A local car seat safety group is talking about car seat "safe" outerwear. The preferred jacket seems to be the Patagonia down sweater. Unfortunately, I think even used it's more than I want/am able to spend!
But our winters are long and frigid. so wondering if there are cheaper alternatives out there?
Thanks!
wonderful pomelo / 30692 posts
I just ordered this for Xander:
http://www.columbia.com/boys-steens-mt-ii-fleece---toddler-WD6760.html
It's what he wore last winter. We also have a fleece blanket in the car that we tuck around him. It helps that we have a garage, so our car is never FREEZING in the morning. When we're other places, we try to warm it up first if possible before putting him in the car.
squash / 13208 posts
Fleece from LL Bean
If we are walking a long way from car to building I will put on the winter coat when we get there before getting out of the car. Otherwise its usually a quick walk/run to get inside so fleece works well
wonderful pear / 26210 posts
Fleece. And a blanket over, if it's really cold. I actually keep two smaller blankets in the car, one for my son and one for me!
GOLD / wonderful apricot / 22646 posts
Last year he had a fleece jacket from patagonia, bought used on HB classifieds, lasted us all winter!
My bro bought him a northface fleece and a UM fleece that we'll use as carseat jackets
pomegranate / 3643 posts
I think I will get another fleece. The childrens place is having a sale today. Debating about getting a big jacket for non car trips but it's expensive!
coconut / 8430 posts
A fleece jacket similar to the one Adira posted. We send a heavier coat to daycare for playing outside because I feel that the fleece one isn't warm enough for extended periods outside.
wonderful pomelo / 30692 posts
@sunny: What heavier coat do you have for daycare? I was just thinking I need something else for actually playing outside!
coconut / 8430 posts
@Adira: Last year, we had this down coat from Baby Gap. We haven't purchased one this year yet!
http://www.gap.com/browse/product.do?cid=1014257&vid=1&pid=988151012
pineapple / 12526 posts
C has a North Face fleece (got it used for $20!) and her winter coat has a zip-in fleece liner. We'll be using those and a blanket.
eggplant / 11824 posts
LO has a couple of fleece pull-ons (LL Bean and North Face), and she wears that + a blanket that I keep in the car. I'll also leave her hat on if its super cold, and then reach back and pull it off when the car warms up!
eggplant / 11408 posts
Help me out here, experienced moms...
Maybe I'm crazy, but I just can't see a fleece being warm enough. We have street parking and are not going to be able to warm the car up before getting her on days where there is only one of us home in the morning (which is usually). I understand that puffy coats aren't really good for car seat safety, but how can I possibly take her outside only in a fleece when I myself am dressed in a thick ski jacket, hat, and gloves, and still cold?!
nectarine / 2834 posts
We're in the northeast so we only have a few weeks of really dangerously frigid weather I think. Maybe I'm the worst mom ever, but I often put her in her car seat without a jacket. Of course, she usually had some kind of long sleeved shirt with a sweater on top. I bring her coat and put it on her before we get out of the car, and I have a super thick fleece blanket that i put over her in the car. Whenever I put even the lightest jacket on her (so that the seatbelts still were tight against her body, she would get too warm.
ETA: our car is also kept in a garage so that helps.
nectarine / 2834 posts
@LovelyPlum: maybe put her in a hat and gloves and wrap her in an afghan and carry her out to the car?
wonderful pomelo / 30692 posts
@LovelyPlum: It's hard for me to relate because we park in the garage, so it's not as cold as if it was parked on the street, but car seat safety is a hot button item for me, so I would put Xander in his fleece, hat gloves, and wrap a warm blanket around him! My car also warms up pretty quickly, which helps. And the drive to daycare for us is only 10 minutes, so he's not going to be cold for that long, you know?
GOLD / wonderful pomegranate / 28905 posts
@ LovelyPlum: that's why I'm looking at like a Patagonia down sweater. Think warmth if a puffy coat with all the air sucked out of it!
You can always get a 3-1 and remove the outer shell when you get in the car. I know sometimes you take the bus so a fleece definitely will not be warm enough for I!
@TiIdybee: I'm in upstate NY and our winters can be 5-6m long! When we leave in the morning even though the car is right outside, a long sleeved definitely won't be enough! I personally wouldn't even be comfortable with a TCP fleece. I want something like a NF Denali.
blogger / watermelon / 14218 posts
We put zip up fleece jackets on the kids and wear their puffy coats over if we're not going straight to a warmed up car (we have remote start for this reason).
ETA: We have Columbia fleece jackets... got them on super clearance from sierra trading post, I believe.
eggplant / 11824 posts
@LovelyPlum: I carry LO (or she walks) to the car in her puffy coat, I set her in her seat and just take her puffy coat off, leaving the fleece on and throw the blanket over her. I think fleece + blanket is warm enough because they are in their seat, so their body heat is contained and warms the small seat space quickly (does she make sense?)
eggplant / 11408 posts
@Tidybee: @Adira: for not very cold days, that might work. But we are 5 miles from Lake Erie, and I have a feeling that I will be wrapping her in a blanket, hat, and gloves even *with* a coat on underneath. We have a Patagonia bunting that I'm going to use for this year, but I will have to see for next year. This may be one of those instances where I'm going to have to balance my comfort level of the thickness vs the warmness of the jacket.
ETA: someone just mentioned layering fleece under a puffer. That makes sense to me!
eggplant / 11408 posts
@regberadaisy: good call on the down sweater. They are pricey, but at least if you get one for M, you will be able to reuse it for A! And yes, when I take the bus, you had best believe that we will be allllllll bundled up.
@yoursilverlining: that does make sense, yes. So double jacket duty, so to speak. I could get behind that!
pomegranate / 3872 posts
I heat up the car for at least a few minutes before we get in. I just dress her seasonally and add a thick llbean sweater or fleece, hat and gloves/mittens. She has blankets in the car, too. I bring her heavier coat to change into to go outside. The car is toasty after five minutes.
cantaloupe / 6017 posts
I love wool! On the coldest days I do a layer of wool (like a onesie and pants) underneath her other clothes, hat, mittens, and then a fleece jacket, and a blanket on top of the carseat. This keeps her warm enough until the car has warmed up.
nectarine / 2631 posts
LO has a Columbia Fleece jacket. We don't have a garage- but I do have an automatic car starter (I got it for Christmas last year) but before that- I would run out and start my car to get it a bit warm, run our bags out, then lastly him- right inot the car seat (with hat, mittens, and fleece) we also had a fleece blanket in there! I brought his bigger, puffy jacket with us for daycare if they went to play outside!
coconut / 8430 posts
FYI - REI (in store, not online) has Patagonia down sweaters for toddlers on sale for 30% off. They are still pricey, but I haven't seen them on sale anywhere else.
GOLD / wonderful olive / 19030 posts
We put her in a fleece and she wraps her blanket around her. Our car is always in the garage and I keep it in the garage at work so it's never freezing. I keep her winter coat in the car for when she gets out.
pear / 1586 posts
@LovelyPlum: we have fleece buntings (from LL Bean) for both of my kids. They're 2.5 and 9 months. They also wear hats and mittens and get a blanket on top if it is really cold.
grapefruit / 4235 posts
I get the Childrens place 2 in 1 jackets and he most often wears just the fleece. The outer piece stays in the car with us, or goes to daycare in his snow stuff bag; we also keep a fleece blanket in the car. But we always have to heat the car up b/c the Ody's sliding doors get frozen shut when it's realllly cold out.
grapefruit / 4584 posts
You can easily get the town sweater 20-30% off this time of year. The North Face Perrito or Uniqlo's pack able jackets are also similar
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