I have a 3 month old using the graco snugride car seat. No matter how I adjust the head bumper my baby's head flops down. He has pretty good neck control except in the car seat. I heard you can buy sturdier head bumper but my searches have not gotten me there. Any ideas?
Are you leaning the seat back far enough. His head should not be bopping. He should be almost completely lying down. Sounds like the seat is tilted too much.
J.
it doesn't hurt them to flop forward like that. however you might want to tilt the seat a little more. it should be at a 45 degree angle, which still sometimes allows the head to flop. like i said though, it doesn't hurt baby to flop a little, as long as it's not violently flopping.
The Car Seat experts suggest not using any head bumpers at all and instead use rolled up blankets/burp cloths until your child no longer needs the head support.
I know that Hoag Hospital offers a car seat class which was very informative (90% of people install their car seats improperly or have their baby improperly secured into it) by the leading expert in OC (which is where I learned this info)- I am sure other hospitals offer classes too.
Good luck!
Sounds like the seat is not tilted back far enough, so it is level. Does that make sense? Once the carseat is leaning back as far as it needs to, the baby's head will stay in place regardless. I hope that makes sense. Good luck with it :)
I was given a gift at my baby shower that completely solved the "flop" issue. It's a head/body cushion that the baby sits on in the car seat and keeps their head from moving around too much. It's called the "Kiddopotamus Snuzzler." I just did a quick Google search and it looks like it's available at Target, Amazon, etc. Check it out...it's only $15.00, and I LOVE mine!
I bought my "head bumpers" at Macy's in the Luggage department, and bought another set for our 2nd vehicle at Target, also in the luggage section. You might check walmart too. I've found most places that sell luggage and/or travel items have them (probably even online) and they run about $15 +/-. They work great! Now my girls are old enough to grab them and place them around their neck before they go to sleep. You might also try the pads that velcro onto your child restraint in their car seat. Babies R Us has them & they worked great when my girls were infants...I used them in the stroller as well.
I have a 9 week old with the same issue. I put a blanket folded in several layers under her but not reaching up to her head that way her head kind of fell back into the car seat while the rest of her back had several layers of blanket under her. Also make sure that little plastic piece that came with the carseat is under the base that helps tilt the carseat backwards while they are still small. Hope this helps and I really hope it made sense
Look at how it's installed in the car. The seat should be at a 45% angle I believe so that the baby doesn't need to hold it's head up. It's not a matter of a positioner, but a matter of how the seat is sitting in your car.
You can take it to the CHP or a local police dept if you want help making sure it's installed correctly.
-M
