Heat generated in infant carseats

[bina]

Hi everyone. I have a question about the heat generated from infant car seats. I'm trying to decide between the Graco Snugrides--Glen Harbor (grey) and Navy Gingham Squares patterns (with the window in the visor). I'm wondering if anyone thinks the lighter grey colored car seat would cut down on the heat/uncomfortableness in the car seat? They are the same price--the first at BabiesRUs, the second at JCPenney ($90). This is my main conern, since the visor does not seem all that useful to me (I live in Maryland).
First time I've ever posted to any bulletin board!

[Momof3Labs]

Just a general comment - Colin was a winter baby, and we always kept our infant seat in the house between uses, so the pattern on our seat doesn't really matter much. But he seems to find the infant seat very warm in general. Even with the cold weather, we can't bundle him up much or he gets very fussy and warm. Once we take him out of the seat and he cools down, he is fine (or if we don't bundle him up, he is fine). So I think that the plastic shell on the infant seats make the babies warm no matter what. And if you leave the seat in the car in the summer (or a warm climate), I would cover it with a towel no matter what pattern you buy.

BTW - we have a FP SIV, which has a navy and white windowpane check.

Hope this helps!

Lori & Colin 9/28/02

[parkersmama]

I live in Columbus, GA, and it's probably quite a bit hotter here than in Maryland but I do find that our carseats get quite hot in the summer. My kids often complain about it. With the infant seats, I have always taken them into the house with the baby in it until the baby gets to be of an age where they are sitting up on their own (between 5 & 7 months). At that point, we usually just leave the infant seat snapped in the base and carry the baby independently so the carseat is exposed to the same heat and cold as the rest of the car interior. I usually just keep white towels (beach towels work great) in the van in the summer and we cover the carseats when we get out. The white reflects some of the heat and the seats don't get as hot. When we return to the car, we remove the towels and buckle up like normal. My kids think it really helps. Hope this will help you out some!

Denise
mom to:
Parker, 9/1/1997
Wesley, 3/9/2000
and #3 (a girl!) due 4/29/2003

[Tondi G]

Pick the one that seems to have the most padding and don't worry about the pattern..... feel the seat and you will find there is really only the padding of the cover to keep your little one comfortable..... if one is more cushioned than the other get it! I bought an infant seat hoping to use it for #2 but I'm going t olook around and see if there is anything more comfy out when I do get preggo with #2! Honstly it depends more one what the fabric is made of..... if it's mostly cotton baby will be cooler than say polyester! Good Luck!

~Tondi and Mason 7/8/01!

[pshontz]

I asked some people this same question when buying a Snugride (for Texas). My friend had the navy French Bear pattern (lives near Dallas) and never had a problem with her baby being uncomfortable. I read several reviews on Amazon.com saying the Glen Plaid pattern was hot. I felt the fabrics in Babies R Us and thought that some felt softer (not as plastic-y) as others. But you know, when I bought the French Bear pattern, the fabric turned out to be kind of slick anyway. So far my 4-mo-old baby has not had a problem with this particular pattern. (She was born in September but it stays hot down here until about December.)

Priscilla
mom to Laura 09/14/02

[VA Mom of 1]

I had my baby boy in July 2002 and had a Graco SungRide (Princeton Plaid). Even though I loved the seat (and the whole travel system), my little one did constantly sweat in the seat. I had read a complaint about that before I bought it, but purchased it anyway, and would do the same again (b/c I thought that particular travel system served my needs the best). Unfortunately, my little guy had to spend most of the day in that seat and even had to sleep in it b/c of his reflux. So, we worked our way through the summer by putting a folded up waffle blanket under him and that seemed to help. Only you can't do that when you need to actually strap them in b/c the blanket interferes with the belts. If you're just looking at a separate car seat, SungRide has some other more cottony materialy (ie. the French Bear) that wouldn't create as much heat and would better absorb it. (The Princeton fabric was thick and non-breathable). I would highly recommend the Graco, it's the safest!