Why I bought Expensive Car Seats

We have 2 car seats that cost us a whopping $245 each. Why did we buy something so expensive when kids will just outgrow it and need a new one anyway? Well, that is part of the reason why we bought them. in hope that our children wouldn't outgrow them so quickly!

We purchased Diono Radian RXTs for the kids initially for safety reasons. They have high ratings, the manufacturer has never had a recall on a product, and the crash tests are wonderful! Not to mention the steel reinforced frame! I felt so much safer with my kids in these things than in the one I had purchased locally at the store.

All that was great but when I started getting into car seat research I learned a few things.

1. Car seats expire. Typically after 5 years.
2. Car seats are useless after a crash, even a minor one. Check with your manufacturer but even after a fender bender most car seats need to be replaced.
3. Tethering and LATCH is very important. It's EXTREMELY important to make sure your car seat is installed correctly. Check with your manufacturer and local highway patrol to make sure your seat is installed correctly. Local law enforcement should be able to inspect your seat to make sure it's been put in correctly.
4. Bigger or taller kids are hard to fit into the correct seat for their age/development group. Try fitting a tall 10 month old into a common rear facing seat.
5. It is super important to use the correct seat for each child's development stage! Just because an 8 month old weighs 20lbs does NOT mean they need to forward face. they still have the same muscle development as any other 8 month old. The muscles in their neck cannot withstand the force of a crash if they are forward facing as well as they can rear facing. Check out this flyer from the American Academy of Pediatrics for more info on this topic.
6. Rules and regulations change all the time. Now the AAP suggests to keep children rear facing until 2 years old and older children should ride in the back seat also. This is way different from when I was 6 years old! I used to ride in the front all the time! Now, with more research and statistics it's known that that is actually pretty dangerous.

So why the bigger pricier seats?

My kids are tall. It's hard to fit them rear facing in a common seat because they reach the height limit so quickly. We wanted LATCH seats with tether for added support during a collision. Our seats surpass the suggestions of the AAP in that we can keep them rear facing and harnessed longer. The best part is the money saving!

The cheapest infant car seat I could find runs about $90 and only fits infants less than 30lbs. Add another $90 for a forward facing seat or convertible seat (convertible seats are seats that rear face and forward face). Don't forget your booster seat! You're looking at $25 for a backless or $50 for a high back booster (safer). But none of that can be used for heavier or taller kids. Those cheap boosters top out at 100lbs and the height/weight restrictions don't allow for kids in higher percentiles of growth to continue using them as long as their peers.

Lets look just at the money for a moment. We're looking at $205 for the 3 seats a kid needs from infant to about 8-10 years old. Yes, I said 8-10; most kids need a booster at this age to sit comfortably and be semi protected in an accident. We paid $245 for our seats! Less fuss. Less worry. I don't have to constantly check expiration dates, make sure the kids fit, search for a new seat when they outgrow their current one. I'm covered. Our seats also last a whopping 10 years. Here are the specs on our seat:

Rear-facing: 5 - 45 lbs

Forward-facing: 20 - 80 lbs (and up to 57") in a 5-point harness

Booster to 120 lbs

Steel alloy frame and aluminum reinforced sides

Safestop energy-absorbing harness system

Adjustable head support, reinforced for complete side impact safety

Energy-absorbing EPS foam panels on all sides

Rear-facing tether capability

LATCH installation up to 80 lb child

Infant body support cushions

Memory foam padding for superior comfort

5 shoulder and 3 buckle positions for custom fit

Expandable sides and longer seat bottom for leg support and comfort

12 height positions for adjustable head support

2 recline positions in forward-facing mode

Sits low on vehicle seat for easy child boarding

Fits 3 across in a mid-size vehicle and offers more shoulder space

Add up to 4 cup holders (1 included)

Folds flat for travel and storage

Rubber bottom grips for no-slip installation

10 year life

So, yes we spent an extra $40 but we also bought top of the line. If you buy top of the line infant, convertible, and booster seats you're looking to spend about $200 per seat.

I love our seats. They're safe, versatile, and when you break it down surprisingly affordable!

Stay green,

Yasha

Home Birth: Falling Through the Cracks

We recently welcomed another kiddo to the family. 4 weeks ago I did not foresee the problems I would be having today. Like most moms who have "been there done that" I had all my "i's" dotted and "t's" crossed... or so I thought.

In preparation for the home birth I made sure our little guy would still be able to have the same routine tests any newborn in the hospital would be allowed. I made sure our little guy would get the genetic screening "heel prick" test, his hearing screening, and the vitamin K shot. I also, spent hours making sure our pediatrician would take this new bundle of joy once he was born.

Little did I know everything would fall apart.

All those little tests I was told would be available are still available but he hoops I have had to jump through are ridiculous. For his hearing test I have to have a referral. For the vitamin K we had to get a prescription. The heel prick was another referral. To get any referral I had to get this kid into the doctor ASAP.

His doctor's office, who assured me they would take him, refused to take him until I could provide proof of insurance. I had to get our regular doctor there to force the issue and "sneak" him in. Luckily that only had to be done once and after the initial appointment he can now be seen whenever. Hooray for a great midwife who kept his newborn, 1 week, and 2 week appointments while we were fighting to get him in!

After we saw our pediatrician he started writing the orders for everything else and we had a vitamin K at 3 weeks and heel prick at 2. I glad we got the vitamin K even though it wasn't immediate; it took a long time for his heel to stop bleeding after they did the heel prick test!

Currently we're waiting on one last referral for a routine newborn hearing screening and then we can finally breathe!

It's just so hard to imagine why this is so difficult to have done. All these tests are routine at any hospital or birthing center. Why then is it so hard to get them just because a baby was born at home? Why doesn't the state have some sort of provision for home birthed kiddos to get this done at the local Department of Health? It shouldn't be this difficult to get state requested testing done. In many states this is all routine anyway but I guess these special babies who were born in the comforts of home will just keep slipping through the cracks.

Stay green,
Yasha

Let's talk Safety!

The American Academy of Pediatrics has now changed their guidelines on rear facing car seats. They have rewritten the guidelines for clarity. They also encourage everyone to follow the new guidelines as they are deemed more safe for children.

Remember the AAP is not trying to take over your car, impinge on your rights, or interfere with your parenting style. They publish the results of all research in an effort to inform parents. They are only trying to provide important information on how to help keep your child safe.

The report states, "The previous policy, from 2002, advised that it is safest for infants and toddlers to ride rear-facing up to the limits of the car seat, but it also cited age 12 months and 20 pounds as a minimum. As a result, many parents turned the seat to face the front of the car when their child celebrated his or her first birthday. [...]

New research has found children are safer in rear-facing car seats. A 2007 study in the journal Injury Prevention showed that children under age 2 are 75 percent less likely to die or be severely injured in a crash if they are riding rear-facing.

'The ‘age 2’ recommendation is not a deadline, but rather a guideline to help parents decide when to make the transition,” Dr. Durbin said. “Smaller children will benefit from remaining rear-facing longer, while other children may reach the maximum height or weight before 2 years of age.'" (American Academy of Pediatrics).

In a NY Times article written recently about this new policy it provides a quote from a Pediatrician at the Morgan Stanley Children’s Hospital in New York, “It’s a horrible term,” she said, “but E.M.T.’s call the rear-facing seat ‘the orphan seat’ because in a bad car accident, that child is often the only one who survives,” (New York Times).

Many car seat manufacturers, until recently, did not make car seats that allowed children to be rear faced upwards of 20 lbs. With these new recommendations those same manufacturers are now providing alternate choices to consumers concerned with the safety of their children. Many companies offer car seats that can fit children up to 40 lbs in a rear facing position.

American Academy of Pediatrics. AAP News Room. 11 March 2011. 10 July 2011 .

New York Times. NYtimes.com. 22 March 2011. 10 June 2011 .