Car Seat Hell

To tighten the straps look on the back of the seat and usually there is a metal piece where the strap will over lap itself. It not there then look down by the legs. I think on the newer models the strap to tighten is there.
With the fire department you can just go to any fire station and let them know what you are needing and one of them will come out and show you where everything is.

Kudos to you for wanting to do the right thing.

There are monthly car seat checks throughout Austin and the surrounding area. If you have access to the internet you can look up Safe Kids or the Dells children hospital and they can direct you to different car seat checks. It might be easier to call Safe Kids the # is ###-###-####.

8 out of 10 car seats are installed improperly and I can tell you from personal experience (I am a certified car seat technician and paramedic) a majority of car seats are installed improperly. Any parent who cares about their child or children should have there car seat(s) checked.

Our car seat check is the third Wednesday of every month in Marble Falls ###-###-####.

Good Luck!

I don't think the fire stations do it anymore. There is a DPS officer in Austin that will come to your home to check the installation. I don't know the contact but try calling the Department of Public Safety in the phone book to ask how to get in touch. There is also a group that does this at the hospitals on a schedule. Call Babies R Us since I think they have the schedule or can tell you who to call. We had ours checked at the Georgetown hospital since it was the first available date-the people were great.

J. I have the same one and it took me a little bit. I live in Cedar park/ north austin and if you would like I can meet you somewhere and Fix the problem and show you also. Just let me know. Here is my work e-mail if your interested. ____@____.com D.

If you look underneath the car seat the seatbelt usually extends from there.
Or you can pull the actuall cloth out of the car seat and the connection may be in there.

There are usually 1-800 numbers underneath the carseat for you to call the manufacture and get some assistance.

I hope this was helpful.

Hi J.,
Just go to your local fire station anytime. Ask them to help you properly install your childs' car seat. They are more than happy to do it. There might be one guy who is the "car seat expert" so they may have you come back when he is on duty.

PS. Bring them some homemade cookies. :-)

Hi, J.!

Congratulations to your family! I know that Children's Hospital has car seat clinics to check the instillation and safety of car seats. If I remember correctly, it's two days a week and you may need an appointment. Call them!

J.,

Can't help with the car seat issue, but, we have a group of families that have adopted from China. We get together about once a month. We are all out in the Southwest/Lake Tavis area of Austin. If you are interested email me and I will send you the info. ____@____.com
S.

When I called the fire station late 2007, they said that Austin Fire Dept. no longer is in the car seat adjustment business. I went to a clinic that I signed up for through Austin Children's Hospital. Google it or go to their Web site. It was a bit of a maze to find the right people to check it, but once I did, it was worth it. They are free, and usually you make an appointment at a Babies R Us parking lot. They were very informative. Good luck, and congrats on the coming baby!!

Good Morning J.,
Please call Hattie Carter at St. Johns Community. We offer car seat safty classes her and she may be able to assist you or connect you to some other facility in your zip code. Ms. Carter can be reached at ###-###-####. Please let her know that Ms. Duncan referred you to her.
Be blessed and I pray it all works out.

You can check with DPS. I know there's one trooper who I met at a carseat check and she met me at the office and helped me install my son's carseat (the one I had at the check was expired). Also, I saw something that Babies R Us is hosting a check, but I didn't notice when it was. I'm trying to remember the name of the organization that handles these but my mind is blanking. If you don't find someone by later today then send me a message and I will try to contact the trooper and see if she would mind if I pass on her number. I wouldn't think she would mind.

Hi J.. I went to the Tx Dept of State Health Services and scheduled an appt to have my car seat checked. They were very informative! I signed up online but here is the number they provided in my confirmation. I'm sure these people can help you.

Safe Riders at 800-252-8255

A little about me:
I'm 38, live in Austin. I have a two-year old son. We enjoy Zilker Park, Southpark Meadows and the new water area near Palmer Auditorium on a regular basis.

Yay!!! FIrst of all, CONGRATULATIONS on your little girl! I think we talked before regarding baby carriers (we brought our son home from S. Korea in 2003 and my best friend, Kerry, works at Great Wall). I hope everything went smoothly and that she's slowly adjusting to life as a family child! If you have anything you'd like help with, our son and several other adoptees see a wonderful trauma therapist down near Zilker and she's great! www.emhardy.com

For the carseat, if you're having a hard time with it, I would suggest heading to the nearest firestation and just asking if someone there may be able to help you. Our local station is awesome and the firemen/women are so friendly. I think if you explain the situation, they'd be more than happy to help figure your seat out. I would offer to swing by and help but I've never used that kind of seat before and if you can't figure it out, I probably wouldn't be able to either!

Welcome home to you and your little one! :)

A.
www.thefirstglimpse.com