carseat covers are the only after-market products considered safe, as they attach via elastic that goes around the outside of the carseat and don't affect the straps at all (or go under baby).

[my3sonsplus1]

I always used a blanket, car seat cover, and hat. That always kept my kids warm enough when they were infants and didn't interfere with the seat belt.

[sweety_pie]

Where would you buy one of those car seat covers? Really like to get one

[KerryJo]

Glad I wont have to worry about that too much. Keeping my fingers crossed we have another mild winter!

[pinkpopsicles]

We got a good overview on the infant carseat with DD (who was a late preemie at 35 weeks). She had to undergo the nursery testing before they let us take her home--you know, where they put them in the seat under the warmer for 45 minutes and monitor their heart rate and breathing to make sure they're not too small for the seat. After the test I had a nice chat with the nicu nurse. She said to get rid of the bundle me--it wasn't safe and voided the carseat warranty. She said DD should be in the car seat in regular clothes with no more than two fingers space between her and the straps. If there's any gaps to roll up a washcloth and shove it in the space (DD was slouching in her seat because she was too small so we had to put a rolled washcloth between her and the buckle). After that only blankets on top. And a car seat cover if it was real cold, but NOTHING between baby and seat/straps. She said she's never heard of a baby getting too cold--and we live in MN where the winters can be wicked and it was the beginning of february. Sure enough, DD was always toasty and sometimes sweaty!
Interestingly enough, she also mentioned that when baby is in the car the handle should always be down too. She said when they do carseat training at the hospital, some of the emergency personnel have actually seen babies with "Graco" bruised into their foreheads because the handle was still up! Scary, huh?
We did it all wrong with DS and felt so silly after we learned all this
Hope this helps!

[eiramillek]

Yes I think I've read fleece or light coats are okay. I just plan to put a receiving blanket over baby followed by a heavy blanket while we carry to the car. At the car, I'll take the heavy blanket off to prevent over heating but still have the lighter blanket for warmth.

[AmyLM]

I warm up the car before we leave, dress baby in a sleeper or long sleeves and fleece pants or sweat pants. I keep a blanket on baby completely cover the carseat with a heavier blanket for the walk to the car and then I uncover once in the car. I usually just leave a light blanket over baby in the car. Oh, and socks and a hat, too, are a must during the cold months!

[twoplusone]

This is what has worked for me during a Canadian Winter.

1. Keep infant carseat inside
2. I used one of those car seat inserts that add more warmth to the seat and that have a cover/blanket that goes over baby
3. I LOVED my Carters thin fleece zippered romper type thing with a hood. So I would dress baby in a sleeper, put them in the Carter thing with a thin hat and the hood up.

Planning on the doing the same this time around.

[Excited_mommy]

Wow FTM here and I never would have thought to worry about all these things.... I seriously feel like I know nothing right now. It sure is helpful to be on this site.

[terryterry]

This thread makes me really glad that I live in an area that doesn't freeze.

[BB4CaLs]

I live in Minnesota. My son was born in March when we had 6 feet of snow in our yard. I never bought him a winter coat until he was out of his infant seat at a year old. He went in his car seat with a basic car seat cover over it and baby blanket. He was plenty warm with a sleeper on and the cover. Half the time I'd have to take the blanket off cuz he'd be sweating. It's not like I had him outside for more than a minute or two.

Thought I had a better picture of the cover I have but I got it at Wal-Mart. Cheap, warm, and fits well around my car seat.

[foosdiva]

We got one of those bundle me covers from BRU. We loved it.

[NewMommyNicoleRN]

I never gave any thought to this ladies..lol...I am so glad you guys have cause with this being my first and living in the Northeast snowstorms really ramp up around FEb and March...Im definately going to get one of those car seat covers...