I'm glad to hear that these are safe. The tech when I had my seat checked last year told me that I shouldn't let him wear it. I looked at him like he was insane, but decided not to argue. Really, I still don't understand what he thinks my son should wear out in the car in the middle of winter then. It's Boston! It's COLD! He can't just go out in a onesie. It's not a puffy jacket. Bleh!
The general rule is -- If you have to loosen the harness straps to buckle baby in, the jacket is too thick.
Fleece is a great alternative, very warm and still thin.
Before you add any jackets/coats, you just want to do the coat check by following these steps:
- Put your child in article of clothing that you are testing, buckle and tighten the harness appropriately.
- Take child out of the car seat without loosening the harness.
- Put child in regular day to day clothing, place into car seat and buckle up -- without tightening the harness.
- If there is too much slack in the harness, then that particular clothing item is not allowed. If there is no extra slack, you're good!
You can still use a coat in the car, you would just have to use the coat trick. I find this to be much easier if you have a coat with a removeable hood or no hood at all, for the reasoning that hoods can push their heads forward. If it doesn't have a hood, then it doesn't push their heads forward, and it also doesn't have access bulk behind them, causing them to become uncomfortable.
Here is a great video to show you how to utilize the Coat Trick.
[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pLTVPqn0aR8&feature=player_embedded"]YouTube - A safer way to wear a winter coat in a car seat[/ame]