Car Seat Safety with Juliana from Car Seats and More

Learn all you need to know about installing your baby’s car seat and keeping them safe in the car.

Connect with Shelly: 

• Insta: https://www.instagram.com/shellytaftibclc/
• Website: Massachusetts IBCLC | Lactation Consultant – Shelly Taft

Connect with Juliana:

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/carseatsandmore/
• Website: https://carseatsandmore.com/

Article: First Girl Born in Family In Over 100 years: https://www.fox2detroit.com/news/familys-first-girl-born-in-130-years-spike-departs-mojo-in-the-morning-woman-pays-70k-debt-in-two-years

00:00

Elon Musk is gonna hate me for this but the Tesla’s know, there is a problem with the Tesla’s and it kind of depends on the year. I mean, I don’t want to go too much in on the vehicles. But that isn’t because they’re not friendly for car seats. And Tesla’s is one of them when you have a kid that is forward facing, or do you have a kid with a high back booster because the head race is insert right there, so you can’t take it off? Elon Musk, I’m sorry, dude, but you need to think about that. I don’t know.

00:32

Hi, I’m Shelly. And I’m Maria. And you’re listening to the baby pro podcast, where we talk about everything in anything related to pregnancy and through the first year of your child’s life. Every episode we will discuss an interview experts and all the answers to the questions expectant and new parents want to know, such as creating the perfect birth plan, infancy and tips and tricks for parenting a newborn and welcome to the show.

00:57

Hey, Maria. Hey, Shelly. You were just telling me that Rambler? Rambler, yeah. Rambler, you know, like a little Rambler rambling, and he is lost in the corners of the house because he kind of lost in Morgan’s boys.

01:15

In here, I’ll just try to find his way around.

01:17

Yeah, he’s trying really hard. Thank you, Morgan. Morgan is trying to make a path for him. On his way out.

01:26

How long have you had him?

01:28

almost 14 years? 13 and a half ish. He’s, he’s approaching 15. So a long time.

01:37

I have a question for you. Do you have more females or more males in your family? By family? I mean, like cousin siblings?

01:45

That’s a good question. Because my family is not very close. We’re all pretty kind of scattered. And there’s a lot of like, half cousins and half siblings and things like that. I would say there’s probably a good mix. Like, yeah, I wouldn’t say there’s necessarily dramatically more on one side or the other. I will say that the women in my family tend to live much longer than the men though,

02:13

in my family, and we’re mostly women. Like, my mom had two sisters. And there’s like eight cousins, and only one of them is male.

02:23

Yeah. My mom and my mom had two sisters. My dad had two brothers and a sister. My brother and I are split. My aunt had two daughters, and a son. So we’re pretty even in the middle. Yeah, I wouldn’t say I’m like trying to think of like extended cousins and stuff like that. I’m like, No, there’s got some girls and some boy, really kind of an even mix.

02:49

was reading this news story in Michigan. It there was a baby girl born into a family for the first time in 130. Year

03:01

I read that story. I thought that meeting as well.

03:05

For the first time in over 130 years, a Michigan family has welcomed the baby girl, little Audrey Clark is a unicorn. She will be the first girl born to the clock family since the late 1800s. The betta cheat that Mama right?

03:22

No, I didn’t find that interesting considering how dominant the female species is. If humanity like just as a statistical number. There’s more women than there are men, more females than males in the world. Jeff mourn. That came out poorly. But I think you know what I meant what I

03:47

meant. I totally meant like, I wonder if there’s something genetic going on there. Like if I were like, I don’t know. I just I would be itching to get my hands on. To take a look.

04:04

That’s interesting. Yeah.

04:06

So I thought that was cool. But I do have our question of the week. And this week’s question was submitted to us through Instagram. And if you have a question that you want Maria and I to answer on the podcast, you can DM it to me on Instagram at Shelly Taft ibclc and this week’s question is, can I breastfeed after general anesthesia, I have to have surgery and the surgeon has told me that I have to pump and dump after 24 hours for 24 hours. Phrase pump

04:39

it up. I hate it so much. Every time I hear that phrase come out of anybody’s mouth, it makes me cringe. There are so few circumstances where you actually have to pump and dump anymore. And no you don’t have to pump it up after general anesthesia.

04:54

Yeah, that’s the I think. I think what’s important to remember is people who go under We’ll see sections. Sometimes they need general anesthesia. And if you’re working with people who are familiar with birth and breastfeeding, like an anesthesiologist who works, you know, does a lot of epidurals or spinal blocks for labor and delivery, they’re going to know that yes, you can breastfeed after.

05:18

There’s no like time limit. I mean, the only time limit being your own personal recovery and how you’re feeling and what your plan is,

05:27

yeah, but I feel like other providers who don’t work with pregnant and birthing women a lot, those are the ones that are saying. So it’s not going to be your OB who, who gives you this incorrect information? It’s going to be like the surgeon taking out your gallbladder or something like that.

05:45

Yeah, but I do. I am disappointed. The number of folks who still don’t know that information, like why don’t you just know that?

05:56

And it’s okay, if you don’t know it, but you should at least know where to find out.

06:00

And I am. And I really think it’s important that for the medical community, we need to start Sure, I want to put this without like ruffling a bunch of feathers. You need to start educating yourself on a lactating body. And what what that means, because most medication is safe for breastfeeding. And there are usually very few circumstances where it isn’t safe for breastfeeding. And instead of saying, I’m not sure, let me find out. And also knowing where to go to find out, people just err on the side of you should just pump it up, or just give the baby a bottle for this amount of time. Like it’s so unfriendly to the breastfeeding community to just assume that you can’t, because of some procedure, because you’re on an educated because you don’t know where to ask the question. And, frankly, I’m a little annoyed at how many healthcare providers are unwilling to say, I’m not sure, let me look into it for you.

07:10

I always say the best providers, the one who does who knows what they don’t know,

07:14

it’s true, because people need to stop assuming that their provider knows all the answers, because most providers don’t and especially in the pediatric community, unless it’s a really specialized field or topic. They really aren’t going to have a lot of the answers. They’re going to know a little bit about a lot of things. Yeah. Not the specifics. For example,

07:44

remember when we worked at the hospital that we worked at. And there is a big issue because moms were going for CAT scan, and they’re getting contrast dyes, and what were they told you have to pump and dump for 24 hours, even though it wasn’t true? Do you remember how much work it was to convince that department that they don’t have to tell moms that they shouldn’t be telling moms to pump and dump?

08:15

I believe we had to sound like actual research studies to the head of a specific

08:22

team. That’s how we started but it took over a year for them to finally agree to change their policy.

08:28

Oh, wow. Nothing, nothing happens quickly and administration for sure.

08:31

The meanwhile for support even after they got all that information, even after they saw, you know the the research showing that moms don’t have to pump and dump for an entire year. There were still moms being made to pump and that’s what makes me so angry. Right? What makes me so angry.

08:51

And I do try to share with as many people as possible. The infant risk center in Texas is a research facility that specializes in lactating people and medication and how those things interact in the breastfeeding community. And anybody can call them and get in touch with them and be like, Hey, can I breastfeed while I’m taking this medication. And the reason I liked them and the reason I tried to refer to them, even though they’re they’re still a little bit behind, it takes them a little bit to really catch up to the current stuff. They’re still miles ahead of the general pediatric community. But it’s important for people who are taking multiple medications and they think that’s really a big thing. It’s really easy to kind of to be able to refer to a single medication that somebody is taking, you can Google it and find out from the National Library of Medicine, whether it’s safe or not. But if you’re taking combinations of medicine, that’s when sometimes it can be tricky, and the infant rescue seminars are really helpful resource for families and providers.

09:58

Right and when you do call them you Want to have the names of your medications available along with your dosages? Because that’s one of the questions that they will be asking.

10:07

But super helpful. They’re only open Monday through Friday, like regular business hours. I do hope that someday they’ll be. Their call center will be open like seven days a week, but I’ll take what I can get for now.

10:21

Love that resource, and I’ll put that in the show notes. This week, we’re talking all about car seat safety with Juliana Amador. She is a mom and a National Car Seat certified technician. When she had her daughter Julianna knew that there were so many questions, doubts and a lot of anxiety around one subject car seat safety, she found that there was no clarity or even an approachable way to learn about car seat safety for parents, and this led her to become a child passenger safety tech. Juliana is now proudly empowering parents to confidently secure their children in a car seat all in a non judgmental environment. Because let’s face it, parenthood is difficult and far from perfect. As a National Car Seat certified expert, Juliana spent time with parents who want to ease their mind and heart about safely transporting the children in a car seat. Some parents come for guidance, some for reassurance, but all with one goal their children’s safety. Aside from her private consultations, Juliana stays up to date by attending webinars and CPR conferences regionally in New York and around the United States. She also participates in free community carseat checkups in New York City. She loves to educate her local community about car seat safety. Hi, Juliana. How are you? Hi, Shelly. How are you? Good. Can you tell us a little bit about yourself?

11:43

Right. So my name is Juliana motherhood, I must say CPST child, passenger safety technician. And I’m dedicated my life right now to educate parents in Child Passenger Safety, how to install car seats and best practices, do’s and don’ts and stuff like that. The actually makes my heart happy every single time that I can approach a parent about the subject. And you know, I want to call myself, I’m saving little kid’s life while riding in the car seat.

12:12

That’s it. And how did you get into it? Well,

12:15

the funny thing is when you become a mom, and is the first step for everything, I noticed myself, I didn’t have the resources. I didn’t have the tools in carseat safety and I’m telling you the most scary ride on my life was when I was I left the hospital and I’m going to my house and have a little kid a little baby newborn baby in a car seat. And my question was, Is she safe? Is the car seat properly install? Is she harnessing safely and this and that? What happened is when you leave the hospital, you don’t know anything. And when you ask the nurses, sometimes they were like, Yeah, you look good, because they can’t do anything about it. First off, they don’t have the certification. And second is a liability for them. And I was like now this has to change because I need answers, I need the tools. And I need to spread the word in our store parents too, as well because they need it too as well. So that’s how all these things started.

13:09

And I think it’s really important because and maybe you can tell me this is not a correct statistics but I’ve always heard that 80% of car seats are improperly or incorrectly and stuff actually

13:19

is actually 95

13:22

No

13:27

So is actually 95 for newborn babies and infant car seats and then you can go to three out of four car seats are installing properly in the car and kids are harness incorrectly in the car seat. So that’s a staggering number. Now we need to tackle so when you leave the hospital and your newborn baby I always question myself Is she gonna be part of the 95% or she’s gonna be on the 5% of safety of the of the car seat installation but it’s a high number and people don’t realize why do you think

13:59

it’s that way? Like why do you think so many and stuff do you think you know why in like the development of cars these

14:05

days it’s just I feel like we we divide our attention to something else versus the safety because we just say that was the car seat and you’re gonna put it in the car and that’s it call it a day you know, you can’t worry about the nursery room, the the clothes and all that stuff and I get it we are in that mindset of taking care of our kid and prepare them for coming into into our house. But we forget the most important part is from the hospital to the house. And there is not enough resources outside in terms of make awareness of the situation am I say that’s been changing because there is a lot of CPST that are coming into social media. And I’ve seen a lot of social media news and stuff like that. But however, there is a lot of work that we need to do about that. I feel like it’s just a matter of time to get all things together for parents to understand the curtsy safety is very important. And the other thing that I want to Add to as well is that most of the instructions on how to insert the carseat are not clear. Yes, you see a graphic Yes, you can read at step one, step two, step three. But when reality is when you go to insert the carseat, everything can happen wrong, because the car scene is not compatible with the car and with the vehicle that you’re driving, you might need to troubleshoot the car, see, then you don’t know how to do it. And then the angle on the car seat is not properly adjusted. There is so many factors that can go wrong in the late the proper installation. And parents are like, now what? You know what, I’m just going to put it like this and call it a day. We shouldn’t do that.

15:40

Right? But it is that’s that’s kind of like, you get that quote unquote message everywhere. Because what are older generations say all the time? Well, we didn’t even have car seats, and we turned out fine and, and all this stuff. But it is really important. And I’m glad that there’s people out there like you who can get that message across, but the certification behind it because if you ever want to start drama and a moms group, just post a picture of your baby in their car, see and sit back and eat the popcorn and watch the drama go down. Because for some reason, it is such a touchy topic. And there are so many times when I’m scrolling through Facebook and someone’s posting a picture of their baby in the car seat. And you can see that the harness isn’t on correctly, you can see that the baby’s not fitting in the car seat correctly. But you also know if you say something you’re going to be viewed in a negative light.

16:31

Yeah. And you know what? That’s a good point. First of all, we’re just gonna talk about a little bit of survivorship bias does when we say but we didn’t have car seats in the past and your turn are fine. We you know, that’s that’s something that he always comes to my mind because I hear it and especially for older people, because obviously their way was their way many years ago. But now we have new ways in this new ways of safety, and unsafe and I’m sorry, so that survivorship ship bias is like canceling for the people who really got injured and stuff like that in car seats in crashes. Right? And they are feeling about mom groups on Facebook. I think we need to be a little more kind with our own with our own mothers out there. Because when you put a picture of the baby, yes, you get in vulnerable about it and people is going to look every single detail and go at it. I say just say hi, listen, I noticed something in your car, see, would you be open to some suggestions to correct the situation, instead of going 10 miles per hour bla bla bla bla bla and make him feel that mom insecure about it and bad about it. And that creates a little bit of resistance towards questions in the future if you are unsure about your carseat installation, and that’s wrong.

17:53

I love that asking permission. Yeah, given the the education that’s amazing. is important. Yes. So when you’re when you’re talking about which car seat you should choose what are some of the key elements that you think parents should look at? Oh,

18:12

all right. So there is a bigger spectrum of whatever courses you’re going to need because of the pain of which stage the child is. So if you have a newborn baby or an infant, obviously, you’re going to need an infant carseat like they have here and right behind me. And then that baby already outgrew this one, then you can move to something more like this one over here, there is a convertible all in one. So it depends on the stage of where your child is. So you have an infant in Sunnybank Garcia and you have a toddler you can move to all in one or comparable one. And then if you are outgrowing that stage then you can move your kid to a booster and then from booster we can go to a seatbelt installation you know those are the phases pretty much that the kids go through from infant to booster to finally sit down is actually be people don’t believe it but it’s actually a process from zero years to 13 years kind of thing. So I said 13 years because during as is the age they can finally move to the front seat they should be in the backseat until 13 years of age. So there’s a whole process is a whole journey and and most of the mistakes that I see is transitioning precisely from one stage to the other one and the other one is going from the back seat to the front seat when they’re not even ready for it because seat belts are for adults and car seats and boosters are for kids.

19:35

Yeah, and I think it depends like every like well that’s like a good follow up question when should parents transition because I’ve heard it’s by age I’ve heard it’s by way I heard it’s by Hi, which one is most important? I know personally, my my youngest is very small for age, although he’s finally catching up and he was in a booster with the five point harness for a lot longer than his classmates. And I ended up when I went drop him off at school, I ended up having to kind of like, drop him off down the street because he didn’t want any of his friends. You know, like, I’m sorry, dude, you’re just a little tiny. So when when should parents transition? Because it seems like most of the general information out there is based on age. Yeah, where I find that the weight and the height are more important. Do you feel the same way I feel

20:25

the same way is like, oh, no, my kid is already two years old. So I’m gonna put a forward facing now we already know that we’re facing is the safest position. So what I said parents is max out either way, your height or your car seat instructions, you know, say, for example, my car seat says 40 pounds. And we know for the pound kid, that could be a kid between three to five, six years of age, because it depends on how the core, the growth record of the child is right by height, and we have taller kids in United States is kind of normal to have taller kids. So I would go to max out first weight or height of the car seat, like max out those important things of your car seat, and then you can move to the next stage. Don’t do it by age, sometimes by age, the kid is not even mature to stay properly seated in a car seat or a booster. You know, I think one thing that I see the most is when we are transitioning the kids from the regular car seat to a high back booster booster, when the kids are not even mature enough to do it. So for example, they’re gonna move, they see something on the floor, and they’re gonna lay down to come pick it out, or they’re gonna start sleeping. And then the seat belt is now properly in position in the collarbone of the other of their body, and stuff like that, you know, you can’t help it, kids are going to fall asleep in the car, regardless. So in booster position, I see kids that are not ready in this position. And it’s dangerous under this lashing down like this. And that’s not okay. So I’d say by way, the height regarding depending on your car seat and the maturity level or your kid, that’s important.

22:06

And once they hit the max of one, it’s you transition them, right, they don’t have to meet the maximum weight and height. It could be

22:12

No, no. Yeah, it can be one of the other. My daughter, for example, she’s going to do it by high instead of way that she’s she’s a petite, but she’s a long kid. So I know for a fact that she is going to transition by height instead of white.

22:26

Can we talk a little bit more about rear facing because when I know my my youngest is 13. So okay, because I’ve not been in car seats for a while. But I remember when I had my babies, it was rear facing until a year. And then extended rear facing was this huge thing in the parenting community that people would have arguments about and it was like No, keep your kid rear facing as long as possible. And then the AP recommended up to two years where you’re facing and people were losing their minds over that. I’m not turning my kid back around, whatever. So I would just like to know your thoughts about rear facing and how long to keep your baby rear facing?

23:02

Well, so we know now that rear facing is the safest position to ride the car seat, right. And the reason why is because we want to protect the head, neck and spine on the child. So in the case of an accident, you want the car seat to create all those energies in those forces and not to touch your child and not to do an extreme force force facing forward versus rear facing you are slashing this way in the car seat is protecting your right. So that’s why we say rear facing is the most important safest position. Can you do it until the child is five years of age? Absolutely. Your car seats so that you are still on the way or high of limits are for the rear facing position. Go for it, you know, two years of age is like kind of the minimum because babies or kids are mature enough to sustain a little better the forces of a crash. But still two years of age is still young. And those were those little bombs. And those little bodies had not matured enough that they’re just doing two years of aid because they saw people forward facing their kids or eight months, one year. And that’s way too soon for them to be in that inner forward facing position. And the other thing is to the reclined position too, as well. You know, you want to the kid sitting in a comfortable way too as well. Versus if it’s too upright and the body is not mature enough. If the kid is gonna cry, and then you’re gonna be like, my kid is crying in the car. See, I don’t know what is going on. Well, that’s what is going on.

24:28

And what about parents who say that they’re afraid to keep their baby rear facing because they’re worried like the kid looks uncomfortable with their legs bunched up or they’re worried that they’re going to break the leg if they do get in a car crash.

24:40

Now I’m going to say something and it is going to sound a little bit kind of wrong, but you want your kid safest as possible and it’s better for your kid to have a leg injury versus internal decapitation. You know what I mean? Scope what I’m saying is is less AX, kids are very flexible. They can go crisscross applesauce, they can put it outside of the car seat, they can put it on the arm on top of the seat, and they’re absolutely fine. If they are uncomfortable, they’re gonna find another position, they’re gonna put the leg, the leg over here, they’re gonna put her whatever. But as long as those as those kids are facing, legs are not a concern at all. So I choose my kid to have rear facing position and event in the event of a clot or progression. Sorry, I prefer a broken leg. There’s something else major you know, those you have to wait also your your options here. It sounds it sounds kind of rude or raw. But that’s the reality Do not ever, we’re facing too forward facing just because the legs are uncomfortable their neck. And I’m glad

25:49

you said that because I used to say something very similar when people gave me a hard time about keeping my kids rear facing. And I would say I’d rather make it ever broken back on a broken neck.

25:59

There you are. Yeah, you’re sad.

26:04

So how can how can families make sure that the proper installation of the car seat like how do you know if your your car seat is properly installed? Where can you go to meet people like you

26:18

this there is actually you know, the good thing about CPS DS is that we are around United States. So we are in the 50 states of the United States and you can go to Safe Kids worldwide.com And you can find a CPS D in your location area. Or you can find CPS DS on social media like me for example, you can schedule an appointment and make sure that CPS D is with us step by step showing you how to harness and how to properly inside the car seat. However, I will say one of the main keys is for example, make sure the car seat is not moving one inch side to side up and down. The other one is the harness seen for the kid you have performed a pinch test is when you can pull more than one inch from the harness. And at the buckle area is this like an app like sometimes you know there is a little slack in there. So we want that kid snack in the car seat. And we want the car seat not moving more than one inch when you start in the car seat in the in the vehicle. Also for forward facing it’s very important to top theater the car seat to avoid in in event of a crash. That explosion and movement forward facing for the kid to as well. So those little kid companies are going to make a difference for you and installation in the car seat.

27:36

And when you’re installing the car seat to advise parents not only look at the car seat manual, but also their car manual.

27:42

Yes, this is very important. Your carseat manual in the vehicle manual are best friends, because minivans minivans are family cars, and they’re really fun cars. However, I found for example, the Chrysler Pacifica everybody has a Chrysler Pacifica, they big issue with a Chrysler Pacifica. In this case, in particular, the headrest is not removable. And when you have a forward facing kid, the head was is gonna is going to eliminate the position of the car seat. So you need to read what you can see it says about forward facing and what is allowed in the gap in what your vehicle says about where that car seat can go to save this installation. So you might not have been able to do a second row, you might might want to be able to do the third row. You know what I mean? So that’s when when I said your Carson manual vehicle manual that best is that totally like you need to those two companies in order for you to properly install your car seat in the car.

28:45

I don’t think it was until my third baby that actually realized my car manual had a section on installing cars.

28:52

It’s funny they do they do and then and it’s hard to find that information because you are browsing through like a book this big. You know, I can’t find it, of course because you are in the rush. But the information is there the information it will tell you in which location the currency can be installed. And it depends on the cartoon, there is some cards that doesn’t allow to the currency to be installed in the center, because they probably don’t have the proper ankles or their seatbelt installation. Alright, so always always check the car seat man and the vehicle model.

29:22

I feel like you probably have an encyclopedia in your head of all cars in which one suck for car seats, which was awesome. Like I see.

29:33

You know what, it’s funny. Elon Musk is gonna hate me for this but the Tesla’s No, I mean, there is a problem with the Tesla’s and it kind of depends on the year. I mean, I don’t want to go too much in on the vehicles, but there isn’t. There isn’t because they’re not friendly for car seats. And Tesla’s is one of them when you have a kid that is forward facing, or you have a kid with a high back booster because The cat rise is insert right there, so you can’t take it off. So you kind of go around it. And then now, Elon Musk, I’m sorry, dude. But you need to think about that.

30:13

Every time you see a Tesla drive up, you must be like, Ah,

30:17

you have no idea because I do belong to a couple of groups on Facebook, where CPS get together, and we talk about these issues. And there is no day that I don’t see at Tesla mentioned in there, it’s like, I have a situation with a Tesla, I was like, here we go again. That’s funny. It is funny. By however, I don’t know, like, two months ago, three months ago, there was this news. In LA, this car went down the cliff at 200 feet or something like that. And it was a Tesla. But because the Tesla faces of the Tesla, whatever, the Tesla, the car itself, protect the passengers and the kids and the kids were properly restrained in a car seat. So they save their lives. I will say that so you must that point, you did a great job.

31:08

And that part only comes to common mistakes, we talked about making sure the car seat that can’t move more than an inch. If it’s 40 facing to have the top tethered. Sure the harness is positioned correctly, to the harnesses come from behind and up over the shoulders, or should they be above the shoulders going down.

31:27

So these two positions we’re talking about are facing so paraphrasing, the harness should be at or below slightly below, not super deep down because then otherwise, the kid is going to be crunchy and it’s going to be uncomfortable. So at or slightly below and foot forward facing you want it at in above. That’s kind of the difference there. For rear facing and forward facing. So again, and we’re facing at or slightly below and foot forward facing at or slightly above. You don’t want them over here either. You want like a slightly above nothing crazy.

32:01

Okay. What about again, like mama group drama is where you’ll see this a lot is winter jackets and car seats.

32:10

All right. So what happened with the puffy jackets? I know, I’m a mom, too. And I’m like, Oh my God, my kid is gonna be super cold. Really? I mean, think about it. You’re going from the house from the door to your house. So the door is your car. And is what, what, 20 seconds, 30 seconds. I know there is some parts in United States that it gets really cold and the temperatures drop below zero. I get it. We got it here in New York. Sometimes. However, once you get to the car, take the puffy jacket off and put your kid inside of the car seat the regular weather you should do in the hardware. You know, there is things in the market. For example, let me say this one of the kind and BonBon me jacket. They’re really good for wintertime. So you don’t have to take the jacket off to just leave part of the jacket and put the car the kid inside. And the jacket doesn’t interfere with the harness. And so as a good way to keep the steel with a jacket, you can put the kid in there and the car seat and you keep the steel right and safe with the winter jacket in.

33:19

Which was the jacket called again.

33:20

I see. Back on me baby coats. Okay, call me baby coat. Yeah,

33:27

but could we be coats in this? Yes. So people can find it.

33:31

Yes. And she had a story. It’s actually beautiful. I don’t want to steer away from the situation. But he went to she went to Shark Tank. Oh, cool. Yeah. So you can you can learn a little bit of hey, read his story on her Instagram, but he’s not. But for me they because they’re really good.

33:48

I used to just keep a blanket in the car. Yes, in the car, throw a blanket over it. And here’s the thing like as a mom of teenagers, you can do all you want to get that jacket on that kid when they hit a teenage year, they’re not going to wear it anyway, they will refuse to wear winter jackets totally no longer wear?

34:04

No, no. And let me tell you something little kids either. I mean, once a toddler is vocal about the like, and what they don’t like, the only you know, and the funny thing is, I see. I mean they are they there is a mom walking in the park say no, my kid doesn’t want to wear the jacket, blah, blah, blah, pretty much the same. You know, they don’t want to wear the jacket. They don’t want to feel hot in the car. And by the way, your kid can get really hot inside the car in wintertime because you are over covering them with the jacket with the blanket and stuff like that. So my my rule of thumb is the same as you are covering yourself in the car. You should do the same for the kids. We shouldn’t we shouldn’t either wear puffy jackets while we’re riding in the car as an adult. So it goes the same for the kids. So the temperature is really good. Right right.

34:53

So you know you get in the in the car and you got your hat and your gloves on and then after a while you’re taking your gloves off and you’re pulling your head off It’s like now the car

35:00

is heating up. Yeah, exactly.

35:03

Tuck, do you have any tips or tricks for those wiggly, back arching, resistant to get in

35:10

once I get into a plank and they refuse to bend,

35:15

they become a contortionist.

35:21

I know those are funny, because I haven’t entered that stage yet. And I hope I’m not. What you can do is kind of, you know, you have to bribe your kid some way, somehow, when you get to a point that you can’t handle it anymore. So you have a little lollipop, go ahead, take it out, it’s not gonna hurt you. However, I said, the best way that you can do is to inbox your kid in the process of the car seat and not to make a fuss about the carseat being uncomfortable, or you have to be in the car seat, because blah, blah, blah, not going that way. Because your kid is going to create resistance about it. Instead of that involve them in the process of the car seat. For example, my daughter at age of one, two, she was already getting in the process, like, okay, let’s gonna put the harness on this, it goes over here, blah, blah, blah. So I explained the whole process for her. And I gave her a little bit of control. When I said a little bit of control is this is the chess club. Can you can you do the chess club for me? So a little bit of the process, it will help them to understand that is also the same as white black the car, in that fighting about it?

36:25

Yeah, I think so with anything like giving them power that control? Yes. And yeah, they can go a long way. Yes, exactly. Just give them a little bit of, you know, giving the option or not being in the car seat. But you can say like, Would you like to come and you know, get into the car seat on this side or this side? To buckle yourself? Or do you want me to buckle you?

36:46

Exactly, I am gonna bring something out to you. There is some kids around 345 years of age, learn how to unbuckle in and buckle the chest clip too as well. And one way to remedy that is where do you want to go today? And this is I know this is going to be a controversy too as well. But trust me it works. What do you want to go to it? Okay, I want to go to the port. Get ready. Let’s go to the pool, all the staff get your kid in the in the car seat, but they were clear about the expectation. They said if your chess club is off, because you are backlit, we cannot go back home. And there is no point today. If the kid that I said turn around and go back home, you know. So it’s going to be a tantrum, the kid is going to cry and you’re gonna be miserable for only for 3040 minutes while the kid is going through the process. But I’m telling you, that kid will never never embark on herself and the chess club will never be off.

37:47

So make that boundary and yay, yes. But you know, depending on the age of the child to you can you can explain like you need to keep this eclipse for your safety. Because I love you and I don’t know exactly

38:00

I said to parents, keeping your keep your kids safe is a love language. So Express, I want to keep you safe in the car seat is my job to protect you. It’s my job to keep you safe. And I want you in my life. There’s a reason why we are going to ride the car seat this way. Plain and simple.

38:20

Let’s say you get into a minor car accident and your child is unharmed or maybe even the child is not in the car seat in the car at the time. What happens to the car seat? What should you do?

38:35

boyish? Alright, so if you’re in a car accident and you have the kid and you have minor injuries and stuff like that, please wait for EMTs to come. Keep them in the car seat with the chairs claim with back on everything. Just leave them in there. Don’t touch them. Don’t take them out. The reason why is because you don’t know what happened. And you can’t see in the moment if there is some injury in the leg on the wrist injury and the legs and stuff like that. So just keep them safe in the car. See what EMTs are coming in. If you had a car accident and you kids aren’t in the car, but the car says where you need to check the manufacturer to see what is the policy on that for example Graco Kiko and Nunez if you have minor car accidents, you have to replace your car seat. And the reason why is because you cannot see what happened internally of the car seat at the moment or the impact. So there is no guarantee that the car seat is going to work properly in another crash in the future. So that’s why they said you need to change your car scene. It happened to me. We our car was parked in the streets of New York. A car totaled our car, and we had to change our car. See my daughter wasn’t in it. But that’s the policy policy and practice policies that you have. Not all brands though. So if you need that information, you can go to answer that golf and H tsa.gov. And then you put the car seat brand anyone tell you what to do specific support the car seat and a specific when you get involved in a car accident?

40:06

Yeah. And I remember when my kids were little we got into like a little fender like no one was hurt. There was barely any damage to the car but to replace our car seats, yeah. And our car insurance actually covered the class of the new car seats. Yeah. But

40:19

in that case also you have to be careful because I don’t want base these dynamics information depends on the coverage and the policy or your insurance now, I think ours is comprehensive. So it was like, like 100% liability and all that stuff. So we could change the car seats, but our our insurance, if you have a lower premium or something like that, you have to check what insurance provider first.

40:41

So it’s individual. Yeah. So how does what does that mean for buying secondhand car seats? Because when I’m teaching like prenatal classes, I always say there’s there’s three things that you just need to buy brand new cribs, car seats and breast pumps, you should not be getting those old or off of a yard sale or what are your thoughts?

41:02

Absolutely. I am saying the same page as you do not get a secondhand car seat. And I get it car seats can be expensive. And but there are great solutions in the market for a lower budget car seat versus a high end car seat is whatever you can afford to as well. But that doesn’t mean they’re a second hand car. See they will be the solution for right first off. You don’t know what is the history of the car seat. You don’t know what that car seat was involved in a car accident, that car seat was submerged in water because someone was watching it that way. So that’s another part of this out the car seat safety too. You don’t know if that car side the car seat expire. You don’t know if the car seat had any damage. If you see like the plastic is already getting bristle about it like has white parts, that cars is like a no go because that means the plastic is either old or he got into a car accident. And then he extended. So the car says not good. So secondhand car seats are the big now from our CPS days because they are not saved. That is no way to confirm the history or the car seat in particular. And I listen, I belong to another mom groups too, as well. And I said, I had this beautiful car. See this one needs it. Sometimes I keep my mouth shut. Because I don’t I don’t want to serve too much controversy over there. But I reach internally to parents and try to educate about secondhand car seats. Do not get a second hand car seat, especially for marketplace offer up garage sales flea markets, please don’t as an experience, I have one car seat one time with a label on top of the modern numbers even number in expiration day and when I pull it off the car see when expires they what it is just they printed something up and put it on top. So

42:51

and I think that’s another good point is carseats expire? Yeah, I think that’s something a lot of parents are surprised to learn.

42:57

Yeah, most of the lifespan of a car seat is around eight to 10 years. It depends on the brand as well. But the average is eight years, I usually take one year down because if the car seat has been for many years in the car, you have to take in consideration summertime wintertime. So they span and contract this final contract and then we don’t care. So my car seat for being an appraiser is gonna last one year or less because of that wear and tear use daily for the forehead.

43:27

Going back to a comment that you made when you were talking about you don’t know if someone has submerged in water to clean it. So what are some do’s and don’ts? Cleaning and clearing your cart because it’s gonna have to be cleaned, right? Yes, a baby’s they’re gonna knock towel poop or projectile spit up and you’re going to need to clean it. And it’s gonna be how I just remember of course, this is 12 years ago when I had my baby so car seats were different back then. It was like not an easy process. Yeah.

43:55

I’m sorry, I’m gonna say is the art is that yeah, we got that embedded? Yes, absolutely. Because carseats manufacturers now are taking that in consideration. So they are creating carseats with washable fabrics. So you can you know, take them off and put it in the washer and put them back in. However, you have to keep in mind what kind of soap or detergent are you using do not use any harsh chemicals like Clorox you know and stuff like that is sterile from that rate do carseat manual because the instructions on how to clean your carseat is right there. For each carseat there is a different process how to clean it. So it depends of the currency that you have. But don’t submerge your carseat in the water there is actually a tick tock video going around and every time I see it I swear I’m like because I listen I don’t know what’s going on with tick tock but there’s so many so much bad information in there. I don’t know I try not

44:51

to be the same thing.

44:53

It’s just so is this woman submerging at Rachael curtsy in in a bathtub right And then she’s gonna add vinegar and baking soda and lime and trying to clean it like and the reason why is because once you submerge the cars in the water or the bottom part of the car seat, you don’t know what is going on inside, you’re gonna have rusty parts, they’re not gonna work they’re gonna break in the crash and they’re not going to make they are not going to do the job that are supposed to so don’t don’t spray them with water. And actually, I’m going to tell you my honest mistake before becoming a CPS team. My daughter threw up in the car couldn’t help it and I go home in the rush I cut her clean and I need to clean the car seat because we know bomb it is gonna smell really bad for probably days. I took my car seat I put it under the shower. So I did it. I went sprayed my car seat down with a hose after I’ve been guilty to guilty you know and the thing is, that’s another reason why I became a CPSC because it’s like I’m a regular mom and I and I made mistakes on the regular you know, but when it comes becomes to carseat is like okay now I know but it and I need to spread this information. However I had to be very clear to I did those mistakes many mistakes that could have caused my daughter’s life while in the car seat. I did put my car seat under the shower

46:22

I mean it was a lot of puke I’m sure

46:26

No, no, no. And kids are messy. I mean you’re gonna sometimes on my consultations when I doing only one car seats and stuff like that. Parents feel a little embarrassing for what we found on the car seats. One time I’m not joking. We got gone fishes we got we got a little package of some kind of sweets and stuff like that. A little my heard thingy. And he was like, oh my god, what is all of these sounds like? I’m gonna give you a tip. Get handy. Always a little backyard. So you can clean your car seat, you know, there’s less free massage you can do

47:02

and then going back to the secondhand car seats. What happens if it’s it? Is it okay if it’s within the family like you have a baby, you know that carseat has never been in an accident. Can you use it with your second baby? Yeah. Okay,

47:17

because you are the owner. So I am beyond it on my car. See then I’m going to have a second baby and I have this car seat over here, right? Because I am the owner, the original owner and I know the history of the car seat it’s okay to pass it on to the second child as long as is not expired. I can get pretty close and then saving yourself Dad I’m gonna use the same car seat Are you sure about that? You need to check the expiration date of the car seat. By the way are talking that you just have a baby and then you can pray goes the two years in advance and in the future you can use the same carseat all you had to do is just reset it reset it meaning lower this last clean it and stuff like that. But I guess if you are the sole owner of that on your own carseat absolutely you can pass it on to the second child.

48:02

Great. Great. What are some tips and tricks for traveling with the car seat?

48:09

In terms of like if you have to fly somewhere

48:11

Oh,

48:13

perfect. So I know it makes me happy because I did fly with my daughter to Colombia a couple of times once when she was in the infant car seat and the second time when she was now in the bigger car seat this one over here. So as a purse, final car seat the one that you have most likely is it okay to fly with. You need to look at the label that is FAA approved otherwise you can’t because the flight attendant, it will ask you to show me the label when he says that is approved. Second, find something light to haul around the airport. The reason why I say that it is on courses that have weights 20 pounds, 30 pounds 35 pounds, you don’t want that you want something light that is easily put in on the on the seat on the airplane. And it’s also good that you need to practice how to insert that car see once you get to your destination too. Because that’s another issue. Rental Car sometimes they offer rental car seat. Please don’t. It is a mess. It’s a hot mess with the rental cars and car seats. Please don’t take your own. Take this advice for rails and going back to flying with the car seat. It depends on the position of your baby you can install two courses were facing a forward facing if the flight attendant give you a deal for it. Be reading print out the FAA rules about carseats find out what the airline says about the policies flying with the car seats and get ready. Also be nice to the flight attendant because if you got them in your pocket, they’re going to be nice to you and the most likely they will help you with installation or the car seat which is pretty much easy. It’s not that hard. Put in the car seat on the airplane.

50:01

I’m gonna ask you that question because I just learned a lot that I never traveled with my kids I will always do broke when they were no i

50:10

did i They that I this is Reagan’s car seat. Actually, this is a Krakow contenders claim and it’s not heavy. It’s like 15 pounds in a hubba holy card howling fingers. So I just go through the letter we heard this is no big deal for me. I kind of like it, though. I say the other thing is, you need to relax in the process. Because pig kids pick up our energy and they feel like we are anxious about it, we are stressed about it, they’re going to be the same way. So make it an adventure. Make them something that they look forward to instead of something they’re like, we’re going to the airport today with this kid and the car seat. Now, make it make it something fun for them too, as well. It would be a lot easier.

50:51

I feel like you collect car seats, the way I clicked breast pumps. Behind you. I only

50:59

have four and a half my other one in my in my master bedroom because I don’t have a space here in the office. I live in New York. There is no, this is real estate right here taking space. No, you know, but I couldn’t help but this one was given away. This one is because I bought it for my daughter. And this one I rescued from the streets because he expired and someone just put it out. It says free and I was like wait, let me see that car seat. So I rescue it. And then it’s actually a good car sale. But this one is gonna be what chops only is this not going to be used. And the other one over here and the bad. That’s the one that he was involved in, in the car accident. So I decided to keep it because it’s still good for worship. So yeah, that’s why I keep the funny thing is I’m going to become a carseat that is 18 years old today. I found it on the Buy Nothing group and I saw it and I saw the comments. Oh, I would like to have the car. So I was like no, it is old blah, blah, blah. It is so old. That is considered vintage on the CPS these words. So

52:04

I have a couple of breast pumps like that two from like, Ah, this, this has been amazing. I learned a lot. And I think our listeners appreciate all the information that you read. Where can they connect with you and find you I know you do consults? Do you do them only in person? Do you do virtual ones as well?

52:22

No, that is a beautiful thing about what we do. We can do it virtually. Or we can do it in person in person, obviously, because I’m in New York City. So I do Queens, Brooklyn, and the tri borough area, including New Jersey. But if you need me spiritually, we can do absolutely appear to a consultation. And it will take the same amount of time. And it will give you the same information as we are having one on one.

52:47

And people can just go to your website. Yes, for that day, by the way.

52:51

Oh, thank you. I did it on Canva Canva for the win, you can find me on my social media carseats and more either Facebook or Instagram. And then you have the link on my bio, and they will direct you to the services and the website.

53:07

And you’ve got a lot of resources here. Yeah. Marcy recalls how to recycle your car, see registering your car. See, this is awesome. So I’m definitely going to link to that in the show notes. So

53:17

Oh, thank you. Appreciate it. What else? Something now that you talk about registration. That’s something that I don’t want parents to Miss, please register your new brand car seat. In case of any recalls. The company will reach out to you right away. Perfect. It’s important. Yeah.

53:33

Well, thank you so much for joining me today, Shelley. It’s been a pleasure. This was a great talk. I really appreciate it.

53:42

Thank you for joining us this week on the baby pro podcast. Make sure to visit our website Shelley Taff ibclc.com where you can check out more options for support pregnancy and beyond, including the baby probes group, our parenting community. You can also follow us on social media at Shelly tap ibclc on Instagram. If you love the show, please leave us a rating or review on iTunes to help our episodes reach more parents like you. Thanks for listening