Help! FP Safe Embrace Infant Seat chest clip & 2 yo escaping FP GWM...

[mammanik]

Hi everyone :)

We've had some medical issues with my new son (5mo) so I haven't even been lurking lol... BUT I have some car seat questions/issues going on that I needed to come online and ask you guys about...

The first has to do with my Fisher Price Safe Embrace infant seat. When we brought David home from the hospital, they check your car seat in the room before they will discharge you. When the nurse came in, dh & I went over the car seat and realized that it did not have a chest clip. My dh thought he had forgotten to put it back on when he took the cover & straps off to clean it before the "big day" so he ran out to BRU to buy a new clip. Done. I was reading the seat instruction manual the other day (no good reason, just waiting for gymnastics class to be over lol) and I noticed that in not one of the pictures, does the baby have a chest clip. So I called Fisher Price and they confirmed that this seat was made before chest clips were standard on baby seats (?!) The seat is a June 1998 seat and lasts 8 years by FP standards. I told her that I had added a chest clip and she said that was fine. Is that true??? Am I compromising the safety of the chest straps by adding the clip??? The straps are not the one piece over the head design- it's a 5 point (tho I have to admit, I always thought that included the chest clip somehow lol).Anyhow, I just want to know if I should remove the clip- what is the safest thing for me to to do? DS is 5mo and 13lbs and about 25 inches.

My 2nd question has to do with his wily 2 yo big brother. He is in a Fisher Price Grow With Me ff & harnessed. He can undo that chest clip like nobody's business. Is there another one out there that I can use to replace the FP clip to make it harder for him to get out of the seat? I don't want to compromise his safety, but he is a regular Houdini. He does buckle into a car seat someone donated to me at home (it's currently sitting in my dining room unused) and it is very hard for him to get out off because of the chest clip- can I use that one (not sure of the brand)?

Also, if anyone has any wonderful ideas on how to keep said 2 yo in that car seat without wanting to mess with his chest clip, I would be extremely grateful... We do have a dvd player attached to the seat and that does the best job but if anyone has any creative tips for this, I would love to hear them.... We have challenges with speech with this particular 2 yo so communication is sometimes hard- he understands better than he is understood and frustration gets the best of him (understandably!) He is my 4th but I've never had this problem before!

On a last note, thanks so much to everyone who helped me decide to buy a Marathon for my 4yo DD. She absolutely LOVES the seat- how high and soft it is :) My 8yo DS & 10yo DD also love her new seat- they sit on either side of her in the 3rd seat of our van and they have more space for their tushes (lol) and they think leaning their heads on her seat is very comfortable! Unexpected bonus- I'll take it! :)

Hugs,
Nicole
Proud Mom of 5 Blessings

Megan 10-95
Joshua 12-97
Katelyn 7-01
Zachary 8-03
David Matthew 6-23-05

[Joolsplus2]

Yup, old FP's definitely didn't have chest clips...I think they were believed to be a choking hazard for young kiddos (and have never legally been required at all, but people like them, so seats have them...the only purpose they serve is to keep the straps on the shoulders so when there's a crash everything is right where it should be, they actually break or move down during the crash and have no restraint value). So your infant seat was never actually tested with a chest clip, but really, given how babies move with the seat shell, and don't slam in to straps, it probably really doesn't matter, as the FP rep said...but if you don't need it for that baby, I wouldn't use it...I'm lazy, and if I can get away without clipping one extra thing, I will, lol!

As for a different part on the FPGWM...hmmm.. it *might* not be an issue, but then again, it might be... we really aren't supposed to mix and match parts.. and FP doesn't sell replacement parts any more... I wonder if they'd give you a refund on your seat? There are combo seats out now with much taller top slots and EPS foam that really are better than the GWM (which isn't a bad seat, of course! technology has just marched on)...and maybe you could put a refund toward a nice Graco Ultra Cargo for the 2 yo, that has a better chest clip, too.

But in the meantime, I have some seat collecting friends that I *may* be able to score a FP chest clip from...lemme check into that ;)
Julie CPS Tech and mom to 2 in seats
http://www.cpsafety.com/articles/RFAlbum/SarahMA.aspx

[tjham]

My FPSE was made in 2001. It came with a chest clip. It said not to use it RF but TO use it FF. I called them at the time to see why not RF. Whoever I talked to said, that because the crotch strap comes up farther, the clip was not necessary RF. She also mentioned the choking aspect. I think around that time, it was in the news that a baby had died, slumped over in an infant seat (don't know the brand), so it was on their minds. I used it anyway, just made sure it was not anywhere near the baby's throat. It just did not seem right to not have one at all.

[Joolsplus2]

She has the FPSE-Infant seat...it was a baseless deal that went to 22 pounds and has built in lockoffs...simple, but easy to use.

Here's a picture of one http://www.cpsafety.org/articles/RFAlbum/SimonFPSEi.aspx


:)
Julie CPS Tech and mom to 2 in seats
http://www.cpsafety.com/articles/RFAlbum/SarahMA.aspx

[tjham]

Oh, sorry! Thanks! I didn't know they were different!

[Joolsplus2]

And of course there was also the FPSE-Booster... um.. what was UP with their boring naming convention??? lol
Julie CPS Tech and mom to 2 in seats
http://www.cpsafety.com/articles/RFAlbum/SarahMA.aspx