How do I install these car seats?!

You asked and you shall now receive. It’s only fair for us to share all of this stored up knowledge about a baby and what happens once the baby is born until they are no longer called a baby but a toddler! We now will answer, in a very public forum, all of those burning questions about babies and those first 12 months. Each Tuesday, we will tackle a commonly-asked-question from the point of view of a new parent. Chiming in to give her feedback will be three women who have been there and done that: an expert (you know someone who does this for a living), a mom from our community (for the “best” friend advice you need) and a Mommybites’ team member (someone who will promise to give you the REAL deal and no fluff). Earmark, share and add your own input to today’s question; it’s good karma.

How do I install these car seats?!

Expert: Dr. Gina Lamb – Amato

Talk about stressful! This for me was one of the most stressful things when I had my own baby as I was worried if the car seat was installed properly and if my baby was securely and safely placed. Here’s a brief summary about installing car seats. First read the car seat manual. You can also go on your car seat website and usually there is video on installing the car seat. Car seats should be installed in the rear facing position starting in infancy until as long as possible (up to 2 years of age or when your baby has reached the maximum weight for the car seat.) Place the car seat in the middle of the backseat, which is the safest place in the car. Unless your car is older than 2002 you will use the LATCH (Lower Anchors and Tether System for children), which attaches the car seat to permanently attached anchors in the car. Familiarize yourself with the car seat harness so you can adjust the straps for your baby, which should be snug without any gaps. The harness plastic chest clip should be at your baby’s armpit level. The straps should lie flat and should be tight enough so no more than your two fingers can get between the harness and your baby’s collarbone. If you want to be absolutely sure your baby’s car seat is properly installed you can contact NYPD (New York Police Department) or DOT (Department of Transportation) to find out where you can have the car seat installation inspected to make sure the car seat is installed properly and your baby is safe.

Mom: Sara Pinto

Now, if you live in Manhattan (as I do) you probably won’t be faced with this question. But I have heard that your local fire station can check you’ve installed your car seat correctly. However, I have been asked how do you catch a cab with a stroller which I think is be a more pertinent question for Manhattanites. My advice would be:
#1: Don’t panic. If a cab driver doesn’t want to help he/she will probably just drive straight past you!
#2: Once someone does stop, take the car seat/bassinet off of the stroller (do not let go of it)
#3: Ask the taxi driver to open the trunk and put in the stroller
#4: Get in the cab with the car seat/bassinet
#5: Upon arrival at your destination ask the driver to get the stroller and put it on the sidewalk for you
#6: Give the driver a big tip and smile
Good job! You did it!

Mommybites’ team: Elise Jones

Even when you don’t own a car, you have to have a car seat to take a baby home from the hospital. When you have a new baby, you have what most moms refer to as a bucket seat. These are the easiest to install into cars because you can use a base and snap it into and out of the base at will or without a base, you can run a seat belt through the car seats hooks too. Check out your seat’s instruction manual or go to the manufacturer’s website for more detailed information on your specific seat (they even have instructional YouTube videos too). If you are in doubt, a great in-person resource for learning more is your local fire department; they even do safety checks several times a year as well as will install the seat for you at any time.

About our team

Dr. Gina Lamb – Amato MD

Gina is a general pediatrician and developmental pediatrician who works at Village Pediatrics and Agho Medical practices both in Manhattan, NY. She has a masters in child therapy and works with a child psychologist Rosa Vasquez PhD performing office and home consultation for newborns and parents, office and home developmental assessments, school consultations and parent child playgroups where play and art along with baby massage and other techniques are used to help parents bond and support their child’s development. Formerly, Gina was the Director of Pediatric Special Medical Needs before she went into private practice where she cared for medically fragile infants and children. She is also a Early Intervention Pediatrician for Early Intervention which assesses and treats infants from age zero to 3 years. She has extensive experience in Early Head Start programs which work with infants from prenatal to 3 years of age. She is the mother of a beautiful daughter who is 3 years old and the joy of my life. Her husband is an artist, producer and owns Synchronicity Space, a non-profit arts organization that supports emerging artist in fine art and theatre. Finally, she is also an artist who paints mainly babies and children.

Sara Pinto

Sara has one daughter who is 2 1/2 months. In her professional life, she is the Director of the Professional & Scholarly Publishing (PSP) Division at the Association of American Publishers.

Elise Jones

Elise is the social media director and blog editor for Mommybites. She is responsible for engaging and investigating a variety of parenting topics found on babybites’ social media channels: parenting videos (webbybites), blog, Facebook, Twitter, and BlogTalkRadio show. The Mommybites’ blog is an outlet for moms who are in search of information to support them in their role as a parent. Prior to working with Mommybites, Elise was a teacher and worked in corporate PR. She is a wife and loving mom of two lovely girls and currently resides in New Jersey. In her spare time (HA!) she performs in the theater and is an active member of her local public arts council as well as blogs at Here in This House.

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Like what you see? Here are our past Ask & You Shall Receive Baby columns:

• When should my baby sleep through the night?

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