swaddle for the car?

[mamareba]

Ive heard there is a swaddle you can use in the carseat... dd is three months, has anyone heard of these? 

[Maedze]

As a general rule, no, you should not be putting anything between the car seat and the child.  When my kids were babies and still needed swaddling to feel secure, I would strap them in correctly in street clothes, tighten the harness, and then take a receiving blanket and tuck them in snug as a bug on all sides from shoulders to toes.   Sort of a backward swaddle.  Worked pretty well. 

[Boot]

maybe this? 

[Adaline'sMama]

I wouldnt use a swaddle in the carseat, just because of overheating issues. My general rule is "no coat in the carseat", so I wouldnt put anything around them that they couldnt pull off, and at 3 months I wouldnt trust DD to be able to pull a blanket off herself if she got too hot.

What's going on? Is your DD a carseat hater or are you worried about her being cold?

[HeliMom]

http://www.amazon.com/Kiddopotamus-SwaddleMe-Microfleece-Large-Pink/dp/B0009QYTIY

Kidoopotomus makes a swaddler that can be used with carseats, I can't imagine why it would be unsafe as they are just as thin as a t-shirt . If you'd put your kid in the car seat with  2 layers of light clothes on you could just as easily swaddle them with one layer.

[Maedze]

No, absolutely not.  Both of these would be incredibly dangerous.  Both interfere with how a five point harness needs to lie on a child's body in a car seat, and should never, ever, ever, ever, ever, EVER, be used in a child restraint.  

Is that clear enough? 
 

Originally Posted by Boot 

maybe this? 

Originally Posted by HeliMom 

http://www.amazon.com/Kiddopotamus-SwaddleMe-Microfleece-Large-Pink/dp/B0009QYTIY

Kidoopotomus makes a swaddler that can be used with carseats, I can't imagine why it would be unsafe as they are just as thin as a t-shirt . If you'd put your kid in the car seat with  2 layers of light clothes on you could just as easily swaddle them with one layer.

[mamareba]

Thanks for all your responses... Im feeling like some mamas feel its safe and some say no way! the issue is that my lo doesn't like the car.  swaddling typically calms her down when getting ready to sleep etc, so I was thinking it would work in the car.  I have the kiddopotamus with the hole in the back for the five point harness... but I also felt it was weird the way their arms would be stuck down in relation to how the harness is supposed to work... Tomorrow we have a big car day and Im nervous! 

[Maedze]

If it helps, this isn't a 'mama' opinion...it's fact, as presented through Safe Kids, NHTSA and the DOT, brought to you by your friendly neighborhood child passenger safety technician ;-)    That kiddopotamus is not safe and definitely not approved for use with your child restraint.  

[saharaw]

Maybe I was misinformed, but when I went to the fire station several months ago to have a CPST check the installation of a child seat, he said that this swaddle (http://www.target.com/p/Summer-Infant-SwaddleMe-3-Pack-Boy/-/A-12433145) would be fine as long as I used it properly.  He said that ALL the car seat straps must be directly against the child and the swaddle wings have to be done up OVER the straps, not under them.

It ends up working like the jacket trick, except safer than that because you don't have the thickness of a jacket behind the child, just one thickness of the swaddle which is just t-shirt material.  I certainly did not have to loosen the straps when I put DS in the seat with the swaddle.

[blessedwithboys]

Your CPST was wrong.  :)

[saharaw]

blessedwithboys,

Could you explain why it is unsafe?  The CPST gave me several reasons that it was fine: does not in any way interfere with the straps, does not add bulk behind the child (only a thin layer of fabric which could just as easily be a shirt the child was wearing), does not require that you loosen or move the straps compared to just putting the child in without the swaddle.

Like the OP, my son does not like the car seat unless he is swaddled, and when I try the reverse swaddle like Maedze mentioned, he just thrashes his arms until it comes loose (and then I worry about it riding up over his face).  I kept trying to tuck the reverse swaddle farther and farther under his back to keep it secure, but I don't see how that is any safer than having a single layer of swaddle material back there.  I of course want my son to be safe, but I thought I was doing that by specifically asking the CPST about the swaddle.

[Jane]

I have no dog in this fight, as my little one doesn't like swaddling, but that kiddopotamus has a hole in the back for the between the legs strap. You feed that up through. Then baby, then harness baby, then swaddle over the top. It's a single layer behind the baby of polarfleece, and then nothing under the straps. It's the same as a blanket over them. I can't see any reason why it would be prohibited. It doesn't interfere with the way the straps come through as the only strap that goes through is the buckle one. And it gets lined up on that one. The everything is over harness.

[saharaw]

That is the same as the SwaddleMe with the slit in the back.

[chel]

I used the kidopotamus.

it in no way bothers the straps.  If you are willing to put a light fleece shirt or dress on your child (it is thinner than a fleece jacket) this would be the same.  Actually better as there is no front material. The front swaddle wings go over the carseat straps, as you would do a regular blanket.

I think many just remember the rule on aftermarket products, but some things like this fall into the clothing category.  You wouldn't put a child in snow pants in a carseat, but that doesn't mean you wouldn't put cordory pants on your child.

[SeattleRain]

I had one of the Summer Infant ones, but I never used it in the car seat. It just made me uneasy. I found Aden + Anais blankets to be the best at "carseat swaddling" because of their size and stretchiness. I would buckle D in as usual and then fold it into a manageable shape and just tuck it really tightly around him. The most important part of the swaddle is the arms, not so much the legs, so if you can get those in nice and tight you're golden. If you're worried about it coming off, I found when I used the blanket and then put a shower-cap style car seat cover on top, it kept everything in place. A+A's also aren't really heavy at all, so they don't make a baby over heat. My newborn used it during the summer.

[leighi123]

I used to strap ds in, and then wrap a recieving blanket on TOP of the harness, and tuck it in tightly on the sides and under his legs to create the swaddle effect, sometimes with another blanket on top to hold everything in place if it was cold out.    It worked out fine and didn't affect the carseat at all.