How did you find your inner freak?

ThreeBeans · Jun 5, 2007

I actually have someone on this board to thank

When I was pregnant with DS, I am ashamed to say that all I did for 'research' was to make sure that Graco Snugrides were 'well-liked' but most important the stroller that came with it would be good

Anyhow, I used to post at a parenting board that had this chick with a cute little boy named Cias and she was always, "yo, britax, britax, britax!" and I kept wondering "What in gosh tarnation is so darned great about her darned Britax?!?!"

But all her yappin' made me buy the Wizard when DS outgrew his Snugride at 5 months. I am embarassed to say I made all sorts of install errors and user errors but by the time he was old enough to be turned forward facing (21 lbs at 15 months), I was totally hooked on carseat safety and knew I was NEVEH going to turn him around

Now that I'm on my third kid, I'm disgustingly obsessed. I can quote harness heights, weight limits, and back seat compatabilities. I recommend things left and right and people actually call the house to ask my opinion on carseats

Thanks for the hobby, Janice

Some day when I grow up I want to be a tech just like you

scatterbunny · Jun 5, 2007

LOL!

I found the inner carseat freak in me when Hayley was 27-28 months old and even with the top slots of her convertible carseat (Alpha Omega) and I didn't know what to do. I didn't feel right about booster mode for a 2.5yo, but she was big (38 inches and 35 pounds at 2.5) and she was too big for harnessed mode on a carseat that was supposed to be the only seat I'd need!

So I found the ivillage carseat board, the BabyCenter car safety tips board and this wonderful place, and the rest is history.

That was October 2003. I now feel like a walking encyclopedia of CPS knowledge, but I have more to learn still. I passed my tech class March 17th and officially became a tech (the date on my ID card) May 8th.

Lara · Jun 5, 2007

I think I've always been somewhat of a freak, though not to the extent I am now.
Before dd was born, I got the sr cause of consume reports

. lol

When it was time for a convertible, I researched it to death. Of course, the first place I turned was CR again

. Then I started reading review after review. Though, I never did really look at britax cause of the price. I ended up with the Triumph which was a fine seat for a few weeks. Then, almost every night, I found myself on the BRU website reading reviews of various seats, including infant seats! I thought the Safety 1st prospect would be good for her next seat (she was only 9 months! I had at least a year before needing something else! lol). While googling it once, i came across the BBC carseat board and the rest is history

. So there is something good about the prospect. Without it, I wouldn't be as obsessed as I am now!

Patriot201 · Jun 6, 2007

I can't pinpoint *when* I became a freak. I think it was sometime during my days as a nanny... ???? I think...

Jeanum · Jun 6, 2007

I grew up with parents who were fairly militant about seatbelt usage and who used carseats for me as a toddler way before they were common or required, and saw several instances in my extended family where non-use of seatbelts had severe consequences.

I stumbled across the iVillage carseat board and lurked there off and on while pg and after the birth of DD1, and branched out to lurking on other boards such as this one.

After losing an unrestrained adult cousin in a car crash last year, I decided it was time to do more than lurk and began posting on carseat boards. This one is definitely my favorite and where I've learned the most.

lynsgirl · Jun 6, 2007

In the spring/summer of 2001, when I was pg w/ds2, I started looking for info on a seat for him and asked for advice on the iVillage board. I ended up just sticking around and I got sucked in

. I'd looked for a class since 2002 and *finally* everything came together in spring 2005 and dh got time off and I got certified (or certifiable - your pick

). I just recertified a couple of months ago

.

arly1983 · Jun 6, 2007

I became a freak after a bad roll over wreck in fall 2005....

I was intruduced to this board by Sam, Pacey, & Josua. THANKS

joolsplus3 · Jun 6, 2007

Oh wow, Janice was one of my early sparkplugs, too

. She invited me to help out at a seat check, my very first one, and we went to our first Lifesaver's together.

I think I was totally seat addicted from about age 6 though, when my godbrother was born and his carseat was SO COOL! (pre-1981 crash standards, but I just loved the straps and the overhead bar and the whole thing, brown vinyl and all...)

Melizerd · Jun 6, 2007

I became a feak because I received a gift car seat that I found out was a used and expired

So I became obsessed. DH thought I had lost my mind because I was like 8 months pregnant at the time.

broken4u05 · Jun 6, 2007

i was on a different board that Sam is also on and they opened a car seat board and i had always been interested in car seats so i was there and Sam always talked about this board and being here has made me want so many new seats and everything.. now i have dreams and randomly think about seats all the time

southpawboston · Jun 6, 2007

well you said "freak", not "carseat freak", so here's how i found my inner *car* freak:

i was 11 years old when my next door neighbors moved in. the dad was from england and was a car nut. he began importing vintage cars from england on the "gray market" (when importation rules for foreign used cars was pretty lax) and fixing them up in his garage-- austin healeys, jaguars, bentleys, MGs, etc... i spent hours watching him from our fence, completely entranced for hours at a time. by the time i was 13 i was working for him as an "apprentice" for $1.50/hr (this was in 1982). by the time i was 15 and still not old enough to drive i had my own S-K tool set (high end mechanic-grade tool brand), worth over $500 which i had put together over time with money from working for my neighbor. by the time i had my learner's permit (the day i turned 16, lol) i had the family garage turned into a workshop and had two old clunkers (bought with my own money) that i was in the process of refurbishing from the ground up.

so that's where my car freakiness came. i've since gone on to college and have a career that has absolutely nothing to do with cars, but i'm itching to get back to them as a hobby.

i'm fairly safety obsessed but not nearly as obsessed specifically with carseats as some of you are, and i see them very differently. i see them as an extension of the car; so for me the car is the primary transportation and safety object, the CRS is secondary, but i also see them as synergizing with each other and becoming one item. i think some of you see the car as an the other way around, lol... (carseat first, car second).

Loves2sing · Jun 6, 2007

My obsession would have started with my best friend. When she had DS1, she started looking around for a convertable seat after he was outgrew his Evenflo infant carrier. She was having a hard time finding a seat that would fit into her 2 door sports car, and started doing some research. As her bff, I was hearing about her researching. Well, this was her thing, so go at it, and have fun. Whatever. Then I started noticing other friend's and family's misuse of their carseats, or lack of carseats all together. Then I got pregnant, and that is when I just started to rely on Jen for all my information. She did the research, and she's kind of anal about it, so she knew her stuff.

Then as Jenna has been growing older, my intrest has grown, and I am glad to say that Jen did have her facts straight and has not led me down the wrong path. I came to this site when Jen had mentioned a thread going on, and I wanted to read it. I have been hooked ever since, and now I have my own information, not just Jen's to inform others about. Now if they would only start LISTENING....

Auntie2Avi · Jun 6, 2007

When Avi was about 4 months old he was almost 20 lbs, so we needed to move him out of his Snugride. We had the Baby Bargains book but were trying to save money so first grandma bought a AOE. After struggling to get the seat installed i looked onto the BBB and saw that the seat has a 40 lb limit, and seeing how big avi was i convinced Grandma to pay the difference to get him the DC. I started to post on the BBB board and I am now very passionate about child safety. I remember being a child and my mom would yell at people who did not restrain their children properly, and while it embarrased me at the time i am now convinced that is why i am crazy about car safety.

scatterbunny · Jun 6, 2007

I am 28 and was also in a carseat as a baby/toddler, but not as a preschooler+. My mom was always very anal about making sure everyone in the car was buckled up, though. She was in a bad car crash at age 17 and was lucky to live. I also lost a number of classmates in high school in car crashes (mostly drunk driving on the logging roads and rural highways around here).

keri1292 · Jun 6, 2007

Let's see. When I had dd, I just picked the one that was cool. Most other seats at the time had pooh bear and baby print covers. Yuck! I thought my navy/green/tan cosco eddie bauer was the coolest looking seat around. Um, yeah.

Then, I found out the hard way that seats should have a front adjuster. My dd didn't get her fleece jacket taken off if the car was too warm, we just rolled down the windows. No time to mess with the rear adjust 8 times a day. It was terrible.
Then, I started researching convertibles thoroughly due to bad aforementioned cosco piece of crap. Britax came up over and over and I was sold when I saw the RA with big cat cover. We were so poor but, we made it happen. I also have issues with postpartum depression and anxiety disorders. Although, I think that the anxiety is just who i am. I'm big on car seats, smoke alarms, child proofing, bicycle helmets, etc. As long as everything is right, I'm not anxious!

jn__ · Jun 6, 2007

I don't even remember. I used a 3pt snugride hand-me-down with my daughter, even though I knew we'd be having more kids. Dumb move? Then someone told me about britax and higher rear facing limits, and I bought one, but that person never actually rearfaced their kids to the limit. I guess they were just there to clue me in and then drop out of my life forever lol. So I had a roundabout for my daughter (after buying a marathon that I could NOT fit in the car) and she was still rear facing while I read more and more, and then resolved to keep her rf till the limits. Then my son came along, I got him a new sr2 w/5pt harness. Then when I put him in the roundabout, I still had the marathon so I thought I'd give it a shot, and somehow it got in. No idea why or how. My husband and I were out there for hours the first time and couldn't get it in without pushing the seat forward. Hmph. (we think the car magically made itself longer.

) So they sat like that and I'd read more and more. Bought a radian so I could fit all 3, and they'll probably all be rear facing at the same time.

Now my latest freak is "how to tie the cargo down" ugh. My stroller is jammed behind the front seats and there's nothing in the trunk but a blanket and a changing pad.

CDNTech · Jun 6, 2007

JennasMommy said:
My obsession would have started with my best friend. When she had DS1, she started looking around for a convertable seat after he was outgrew his Evenflo infant carrier. She was having a hard time finding a seat that would fit into her 2 door sports car, and started doing some research. As her bff, I was hearing about her researching. Well, this was her thing, so go at it, and have fun. Whatever. Then I started noticing other friend's and family's misuse of their carseats, or lack of carseats all together. Then I got pregnant, and that is when I just started to rely on Jen for all my information. She did the research, and she's kind of anal about it, so she knew her stuff. Then as Jenna has been growing older, my intrest has grown, and I am glad to say that Jen did have her facts straight and has not led me down the wrong path. I came to this site when Jen had mentioned a thread going on, and I wanted to read it. I have been hooked ever since, and now I have my own information, not just Jen's to inform others about. Now if they would only start LISTENING....

Okay, so Jen is me... now you know my story and I didn't have to type it out

I will say that I started over at Ivillage like some of the others here and I recognized Cias from pics way back when... I can't honestly remember if it was on the carseat boards or if we were on the same birth board (March/April 2002)?

I finally became a tech in May and am taking another class on Monday/Tuesday to be come certified for Canada... long story

oxeye · Jun 6, 2007

I've always been a little bit of a freak just growing up around parents who were safety conscious. My mom was really big on making sure she owned safe cars so that rubbed off on me.

I didn't do much car seat research when DD1 was little but I did read the car seat manuals so I know I had her in tight enough and the seat installed correctly. When she got to almost 26" (this is when I thought the height limit was set in stone) I started researching convertible seats and I found this board and read a bunch of posts. That's when I learned about extended RF and saw how highly recommended the Marathon was so that's what I bought.

And it's been downhill with my obsession ever since! LOL

supercrunch · Jun 6, 2007

I worked at BRU in college and again for a year or so after dd was born when I needed a PT job.

I didn't work with the car seats, but I was always fascinated by them. I used to walk through the isles just to see what new seats were out...and I always helped fix the isles at the end of the day by buckling the seats and straightening the harnesses.

I made sure to get my dd a 5 pt snug ride back in 2001 when there were way too many 3 pt seats on the market. When she outgrew it, I moved her into one of the first Triumphs ever made. I thought it was the coolest seat ever, lol. It looked so space-age next to all the AO Eddie Bauer junk on the shelves at the time. She eventually ended up in a Graco CarGo and Evenflo Chase, and in a Turbo Booster after she turned 5.

I wasn't thrilled with the Turbo Booster since she was only 37 lbs at the time and I started looking around. I found the Radian in a magazine advertisement, and looked it up. Then I did a google search on it, and found my way here

Mama2J · Jun 6, 2007

LOL well I don't think I'm actually a freak... unless you count checking this site even when I don't have a question, noticing others' carseat misuses, being reluctant to ride with someone new for fear of how they may use their seats, and being totally rebellious by buying a $300 carseat!

I read my carseat manual when Justin was a baby and always tried to use his seats correctly, although I did buy cheap seats and turned him forward facing shortly after 1 year old.

I guess my turning point started last July when friends of ours lost their 8-month-old baby in a car accident. Until then I thought Justin would use a booster seat when he outgrew the convertible, just like most people do. But after that happened, I started doing some research on car safety and found out about extended harnessing. Then this year, I started researching which seat to get and was referred to this site by someone on a parenting board that I'm on, and here I am with my Regent!

Also, I have thought I'd like to become a CPST, but found that I would need to take off several days of work in a row to take the class and I just cannot do that. I don't get enough paid days off to even take a vacation, after taking off for Justin's school closings. Maybe one day...

How did you find your inner freak?

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