Car seat time!!!!

During my first pregnancy I went to Babies R Us to register. I did not think about the safety of the car seat I was about to put on my registry. I was all about style and color. I thought the Graco seats were so ugly and settled on a Chicco Keyfit. I was not thrilled with what it looked like but I had to pick something.

Fast forward to being 35 weeks along. It was midnight and my water broke. Derek was out of town. I had a slow leak and was not sure what was going on. Long story short I tried to get some sleep and thought my contractions were just cramps. I went to work where I taught second grade. My water gushed in front of my students and I knew it was time to head to labor and delivery.

I delivered my healthy baby boy at 8:45 pm. His daddy made it to the hospital at 8:00 pm. He was a tiny 4 pounds 15 ounces. When it was time to go home 5 days later he was 4 pounds 5 ounces.

After our Big G was born Derek went to Babies R Us to buy the Chicco car seat that we had registered for...little did I know it was one of the few that could hold a 4 pound baby. Our car seat was rated for 4-22 pounds. Big G had to go through a car seat test and the nurse gave me wonderful tips for the car seat.

*When rear facing- the shoulder straps should be at or below your child's shoulders

*When forward facing- the shoulder straps should be above your child's shoulders

*The CHEST clip is just that..a chest clip. Keep this right at your child's arm pits. This is very important.

*The straps should be very snug. You should not be able to pinch any extra material on the strap.

*Don't use after market car seat products with your seats. This means the wonderful Bundle Me and head supports

*Don't put heavy coats/snowsuits on you children if they will be in the car seat. This is a big no no. Put a light weight fleece jacket on your child. If it's cold put your child's coat on AFTER you get out of the car.

Extend rear facing is wonderful. Please take the time to watch this it's a great video about rear facing. It's now recommended to rear face until 2 years old.

Here are some pics of my rear facing kiddos. Notice the chest clip...

Please feel free to add any other tips to this. I love car seat safety!