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Pregnancy &
Parenting > Preparing for Baby
Buying a Car Seat for Your Baby
The first step when buying car seats - NO SECOND
HAND! Seats which have been in an accident are NOT safe!
For your newborn, you'll want one of the infant
carriers, some of which come as part of a travel system. Consider
the following:
a) Is the handle comfortable? You'll be
carrying this increasingly heavy carrier for several months. Try a
variety of different brands. Personally, I loved the Graco seats
with the "Z" handle. Go to the baby store, and put a heavy package
of diapers into the seat you're considering, then carry it around
for a while. Is your hand comfortable with the way it's facing, or
would another choice be more comfortable for you. This is
important... you're going to be carrying that seat around for the
better part of a year, and the baby won't get any lighter.
b) Is it easy to get in and out of the base?
Think of trying to move a sleeping baby from a car in the dark;
you really don't want to struggle.
c) Can I purchase a separate base for the
second car? This is a great feature, since you can keep a
separate base in each car, and just transfer the baby back and
forth.
d) The fabric: will it hide stains? This is
important!! Cutesy pastels simply won't compare with durable dark
fabric.
At some point before the baby is a year old,
you'll be changing to a child car seat. Think about registering
for one of these as well, or better yet, one for each car. You'll
have a choice of one with a padded bar in front of baby and one
with a "five point harness." For larger babies, the five point
harness is probably the better choice. On the other hand, some 2
1/2 year olds have been known to shimmy out of the shoulder
straps; the only thing holding them in until parents could pull
over (on the Expressway, no less!) is that padded bar.
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