Parent Tip on upgrading the car seat
A while back we "upgraded" Baby Girl's car seat from the infant seat that came with her travel system and clicked into a base in the car, to a convertible car seat (still rear facing, but supports up to 30 lbs after which converts to a front-facing seat).
We did our research on consumer reports and got a great convertible car seat that Baby Girl just loves. But we neglected one little tiny detail.
The convertible car seat doesn't have that handy sun visor to shield her from the sunlight streaming in the car windows that the infant seat did. For the most part we didn't need it; it's been pretty darn grey and dark the last couple of months. But yesterday was sunny and Baby Girl was MOST annoyed at the sunlight hitting her right in her eyes while we were running errands yesterday.
So - parent tip to avoid a cranky baby: When you buy your next car seat, unless you have a car with tinted windows, be sure to also buy something that will shield Baby from the sunlight at the same time. You can try getting those little pull-down sun shades that attach to the windows with suction cups (buy 2 or even 3 in that case so you can put them on the back window as well as the rear passenger window), or you can try a hat with a brim, or even sun glasses if Baby will tolerate them. Just get something, anything, that will help keep the sun out of her eyes so she's not completely annoyed for the duration of the car trip (because it's really not fun to be driving while you have an annoyed baby in the back seat!) And while you're at it, pick up some good baby sunscreen too since car windows typically aren't going to block the harmful UV rays from the sun either.
Comments
Unfortunately I don't think they make toddler seats with sun shields but if you find something, please let us know! Everyone I've talked to has the same problem. The suction cup things didn't stay up well for us and side visability was poor for the driver. We did buy some window film that works ok - just can't roll down the window and smooth application on the window required patience. Sun screen is your best bet! Or a strategically draped towel...
Posted by Debra on February 21, 2006 1:07 PM.they don't but we didn't even think of the fact that the sun would be in her eyes until... well... the sun was in her eyes ;-)
Posted by heather on February 21, 2006 3:26 PM.