When I was pregnant, I was very intimidated by car seats. They seemed complicated to install and I was worried about the consequences of doing it wrong. What if I got into a car accident and the seat wasn’t secure?
Fortunately, the hospital where I gave birth had a free car seat check. It was a quick appointment. The women showed me how to properly install my car seat, gave me some tips for getting it snug, and then actually installed it for me. I received some free car seat safety information as well as an identification sticker to place on the back of the seat. The sticker contains all of my son’s vital information, so if he happened to be in a car accident with another driver, such as a baby sitter, and the driver was injured, emergency workers would still know exactly who my son was and who to contact. I recommend that everyone has one of these stickers placed on their child’s seat.
One of the tips that the car seat safety instructors gave me was to use a rolled up towel to wedge between the seat and the bottom of the car seat to make it level. If you have deep bucket seats, your car seat will lean too far forward for an infant. By filling that area of the seat with a towel, you create a level surface to install the car seat on.
Another tip that I still use with our combo seat, which is now forward facing, is to place my weight on the seat while pulling the belt so that the seat is very tight. The tighter you install the seat, the less it will move during a crash and the safer it will be. Although my family always chuckles when I do this, the easiest way for me to get the seat tight enough is to sit on it and pull the belts on either side as tightly as I can. (Yes, I have a small frame and I can fit my behind in a toddler seat!) Once I get off the seat, it does not move at all if you shake it, because it is so tight. If you do not want to sit on the car seat, try placing your knee into the seat and bearing your weight on it that way.