Infant Car Seats – Designed With The Small Stature In Mind

The regulations covering car seats for newborns and infant car seats today are very clear – all infants up to 22 pounds must be in a rear-facing car safety seat when traveling in a moving vehicle. This requirement is the best way to protect your infant while he is traveling with you.

Infant car seats come in a wide range of styles and models, but have several characteristics in common. All are designed to be used with the existing automobile’s seat belts, and all are designed for rear-facing use (that is, the child will be facing the back of the automobile’s seat when properly strapped in).

Convertible or Infant Only, What’s the Difference?

There are several excellent brands of car seats that offer both infant-only car seats and convertible car seats. Infant-only car seats are to be used only for children up to 22 pounds, and then must be replaced by a new baby car seat for children weighting 20 to 40 pounds. Convertibles, on the other hand, can be used for an infant and then modified to be used as a forward-facing car seat for children 20-40 pounds. Which one you choose is up to you; there are advantages to each type. Some manufacturers that make reliable versions of both kinds include Britax, Century, Evenflo, Graco, MacLaren and Combi.

What To Look For In A Safe Infant Car Seat

If you prefer car seats for infants that are designed specifically for 22 pounds and under, look for these key features:

• A detachable base is a nice feature that some newer models have. The base is strapped into the car and the baby carrier can be easily snapped in. When you get out of the car, you can easily snap the carrier out of the base and carry the baby inside the house without removing him from the carrier itself. This is a nice feature when you don’t want to wake up the baby, or when you have two cars. Rather than switching the car seat constantly, simply put an extra base in the other car.
• More than one set of harness slots in the back of the seat for the straps. This allows room for the baby to grow and still get a comfortable fit on the harness.
• If you have a newer car, look for an infant car seat like the Graco car seat SnugRide with LATCH option. This is compatible with newer car models that have a safety latching system specifically designed to hold baby car seats in place.
• A head support or padding that can be adjusted to fit around the infant’s head to give comfort and prevent the neck, which hasn’t fully developed all of the supportive neck muscles in the first few months, from flopping around too much.
• A five-point harness is the most comfortable for infants. This has two shoulder straps, two hips straps and one strap that comes up to meet them at the crotch. There is no padded shield or shelf on these harnesses, and for an infant it isn’t needed. In fact, a large shield or tray can cause a hazard if the infant bumps his or her face on it.

When you’ve looked at babies car seats and found a few that you like, try them out in your car before making a final purchase. Don’t let a sales person intimidate you on this! Explain to them that you will not buy until you do this, and that not all car seats for babies work in all models or years of automobiles.

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Try strapping the store’s floor model into your car where you will be actually using it. Adjust the straps and test the fit. Does the car seat wiggle or does it fit securely? Can you easily operate the harness closures or will you struggle every time you have to take your child in and out of it? When you’ve tried a few and found one that is safe, stable and easy to operate, make your purchase!

An investment in a high quality baby car seat is one of the best buys you can make when getting ready to bring home your baby from the hospital. If you do your homework, you will find just the right car seat to keep your child both safe and comfortable.

Also see; EliteCarSeats.com

About The Author

Lori Wilkerson is a full-time freelance writer who loves her work because it gives her the opportunity to learn more about the world every day. Right now, she knows a little bit about almost everything, and a lot about babies. She has two dogs who are spoiled and one teenager who is not.