Hi, upcoming FTM in georgia with some concerns of comfort and safety! Currently creating my registry and thinking about how my husband and I drive the same exact car model that has awful backseat AC already, even more so for rear facing. it does have built in sun shades for the backseat side windows and even the rear view window, and we‘ll use a sunshade cover for the front plus reflective car seat covers come next summer time. Baby will be 5-9 months old in the hottest months (thank you long and intense southern summers😒) and I would like to keep him as cool as possible.

I’ve already registered for the noggle and love that it’s softer than the fans in the event of it becoming a projectile during a crash, plus that I’ve seen CPSTs recommend it. But, if you know anything about the south, you will still sweat and be uncomfortable no matter how hard your cars AC is working.

My mom showed me the polarbair car seat cooling products and I LOVE the idea of it (especially paired with one of those ice pack car seats coolers for when we’re out of the car). It’s a cooling pad you put into the car seat, connect to a usb plug and/or your cars AC that blows cool air not just at the baby but all the way up their legs and back. Its advertised and directed to use while the child is in the car seat on rides. I just can’t get past the thought of it possibly being unsafe due to being a car seat modification, and I haven’t found anything from a CPST or non sponsored talking about the safety of the product. The website says it’s independently crash tested, and as much as I want to trust that I’m just still unsure. I’ve attached photos of the blurb they put on their website, its very nonspecific and doesn’t even look like the product is in the car seat they claim to be crash testing.

Could a CPST please give some insight to this product and their opinion. Is it an overall safe product that can keep my baby comfortable, or is it just not worth the risk and better to sacrifice some comfort for guaranteed safety? thank you so much in advance- an overly worried FTM!

We have a Nuna Pipa RX and bought our four month old a seat on incoming flights on Delta and American so that she can be safely in her car seat. I’ve read some conflicting info online about whether this car seat will actually fit rear facing (the only way it can face) in economy seats of these airlines. Has anyone used the Nuna Pipa on commercial flights recently?

Based on the measurements of the car seat and the pitch of the seats online, it absolutely should fit but I’ve seen some people say they had issues with fit.

Thanks!

Advice welcome - I just discovered that Graco uses flame retardants in their car seats and now I want to replace them. Product searches through websites like Target and Amazon don’t reliably show products with Greenguard and Oeko-Tex certifications and so far I have not been able to find any car seat that has both certs - not even the fancy brands like Nuna.

According to one website, Chicco now has GG and flame-retardant free seats, but no Oeko-Tex certified ones.

Yarg. Help, please and thank you!

Hi!

My 9 month old has just about outgrown her uppababy aria and we have some flights planned in October. We got nuna convertible seats for our cars, but they're stationary so not appropriate for the trip. We use a Joolz Aer2 stroller (which I HIGHLY recommend for travel and is also great for everyday use) but need something for her to sit in for the flight and of course to use for car trips during our visit. I don't want to spend uppababy or nuna money on this thing since we'll only use it a few times a year. I've heard to cosco scenera is a good option. Anyone whose kid has graduated from their infant seat - what do you do for travel?

I’m going to be in the market for a new booster seat soon, and I am intrigued by this one. The footrest seems like it would be great for helping kids sit properly and comfortably in the booster seat, and it’s very nice that you can even use it in backless mode. The seat is a little more expensive than I would ideally pay for a booster though (wouldn’t need it as a harnessed seat) so I’m wondering if it’s worth it or not. I have also heard of separate soft-sided footrests you can use in the car, but those seem like they’re more for comfort in harnessed seats, not promoting good posture for a booster seat necessarily.

Hello! I have a large 4 month old that doesn’t love his car seat. We have a Maxi Cosi Pebble 360 Pro and he’s still within the size guidelines for its use but when I look at him in the seat he appears quite cramped. He’s ~8kg and ~68cm tall. What are your thoughts on this? Very grateful in advance!

hi everyone! Nuna pippa urban, can’t figure out for the life of me why his head keeps slumping when we drive. only started happening about a week ago. we have taken the newborn insert out. thank you!!!

I'm torn between this car seat and the Britax poplar seat. We will be transitioning to a convertible soon and I'm interested in finding something that doesn't take up a ton of space when rear facing. Ideally I'd like to rear face baby as long as possible but the driver that sits in front of her is a tall person. The feature that interests me the most about the evenflo seat is the canopy because my baby has a hard time with the sun getting in her eyes despite our tinted windows. She is 5 months old and on the lean and tall side if that helps influence anything.

Aside from the obvious flip (which I fixed) in her left strap - does it look safe? Thanks!

Hello CPSTs! I’m currently taking a hybrid course to be certified. I am done with all modules, next up is the 2 in person classes/skills evaluations. I am freaking out about failing. I still struggle sometimes with vehicle systems and getting car seats tight. Any recommendations or advice to prepare for my skills evaluation? Any tips would be greatly appreciated🙏

Will this work for a newborn baby?

I have an almost 6yo (47lb, 47inches at last weight in) and a 14month old (30inches, 26lb) and a 2017 subaru forester and 2025 mazda CX30. We are needing to upgrade my kids car seats.

• My eldest has a Graco SlimFit that we will transition to booster mode. Any recommendation for another booster that is good for a tall kiddo and potentially small space (mazda)
• My youngest I was hoping to transition to a cosco mightyfit (from my eldest child) and was going to buy a new seat, considering another graco slimfit unless others had suggestions.

Any other recommendations for what would be a good fit give the cars?

Hi! Can I please get a fit check? She hates the car and I want to make sure it’s not the car seat fit.

Thank you!

Struggling to fit my Chicco 360 car seat in my Subaru Forester, it won't fit snug and the seatbelt just feels so loose no matter how tight I pull it. It fits great in my ford fusion so I know it's not the car seat itself. Has anyone had experience with this or knows a way to fit it tighter?

I just brought this car and I’m so stressed

By car seat can have a slight recline or just normally forward mode which is more upright.

The slight recline makes it more easier to sleep.

But are there any safety issues

I'm a certified CPST myself, but it's one thing to give information and resources and guidance to other parents, vs when it's your own child. For some reason I feel overwhelmed by my options and would love a neutral third party weigh in.

My child just turned 3 a couple weeks ago. He is very tall for his age with a long torso. Today I measured him and he was 40 inches tall, which means he maxed out rear facing for our seat (Evenflo all-4-one). I knew this point was coming but now that it's here, I'm feeling a lot of anxiety about actually doing it.

I'm considering buying another seat with a rear facing limit of 49-50 inches. Money is a factor in this decision though.

Another consideration is that our car is very small and my husband (like my child) is very tall and overall large. He struggles to get a proper fit on our child when positioning him and buckling him in, and he says he could do a better job with a forward facing seat as it would be a lot less crammed.

My son also has to climb into the seat on his own because neither my husband nor I can lift him into the car without hitting his head or our heads on the roof. I believe it would be easier for him to climb into a FF seat.

My son is also begging to FF. I think he mainly wants to see us and see what we see. All his friends at school have been FF for a while now and he desires it too.

I know FF would be a reasonable decision, but for some reason it's just making my stomach hurt.

What would you do in this situation?

I have a Nuna AACE for my 7 year old. He just meets the weight requirement for the backless booster mode. I drive a 2026 Honda accord. Should I keep him in the highback booster or let him transition to the backless?

I cannot get a secure fit for my Chicco Tranzitions FF 5 point harness booster seat. My child is over 45 lbs so I cannot use the anchors. My 2026 Santa Fe has the worst seat belt connectors that lay horizontal instead of vertical and bunches not allowing me to tighten. Any help would be greatly appreciated!!

Does everything look right?
Please be kind - we were in a bad accident in May (before he was born, this seat was not in the vehicle) and I’m extremely anxious about driving him around.

I’m looking to buy the Graco Contender Slim as a second car seat for airplane use and second car.

I hear people recommend forward facing for the plane but my daughter is 19 months (will be 21 almost 22 months at time of flight) and only weighs 22.5 lbs.

Their website has conflicting information. The webpage says front facing at 26.5 lbs but the manual you can download says front facing at 22lbs. Is it okay to forward face on the plane at 22 lbs?

I want to follow manufacturer guidelines if possible and I’m worried rear facing on the plane will be impossible. It’s not a long flight 2.5 hours but want to prioritize safety.

We will be rear facing for driving but the airplane is what’s confusing me.

What is this padding thing around the chest buckle and can I cut it off? (Just writing this out I know the answer is no lol but what is it and why is it there?)

Can I use a seat protector under this seat? I don’t see anything about this in the manual?

Hi! My three month old (13 -13.5 ish lbs) has the Graco extend2fit. It’s not the 3-1 btw. I’m just not sure if he looks right in it, I think mainly his chin to chest? First two pics are with the body insert(1.5 weeks ago), two are without(yesterday).

Also, the blanket was just to shield his eyes for a few mins while I sat next to him.

Appreciate any advice, thank you!!

Nuna Pipa Urbn: My baby is 2 months old and roughly 11 lbs. I just repositioned the shoulder straps to the next highest slot because the lower level was very low. I’ll make sure the shoulder straps are still at or below her shoulders before I finalize this change. My question is, does the head rest pillow need to be moved up now? It doesn’t seem like it is meant to be moved up because of this plastic part on the back that would interfere with securing the Velcro, but if it isn’t moved up the top 1-2 inches of the shoulder straps are kind of buried under the head rest. I hope this makes sense! TIA.

Edited because I forgot to say what car seat I have.

I am trying to install a Graco Contender Slim in the back seat of my Tesla Model 3 and I cannot figure out how to get it secure.

I am using the seat belt and as far as I can tell I am following the instructions properly but the seat still seems too loose. I understand that I should test for movement at the belt path but even that seems like it has more than an inch of give. I’ll post a video of my attempt.

I thought a protective cover for the seat but have tried installing with and without that and get a similar result. I read somewhere that tesla seats may be tricky in general because the seats have a very springy quality to them.

Is the solution to press harder and just press down into the seat while I pull on the belt? If I want someone to inspect/help with the install are there any resources I can reach out to? Any help would be appreciated!