Wednesday, December 19, is the last day to order your Car Seat Poncho before Christmas!  Orders placed after 12/19/12. 9 p.m., Eastern Time will not ship until AFTER the holiday.

Several Medium/Large colors are almost out of stock, so, if you've been eye'ing Chocolate Rose, Paisley, or Navy Camo, you should shop soon!

Cutest Frog Blanket Ever

Introducing the MATCHING BLANKET in our newest boys' print: FROGS!

Now little brothers who still ride in baby buckets can match their big brother(s), for only $3.99.

The Car Seat Poncho Infant Blanket is better than a plain old blanket because it's scooped at the neck and wider at the shoulders -- specifically shaped to tuck around a baby in an infant seat. Made of two layers of cozy fleece, you can snuggle it right up and around your little fella's chin or fold the top down to show the contrasting color.

Click here for more details: http://stores.hbarryboollc.com/-strse-MATCHING-INFANT-BLANKETS/Categories.bok

NAVY/CAMO: Matching Blankets!

Introducing the MATCHING BLANKET in our most popular boys' print:  NAVY/CAMO! 

Now little brothers who still ride in baby buckets can match their big brother(s), for only $3.99.


The Car Seat Poncho Infant Blanket is better than a plain old blanket because it's scooped at the neck and wider at the shoulders -- specifically shaped to tuck around a baby in an infant seat. Made of two layers of cozy fleece, you can snuggle it right up and around your little fella's chin or fold the top down to show the contrasting color.

Click here for more details: http://stores.hbarryboollc.com/-strse-MATCHING-INFANT-BLANKETS/Categories.bok

INTRODUCING Matching Infant Blankets

The Car Seat Poncho store now has MATCHING BLANKETS for little brothers and sisters who still ride in baby buckets!  Coordinate or match your littlest one to your bigger one(s) for only $2.99.

It's better than a plain old blanket because it's scooped at the neck and wider at the shoulders -- specifically shaped to tuck around a baby harnessed in an infant seat.  Made of two layers of cozy fleece, in color combinations that match our most popular ponchos, you can snuggle it right up and around your baby or fold the top down to show the contrasting color.

Click here for more details: http://stores.hbarryboollc.com/-strse-MATCHING-INFANT-BLANKETS/Categories.bok

Airplane Travel With Lap Babies - Who Cares?

I know that parents care deeply for their children.  But air travel can be expensive, and when calculating costs of purchasing a seat for their babies versus the risks of holding their babies in their laps, many many many parents do choose to take the chance that their flight will be an uneventful flight.  After all, it's LEGAL, isn't it?

Yes, it's legal, but it's not recommended.  Not by the airlines themselves.  Not even by the airlines' regulatory agency.

There are two agencies involved in this issue.  One is the FAA, the Federal Aviation Authority.  The other is the NTSB, the National Transportation Safety Board.

So, in answer to the title of this post, who cares about lap babies? The NTSB does, and they don't want the practice to be permitted. The FAA? Well, they only care when you care.

Let's compare the priorities of the two agencies: 

• The FAA regulates air transportation.  That includes flight routes, air traffic control, licensing pilots, setting equipment inspection standards and quality controls.  (The FAA also regulates the growing field of commercial space travel -- when Richard Branson is developing Virgin Atlantic space travel, or SpaceX launches a rocket, they have to work with the FAA.)   Sounds to me like they have a very "top down" mission, i.e., air transportation from the perspective of geography, equipment, pilots, mechanics.
• The NTSB's, on the other hand, investigates crashes -- auto, train, bus, air.  Their priorities are gathering data on damage and injuries, analyzing it, and applying that knowledge to the protection and safety of travelers.  Their mission seems more "from the ground up" than "from the top down." Passengers figure very prominently.

In short:  FAA, macro: systems, equipment, regulations, focused on the whole, keeping it functioning as a system.  NTSB, micro: looking out for the individual, keeping each individual safe.

The FAA recommends that babies under 2 years old have their own seats, but they don't REQUIRE it.  This fine distinction between recommending and requiring is the thin sliver of hope parents cling to when choosing to fly with lap babies.

• (The FAA does have definite requirements about the EQUIPMENT involved when babies travel in airplanes, as any parent who's every had to fight for their right to install their child's car seat in one of their planes. Perhaps it is the car seat's potential to interfere with equipment and procedures that concerns them more.  Another possible example of "the whole" versus "the individual.")

The NTSB strongly recommends that parents purchase individual seats for their children, and practically implores the FAA to make it a requirement.  To make it illegal for babies to travel in their parents' laps in an airplane, just like is in a car.  As NTSB Accident Investigator Nora Marsh says in this video:  "The laws of physics don't change when you get on an airplane, so why wouldn't you want your child to have the same level of protection as they had in the car?"

How much difference can a coat make?

Your child's coat can affect a car seat's ability to protect her in a crash.  The extra bulk and material adds up, and can change the fit of the harness around her torso.  Here is a video comparing chest measurements with and without a coat (1:20). 

So, is there any easy way to keep your child warm in the car seat?  Why yes, yes indeed there is (as seen in the second part of the video).  It's called the Car Seat Poncho and it's been keeping kids warm and safe in their car seats since 2005.  Click here to learn more.

Pinching Keeps Your Child Safe

How can you tell if your child's car seat harness is snug enough?

Seat your child in the car seat and tighten the harness. When you think it is tight enough, try to pinch a harness strap above the child's chest clip. If you 1.) can't grab it at all, or 2.) can grab some, but the strap slips out of your pinch, it is tight enough.

If you CAN pinch the strap and hold it, such as pictured here, it's too loose.

Keep Your LO Warm in Charcoal

The Car Seat Poncho is the safe, easy way to keep your child warm in the car seat.  It's easy because your child wears it in AND out of the car seat, so there's no fiddling with coats or blankets when you're trying to get everyone out and about and on your way.  Choose from gorgeous Charcoal + Rose, handsome Charcoal + Royal Blue, and sophisticated, gender neutral Charcoal + Black.  Check out our other color combos at the Car Seat Poncho store.

There's a New Print In Town

Lords a-leaping!  This year, there's a new print in the Car Seat Poncho collection.

Navy/Frogs features a navy cape and hood, royal blue zipper, and is lined with brightly colored frogs on a dark blue background.  Handsome, understated, warm, and fun.  What a wonderful combination!

Available now in Small for $39.99.  Check it out here.

Save $5 till July 31


Time for the final coupon of the year! All clearance ponchos (styles pictured above) are $5 off until midnight, July 31.  Use coupon code BARGAIN.

THE FINE PRINT:  Not combinable with other offers.  US deliveries only.

It's Coupon Time! Save 10% till June 24

Save 10% on all ponchos in the Car Seat Poncho store.  Enter coupon code JUNE24.  Valid till midnight, Sunday, June 24.  US deliveries only.

Great timing for baby gift:  Newborns (or soon to be borns) will be graduating to convertibles (or getting to heavy to lug around in carriers) just as the winter chill begins!  The Car Seat Poncho is the easy way to keep babies safe AND warm in their car seats, without a bulky coat.

BRITAX Recall: Chaperone Infant Seats

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) is alerting consumers of a safety recall involving 14,220 Chaperone Infant Car Seats sold in the U.S. due to a defect in the harness adjuster announced by Britax Child Safety, Inc. today. While NHTSA is unaware of any deaths or injuries related to the issue, the defect can result in ineffective safety harness straps.

Affected dates of manufacture are September 1, 2010 to April 30, 2011.

Read the full NHTSA press release here.

Making Life Easier for Moms

Many moms, especially those with more than one carseat-aged child, say the Car Seat Poncho is a life saver:

"The routine of catching a little one, putting a coat on, getting to and into the car, taking the coat off and buckling up -- TIMES TWO (OR MORE!) -- was just insane. Your ponchos make it so much easier!" Andrea, Linwood NJ

"I cannot thank you enough for this fabulous product. It has made our cold winter days so much easier -- no more in and out of coats each time we get in and then get out of the car. My twins love how soft they are. No more fighting to put on something warm!" Rose, Cedar Grove NJ

If you're a mom of twins, multiples, or "just" siblings, we would love to hear from you! Send us an email, message, or post on our Facebook wall. Pictures always welcome!

What Is The Real Cost of The Car Seat Poncho?

In today's economy, is the Car Seat Poncho a justifiable purchase? Of course, the safety of our loved ones is priceless, but in addition, consider the following:

• The Car Seat Poncho will last 2 seasons or more. Babies and toddlers grow at least one size per season. My son would start the fall wearing 12M, but finish the winter in 2T! That would be two more coats, a double purchase.
• Your child can wear it every day, in a wide range of temperatures, from frigid cold up to 60F degrees.

The Car Seat Poncho is a terrific value. It will last for years and can be passed from one child to another. Our materials are the highest quality, and our workmanship is impeccable. Order now and you can have it in 3 days!

New Combination Seat From Evenflo - the Secure Kid

Evenflo will soon introduce the Secure Kid 300, a new forward-only carseat that harnesses up to 65 lbs.  It has 18" top slots, and when the harness is outgrown, it boosters up to 100 lbs. and 57 inches.  It's on Amazon for $129.99

The same seat is also available with white trim, which for some mysterious reason qualifies it for a higher series name: the Secure Kid 400.  It's also available from Amazon, but for $149.99 and not till January 31, 2012.

Grey or white trim, plus or minus $20... It's still great that there are more choices coming up for extended harnessing!

Has This Baby Outgrown His Infant Seat?



He happens to be Felix Banks, the 9-month old son of one of my favorite actresses, Elizabeth Banks.  They were photographed at the Los Angeles Airport, and these pictures were posted on Celebrity Baby Scoop today.

The seat looks like a Graco Snug Ride 22.  Is it just me, or does it look like he is too tall for this seat?  Seems like his head is over the top of the shell.

Here is a shot of him outside the seat, from the same group of pictures, being held by Banks (who is about 5'5"). 

On the one hand, it must be a big PITA to have your and your family's every move's documented by paparazzi, but on the other, it's a learning and teaching opportunity for that and many other families. 

Let me know what you think.  In the meantime, I'm googling for her contact information!

Who Speaks Russian? Interesting Russian Video Needs English Translation!

While watching some crash test video on You Tube (doesn't everybody?), I happened upon this amazing video.

Is this the Russian version of Mythbusters? From what I can tell, these guys wanted to see if the harness clips injured little boys' privates in a crash. It seems like what they end up doing is making a case for rear-facing!

By running the video description through Google Translate: "Child seats are dangerous! Even certified. If they are incorrectly set, your child may be left without children, and you - no grandchildren! Leading the program held a "quail test" of child seats and talk about how to choose and, more importantly, to establish a chair."