My chiro brought something to my attention

Tara · May 14, 2008

...regarding our '03 SnugRide. It's a cheaper version..5pt and front adjust are the extent of its 'extras'. Minimal padding. Thus...my issue here.
She was checking his fit in the seat and all and noticed the padding stopped just below his shoulders...at the bottom slots. She said to 'just fix/adjust that' so he had padding all the way down. That the stop in padding there wasn't ideal.

Of course, as she's saying this I'm kind of "wink/nudge" with hub...as I would *love* an excuse to buy a new car seat LOL

She assures us that isn't necessary, to just adjust the padding.

We then let her in on the fact that I'm a car seat obsessed tech and long for any excuse to buy a new seat. She then "aaah" and laughs and half whispering over her shoulder to me as she turns to walk away, "you can slip me my $20 now"

Anyway...

Later I check into this padding issue. It does indeed stop abruptly just below that bottom slot. But there is no way to adjust it. And there is no other padding to pull up to meet it. No way to fill in the gap.

Argh!

Now, as I said..I'd love to buy a new seat

But, honestly, it must be *necessary*.

So, I know the standard rule is if it isn't sold with the seat, it doesn't go with the seat. So, that would rule out slipping a small folded blanket back there, right? Between the cover and the shell.

Do other seats have nice, full padding back there? I've not fully inspected them myself.

On the one hand I'm thinking 'it's not that big of a deal, my others have had this or similar seats and are 'fine'' but on the other..I am seeing this as something new. Something I just wasn't informed of previously, just like extended rear facing

And therefore want to make the best choice I can for my child's well-being.

So, your thoughts? Seat recs? (assuming there's nothing I can do about what I have)

(and again, if this is something better placed elsewhere (I don't want to be giving anyone ideas of how to improperly use their seats

) feel free to move the thread)

wendytthomas · May 14, 2008

No, it's not ok to put a towel or something in there. You've got the reason.

A lot of seats only have EPS foam around the head. That's where it's most effective. Keeps the noggin from banging around against a hard shell. A spine isn't going to be banging around side to side, and arms and legs if they stay in are not important enough to warrant it.

There are seats with all over EPS foam, but there are quite a few without (the Boulevard, for instance, since it has the wings with foam).

I wouldn't stress about the foam at all.

But if it makes you feel better you can slip me a $20 and I'll tell your DH otherwise. hehehehe

Wendy

Tara · May 14, 2008

Yeah I understand the EPS foam in headwings and all. It's just the 'comfort foam' along the back that is the issue here. This seat isn't fully lined with that. Is *that* normal/standard for infant seats?

It's that unevenness that, apparently, could cause issues with his alignment. Makes sense to me. I totally 'get' it. I'm just not sure "how" concerned I want/ought to be with this right now

*slippin' that $20 just for good measure

LOL
But HONEST thoughts I DO want to hear

singingpond · May 14, 2008

Honestly, with the Snugrides, I always wonder if there would be any actual problem with putting some additional modest padding into the cheaper models. Presumably all the Snugrides (the more expensive padded models, and the bare-bones almost unpadded models) have been tested to be safe by Graco. I doubt that they make different shells for the different models. If their most padded version is crash tested to be safe, then why wouldn't an additional thin piece of foam in the cheaper version be safe too (?).... I haven't actually taken that step myself, as DS#2 and DD both rode in an older unpadded Snugride, and I didn't do anything to 'improve' their comfort. I was reluctant to add any not-manufacturer-blessed items, and both my kids acted comfortable in the seat. Still, I've always wondered about this, when I look under the covers of the various Snugride models on the shelf at BRU.

Katrin

abacus2 · May 14, 2008

Honestly, I don't think it's that big a deal as long as your child seems comfortable. But if you did decide he needs a new, more padded seat now, it makes the most financial sense to go ahead and buy a convertible.

Nisha · May 14, 2008

The sad thing is, some of the more "elite" (read expensive) snugride car seats have foam all the way down!
Last year, before DS was born, I bought him a snugride in park meadow for about $89.99 and it didn't have foam all the way down. 6 weeks later I had to replace it due to an accident, and the town I was shopping in only had a few snugride options. I got a Snugride in Milan for $149.99 and it had the foam all the way down.

Don't know if that really helps you or not, but some of the snugrides DO have it!

ETA they call it "graco pedic foam" it's like memory foam.

KristiD761 · May 14, 2008

It would seem to make sense that the more you have padding in the seat around the head, that is protecting the most vulnerable. Because of the angle of the carrier, I would not stress too much...but when you buy the convertible seat which is what they spend the most time in, I would look for the EPS foam around the head especially and the seat padding that provided the most comfort for them along the rest of their body as well.

henrietta · May 14, 2008

Interesting that you mention that, as that's the seat my cousin had (and got rid of) for her first son. They drove from PA to TN in it, and he cried the whole way. When they got here, she went to TRU and bought him an Evenflo Triumph, and he stopped crying in the car! It was really uncomfortable for him in that Graco Snugride, and he had a twisted hip from his c-section birth that they were seeing the chiro for (so that wasn't helping matters).

I've heard of lots of babies fussing in the older Snugrides.

(-:

henrietta

Kabes · May 14, 2008

If I'm understanding correctly this isn't a safety issue or a comfort issue it is a health issue in regards to alignment - correct?

I am also big on keeping my kids in proper alignment and have noticed tons of difference in their health, behavior, and sleep habits when I haven't been keeping up with it. I understand your concern when the chiro tells you it could negatively affect you LOs alignment. IMO, it doesn't make much sense to me to pay money to have your son adjusted just to stick him in a carseat to take him home that cold undo it.

You've read the answers about adding a blanket. So I'm thinking your best option is probably a new seat.

crunchierthanthou · May 14, 2008

Have any of your other kids born since 2003 had issues with alignment? and really, how much time is he going to spend in there? you know better than to leave him propped in his seat all day. The difference is just a fraction of an inch, right? Telling you not to use that seat is like saying "don't lay him down on a blanket with a wrinkle." You could probably see a bigger difference in thickness depending on which cloth diaper you use that day. :twocents:

Defrost · May 14, 2008

I saw this at a recent check with a Discovery, and it was causing a problem for the baby. Mom had very skillfully added egg-crate foam behind the cover. I felt terrible explaining why it needed to be removed - she'd really done a great job with it, even cut slits precisely angled for the harness straps. She said she'd had to do it because her baby had actually been getting sores from sitting straight on the plastic! They have to take very long drives, so it wasn't a case of the baby "living" in the carseat, either.

She wound up moving the baby to her older child's convertible, which was better padded. (She moved her for other reasons as well, but they're not really relevant to this thread.)

It was definitely a good example of how all carseats might be equally safe, but they're not all equal. :thumbsdown:

southpawboston · May 14, 2008

i've always been very skeptical about carseats as they pertain to proper physique and ergonomic correctness. they don't generally seemed to be designed to accommodate both safety and anatomically supportive positioning. it would seem that they could do both, but i suppose that would also involve more cost, so the safety aspect has to come first.

Tara · May 14, 2008

Yes, this, to me, is about the alignment issue.
The other kids who have used this seat have not been checked by the chiro. So, I do not know if they have any issues.

Normally he won't be spending a LOT of time in the seat. Trips to town a couple times a week, that sort of thing. But, we will be headed up to see fam soon...an 8 hr drive. And of course, he won't be in there a steady 8 hr...but still.

And yeah, then this gets me to the 'infant vs convertible' dilemma as well. I use my infant seats. For the first 4 months maybe ?? When they seem to still sleep a lot, even/especially when out. But..that *is* just a few months...and we'd need a new convertible for him at that time anyway.

Oy.

Hubs really isn't going to like where this is headed now. LOL

Mama! · May 14, 2008

henrietta said:
I've heard of lots of babies fussing in the older Snugrides.

(-:

henrietta

I have an 03 model Snugride and dd SCREAMED and SCREAMED in it. Its the prevailing reason I turned her FF at 1.

joolsplus3 · May 14, 2008

I wouldn't worry about it one iota. Some kids do scream in those old snugrides, and they should go to convertibles (most are happier once they get out), but I don't think it's really causing permanent harm or we'd have millions of really messed up kids from the past few decades of unpadded infant seat use :twocents:

sivan · May 14, 2008

i had an 03 snugride and ds HATED it. screamed in it until i put him in his roundabout, which he LOVED.

Milkie&Cookie · May 14, 2008

I had an 02 snug ride and he SCREAMED in it all the time. When I flipped him FF at 14 months in a roundabout he was the happiest baby in the world. At the time I thought it was the FF, but now I really believe it was the seat.

When DD was born I threw out the snug ride and got her a Compass infant seat. It was fully lined in EPS foam. Nice and comfy and she was a happy baby in her seat :thumbsup:

crunchierthanthou · May 14, 2008

Ds would scream in our no EPS '04 SR, but was fine once we moved him to a RA at 5 mos. I think it was more the angle than the padding since we had a fleece liner in the SR.

.

Starlight · May 14, 2008

Am I the only perturbed by the chiro suggesting/implying to others that adding a padding would be appropriate?

christineka · May 14, 2008

I have an evenflo tribute seat that was the bare bones seat check version with no foam and a one piece chest clip. Other models of the seat have eps foam and two piece chest clips, so I called evenflo and ordered those items. I would try calling graco and ask if you could order the full shell foam insert. That foam stuff is really cheap.

Christine

My chiro brought something to my attention

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