Tiny life vest??

[MommyAllison]

DD is under 20lbs and needs a life vest for vacation - in 2 weeks - whoops! Anyway, I mostly just see life vests for 35lbs+. I did find this one at One Step Ahead (online) in an "up to 30lbs" size for $37 shipped. http://www.onestepahead.com/images/p.../4631_dv_1.jpg
Any better ones or better deals out there? I need to order soon :) TIA!

Allison

[EllasMum]

Hi - sorry I can't help with specific stores/sites to order from, but I just wanted to add a little recently acquired knowledge! I had DD in swimming lessons recently and at one of the lessons they gave each baby/child a "PFD" (personal flotation device - what you have pictured above) and taught us how to use them and what to look for when buying them. Basically you should look for a crotch strap, at least one belt around the vest, a zipper up the front, and the floaty head part at the back (don't you love my technical jargon??!). The idea being that if the crotch strap came undone, you would still have the belts and zipper holding the device on, and then if the belt came undone you'd still have the zipper etc etc - you want to look for as many security features as you can. Oh and also check for a government certification stamp - I am in Canada so we have a different certifiying 'board' but you should have something similar.

ETA: also get the brightest color you can find - dark colors disappear in dark water, IYKWIM.

ETA (again): you might try searching for "personal flotation device" rather than "life vests" - you might get a few more hits. good luck!

Sorry if this is info you already had/knew - just thought I'd pass it along! :)

Susan

[jwozy]

My kids have been on our boat since they were 4 months and the smallest life vest are ones that says up to 30lbs. I would suggest taking your dd to try them one as different brands of life vests are all cut a bit differently. We bought ones at Kmart and though my ds was okay with it my dd hated that life vest - it was bulky and long so she couldn't sit with it on or reach around with her arms to put her sippy to her mouth - it was a sad sight. I ended up buying her a stearn's life vest and she at least tolerated it because she had a bit more mobility and could sit. We just moved them up to the 30lbs-50lbs range.

[BeachBum]

I got one at wal mart. It doesn't have a crotch strap I don't think but it might be an option for you if you don't have time to get one shipped.

[willow33]

Try REI or EMS. We bought one for our ds at EMS :)

[muskiesusan]

Target has them, I bought one this morning!

Susan
Mom to Nick 10/01
& Alex 04/04

[mattiew]

>Target has them, I bought one this morning!
>
>Susan
>Mom to Nick 10/01
>& Alex 04/04


I've also bought two at Target over the last few weeks (they sell them at target.com); the brand is Stearns.

Stearns Heads-Up Vest - Infant $24.99

http://images.amazon.com/images/P/B0...ZZZ_SS260_.jpg
http://images.amazon.com/images/P/B0...ZZZ_SS384_.jpg

HTH!
Carrie

[o_mom]

Just bought one at Wally World yesterday - Infant/Child, Type II PFD, less than 50 lbs. It was $14.96. Look in the "summer seasonal" aisle, not sporting goods.

It fits DS2 pretty well and he is only 21 lbs. The weight rating has more to do with how much it can support, not the actual size if the vest. The target one is a bit nicer (zipper front, not buckle, but we may not even be on a boat on this trip, so I didn't want to invest too much.

[kep]

We got ours at Fred Meyers (NorthWestern US). Ours has the crotch strap, zipper, strap around the middle, and the floatie thing behind the head. I think ours has Winnie the Pooh on it, too. Bright colors.
They had at the time an infant version and a toddler version.

Kelli
Proud Mommy to Lukey (4.2003)
And a new baby due Christmas Eve, 2006

http://bd.lilypie.com/8dPKm4/.png

http://b4.lilypie.com/G0VTm4.png

[MommyAllison]

Thank you all for your replies! We ended up with the bright pink Stearns one from Target pictured a few replies ago. It fits great and she floats head up in it so I think we're ready now! Thanks again!

Allison