Chicco Infant Seat question

With just 4 weeks to go until our LO's expected arrival, I am on a mission to have everything ready to go!

I took out the car seat today (Chicco Key Fit 30) and I plan on taking it next week for an inspection. My question is this:

I have the JJ Cole Head Support and Strap Covers that we wanted to use (because we are having a girl, DH thought her seat should have some sort of pink going on).





The car seat came with some sort of newborn insert in it. So am I supposed to take that one out and replace with the JJ Cole one? Or does it just go right over it? The strap covers on the car seat are not removeable so I just put the cushiony ones over the stock ones, but I'm confused about the head rest Should I detach it?

TIA

Re: Chicco Infant Seat question

Take the one that's in there out and put in the one that you want. Don't do that until AFTER you get it inspected though.
Some places (not sure where you are taking it) won't "approve" the installation with the extras in there.

Re: Chicco Infant Seat question

i would not replace the infant/newborn supports that come with the car seat. the kids are just fine even if their heads are bent to the side. I'm sure she'll be all dolled up in a pink outfit, as my girls were! IMO, I'd return the JJ Cole support, unless you plan to use it in your bouncy chair or swing, not in any car seat.

Message edited 5/28/2011 2:39:20 PM.

Re: Chicco Infant Seat question

Re: Chicco Infant Seat question

Posted by LoveyQ

Posted by whoababy1

Take the one that's in there out and put in the one that you want. Don't do that until AFTER you get it inspected though.
Some places (not sure where you are taking it) won't "approve" the installation with the extras in there.

The reason they won't "approve" it is because it's not recommended to use anything in a car seat other than what comes with the car seat. That's because the car seats are tested only with the items that come with the seat and adding anything can impact the safety of the carseat.

I would leave the newborn insert that comes with the seat in and return that headrest. To be honest, it's not necessary at all. DS, who was a preemie and you'd think would need extra support, was perfectly fine in his Chicco Keyfit 30 seat. The newborn insert worked perfectly.

Re: Chicco Infant Seat question

I didn't realize that the head rests were not safe. I was not planning on removing the whole newborn insert - jus the head rest. I remember reading about things that compromise the safety of the seat (i.e., bundle me's). I'm glad I asked this question. Thanks for the heads up

Re: Chicco Infant Seat question

Re: Chicco Infant Seat question

Both of those aftermarket items are major no-nos.

And it's important to understand why. These products unregulated and untested. The "crash tests" they claim could be them throwing the item against the wall since FMVSS 213 only applies to car seats themselves NOT after market accessories. THERE IS NO CRASH TEST OR FEDERAL STANDARD FOR AFTERMARKET ACCESSORIES. Items like these can interfere with the proper position of the straps on the child (see the strap covers in the 2nd pic? How they're pushing down the chest clip so the harness is not in the proper position?) They also give a false sense of harness tightness as they can compress in a crash, causing injuries (or worse). That headrest is bound to do more harm then good by pushing the child's head forward too much and restricting airflow. It also can reroute the harness, again causing a false sense of security with harness tightness and improper placement on the child's body.

Now, my vent:

for those who choose or have chosen to "ignore" the advice, you really should thank your lucky stars you were never in a crash severe enough to cause injuries. Plenty of parents HAVE had this happen, hence the GOOD advice to NOT use unapproved items.

My biggest issue though, is giving out the advice to ignore the professionals who are inspecting the seat (in 99% of the time, doing so for free) which, IMO, is completely irresponsible. It's akin to telling a mother of a teething baby to rub alcohol on a child's gums. Because, you know, OUR parents/grandparents did it and WE were OK. Nevermind the kids who WERE NOT ok, right?

These products are UNSAFE and UNTESTED. When you tell parents to ignore good advice, you're also telling them "It's fine, make your child a crash test dummy. What's the worst that could happen?"

/vent

Re: Chicco Infant Seat question

we also have the chico keyfit carset carrier and bought the jjcole head rest however once dd was born we relized that the one that came in the seat was perfect and there was no real need for the jj cole one so we never used it.
our dd was 8lbs and 21inches and fit fine when we took her home from the hospital with just the insert the seat came with.

Message edited 5/29/2011 10:26:16 AM.

Re: Chicco Infant Seat question

You honestly don't need anything mor ethen the infant insert you have with it. It was perfect and our daughter was 5'2" and only 17inches when she was born and came home. We loved our Chicco! I can also say that it gets pretty warm in that car seat and adding a fuzzy newborn insert will make your dd roast since it's summer now.

Re: Chicco Infant Seat question

It is not necessary to change the head support. The one that comes with the seat is just fine! :)