SS1 harness question

[mamoomorgan]

A friend of mine had a baby 2 days ago and I went to see them at the hospital. I was there when they were getting ready to leave so I helped with the carseat. Fortunately it was my old seat, unfortunately they had packed the manual away.
Anyway, their baby is much tinier than mine was and even with the shoulder straps on the shorter loop they were still loose. When I flipped the seat over it looked like you could shorten the straps at the hips as well, I did it.... is this allowed? I told the dh to check the manual when he got home but they have a new baby so he may not.
Also we installed the base using LATCH in the center position of a Toyota.... damn, not yaris, I think a bit bigger... and it seemed to be borrowing from the outside positions, is this allowed?

On a side note the nurse checked the baby in the seat before they could leave and said he was perfect! BUT.... they didn't check the seat in the car. When we went down and I checked the base it was so loose it nearly fell off the seat! What use is it to have the baby properly in the seat if the base isn't buckled properly? At least the hospital got it half right.
Luckily I could show the dh how to do it tightly, I'm just hoping the center with LATCH is allowed.

TIA,
Morgan.

 

[An Aurora]

Does Toyota allow center LATCH?

FYI, since most nurses aren't CPSTs they are not allowed to check the seat in the car. It's a huge liability for the hospital to have someone not certified doing that.

 

[jsta1005]

yes you can tighten the harness at the hips.

 

[QuassEE]

Centre LATCH isn't allowed for any Toyota vehicles that I'm aware of, unless they have dedicated anchors for that seating position.

 

[2BunniesMommy]

As posted above, yes, they can be tightened at the hips also.

I am a mom/baby nurse in a hospital and we are specifically told to make sure the parents have a seat, but not to install or check installs or anything like that for liability reasons.

I am wanting to ask my dept manager if the hospital would find it useful for me to get certified and if so I would on doing so. I really want to be certified but DH is against it unless it would be useful at my job. I work nights and don't see her often, but am really hoping it is something the hosp would be interested in.

 

[snowbird25ca]

As posted above, yes, they can be tightened at the hips also.

I am a mom/baby nurse in a hospital and we are specifically told to make sure the parents have a seat, but not to install or check installs or anything like that for liability reasons.

I think in Canada there's also the issue of nurse shortages that I'm guessing plagues hospitals across the country. There aren't enough nurses on L&D wards around here to be going down to parents cars to check installs on discharge. They discharge someone and usually that room has a mom who has just given birth moved in to it within a couple hours... I believe the only time a nurse goes down to the vehicle is if the parent is using a convertible seat from birth - and that's pretty rare around here with our cold climate. And honestly, I'm not 100% sure that they check it then vs. take mom & dad's word for it since moms usually walk out of the hospital at discharge and aren't accompanied the way I've heard some hospitals do in the US.

I don't think hospitals worry as much about liability here as they do in the US, but without trained techs there's really no good that a nurse would be able to do anyways - they wouldn't be any different from a parent, and nothing stopping them from making the same common mistakes parents make. A parent having read the manual is more likely - IMO, to get it correct than a nurse who isn't familiar with the specific instructions for any given seat...

I'm not sure why the SS1 would've been loose with the seatbelt in the center.. I've never seen a really super difficult seatbelt install of the SS1 - it usually goes in easy. They'll have to switch to seatbelt if they want to leave her in the center. It just may be a matter of dad needing to tighten the belt more before closing the lock-off. :thumbsup:

 

[mamoomorgan]

Thanks everyone for the responses. I'll phone them this am and get them to move the seat to the side until I can teach them how to install with the seat belt. I agree that the SS1 is easy to install with a belt but this dh has never done it. He did use the lock off but only with the belt as tight as a person would have it on their lap.
There is a bit of a lump in the center so I think for ease they should use LATCH on the side. I'll see them again on Tuesday (they may not even go anywhere before then) and I can play with it then.
As for the nurses, I totally understand. I also understand that it's the parents responsibility, I just wish she had said a "reminder", like "make sure the base is as tight as possible in the car" or something.

Thanks again everyone.

Morgan.

p.s. I guess it threw me with the LATCH because my Toyota has them in the center and there was a tether anchor in that spot. I wish I had thought to do the install without mom and baby down at the car waiting in the wind, I would have checked the car manual.

 

[pastrygirl]

p.s. I guess it threw me with the LATCH because my Toyota has them in the center and there was a tether anchor in that spot. I wish I had thought to do the install without mom and baby down at the car waiting in the wind, I would have checked the car manual.

I just did a quick check in the LATCH manual, and it looks like only the Sequoia and Land Cruiser have LATCH in the center. Toyota doesn't allow borrowing of the outboard LATCH anchors to install a seat with LATCH in the center position. ETA: Unless it's different in Canada... sorry! I usually pay attention to the folder, but this time I didn't.