6yr old in cast...

wildeyes · Jan 4, 2008

should i take and temporarily switch dd1 to booster mode in her apex?? between getting the winter coat out from under the harness and getting her cast out of the way, it is going to take forever to get her in and out of the car. or... at 42lbs, should i keep her harnessed and deal with it.
my thinking is that if i can reliably get her in the booster vs possibly not getting her harnessed properly b/c she is wiggly and uncooperative.... she will sit correctly *most* of the time.

Mom to a few · Jan 4, 2008

I'm not sure why the coat gets stuck under the harness, but we don't wear coats in the car anyway, so maybe someone else can give advice on that...

As for the cast, our son broke his arm just before he turned 6. He was in a booster at that point anyway, but I don't think the cast would've been a problem with a 5-pt harness after the first week. That first week after surgery, they actually had a loop of the cast going up around his neck that we couldn't remove, so we just had to move the booster to the other side of the car to avoid the cast interfering with the vehicle seatbelt. Once they removed that part, I think he would've been just fine in a 5-pt harness (his cast was from fingertips to shoulder, bent at the elbow). I would just have her put the cast side in first, rotate into the seat, and then sit down. At that age though, I would be ok with her being in a booster if you trust her to sit properly for the whole ride.

I hope she heals quickly!

wildeyes · Jan 4, 2008

Mom to a few said:
I'm not sure why the coat gets stuck under the harness, but we don't wear coats in the car anyway, so maybe someone else can give advice on that...

As for the cast, our son broke his arm just before he turned 6. He was in a booster at that point anyway, but I don't think the cast would've been a problem with a 5-pt harness after the first week. That first week after surgery, they actually had a loop of the cast going up around his neck that we couldn't remove, so we just had to move the booster to the other side of the car to avoid the cast interfering with the vehicle seatbelt. Once they removed that part, I think he would've been just fine in a 5-pt harness (his cast was from fingertips to shoulder, bent at the elbow). I would just have her put the cast side in first, rotate into the seat, and then sit down. At that age though, I would be ok with her being in a booster if you trust her to sit properly for the whole ride.

I hope she heals quickly!

the coat. either i have her wear it out to the car and take it off completly or unzip it, pull out the coat from under the harness, and buckle her in then zip over the harness (depends on how cold it is)
see this thread, pics included, thats where i got the idea from (thanks!!)
http://www.car-seat.org/showthread.php?t=29772&highlight=safe+winter+coats

the issue i have with getting her into the harness is it's her left elbow, and shes outboard behind the driver. cant switch the baby and her cause i would have to move the drivers seat up too much. cant have the driver uncomfy-makes for a distracted driver and we all know about that. she has to twist into a pretzel to get the harness on and off. just seems hard for her. she is a HUGE drama queen and will make a big deal out of this..... i dread putting her in the car. heck she complains about the harness as it is, and she's SEEN the crash test footage. (i dont loosen it tho.. mean mommy that i am lol)

sfeitler · Jan 4, 2008

Mom to a few said:
I'm not sure why the coat gets stuck under the harness, but we don't wear coats in the car anyway, so maybe someone else can give advice on that...

I'm thinking they get in the car, then take the coat off? If so, I'd have her take the coat off first, for now at least.

I'd have no problem putting her in a booster, if she'll stay in position the whole time. But if you want her harnessed, and the cast doesn't interfere with the harness, then leave her harnessed, and maybe take the coat off sooner.

-Sarah

sfeitler · Jan 4, 2008

wildeyes said:
the issue i have with getting her into the harness is it's her left elbow, and shes outboard behind the driver. cant switch the baby and her cause i would have to move the drivers seat up too much. cant have the driver uncomfy-makes for a distracted driver and we all know about that. she has to twist into a pretzel to get the harness on and off. just seems hard for her. she is a HUGE drama queen and will make a big deal out of this..... i dread putting her in the car. heck she complains about the harness as it is, and she's SEEN the crash test footage. (i dont loosen it tho.. mean mommy that i am lol)

Do you loosen the harness at all? Would she get in more easily if you loosen and re-tighten every time, so that the straps are easier to get over her cast?

-Sarah

wildeyes · Jan 4, 2008

i find it very difficult to tighten the harness on the apex. i generally leave it be. whenever i try to tighten it, she says its too tight. she actually will arch her back to prevent me from getting it tight. course she doesnt know i tightened it when she wasnt in the car... lol. even without a coat or sweater i have to use a bit of streght to buckle her in. lol she and i would be fighting every time she rode with me...
idk. i want her to be safe, but i have a 2 month old to get in and out of the cold quickly as well, and i cant spend 5 minutes on one kid when i still have another one to do.

sfeitler · Jan 4, 2008

wildeyes said:
i find it very difficult to tighten the harness on the apex. i generally leave it be. whenever i try to tighten it, she says its too tight. she actually will arch her back to prevent me from getting it tight. course she doesnt know i tightened it when she wasnt in the car... lol. even without a coat or sweater i have to use a bit of streght to buckle her in. lol she and i would be fighting every time she rode with me...
idk. i want her to be safe, but i have a 2 month old to get in and out of the cold quickly as well, and i cant spend 5 minutes on one kid when i still have another one to do.

She sounds like quite a handful!

Well, it's not like it's all or nothing. You can switch to booster, and if she sits properly, use it that way. If she can't remember, then put it back in harnessed mode.

-Sarah

Defrost · Jan 5, 2008

I was just re-reading the LATCH manual yesterday about tethering, and it mentioned that sometimes the tightness of the tether can interfere with the ability to loosen/tighten the harness, if the tether is so tight that it's compressing the seat against the vehicle seatback.

So maybe try loosening the tether a touch to see if that helps with the harness adjusting?

wildeyes · Jan 5, 2008

hmmmm thats interesting about the tether... i do have it tight as can be, at least with my wimpy hands. idk if its the angle at which i have to pull or b/c its tight tho. it doesnt seem to be really tight, but i usually have to wrap the strap around my hand to pull good. the seat is in so tight it is practically glued in lol. i will go play aroung with it in a bit, its finally gonna warm up some and i have to fix dd2's seat anyway. i will do both at once.

6yr old in cast...

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