Car seats have improved dramatically through the years, but the straps on many models aren’t always comfortable when worn for extended periods of time. Just ask this little guy who rubbed a mark in his neck after a long trip to see his auntie. Luckily, his aunt was the crafty type and created a pair of cozy seat belt covers out of $1 pot holders purchased

at Target. Check out her cool tutorial at Obsessively Stitching and tell her the moose sent ya!

* Safety Note: Be sure to have your car seat inspected at a local car seat inspection station to ensure you aren’t introducing a safety hazard with the new padding.

Have fun and stay healthy,
Dr.MOZ

Car seats were designed to provide the optimal upright angle needed to survive car wrecks, but not to be used as cribs in the home as many parents are now using them. A Pediatrics study reviewed a small sample of 200 two-day-old newborns and found that oxygen levels where slightly lower for infants sitting in a car safety seats for sixty minutes

compared to infants sleeping in hospital cribs. Experts agree that babies shouldn’t be unnecessarily restricted in car seats at home because healthy oxygen levels are needed for proper development.

Have fun and stay healthy,
Dr.MOZ

I was scrolling through Trend Hunter’s Best of 2008 lists this morning and was surprised to find the tot-pod. I’m not sure how I missed Canadian designer Aldo Barreto’s winning entry from Samsonite’s design competition earlier in the year, but I love the flexibility of this baby car seat. The concept product includes a hidden storage space (in back), a seat-mount for easy installation in cars, and drop-down wheels which instantly turn the seat into a stroller. The versatility of Tot-pods are sure to make them big hits with parents, so I’ll let you know if Samsonite announces a release date in 2009!

Have fun and stay healthy,
Dr.MOZ

> also see: Mystery Product by Babymoov

Dear Dr.MOZ,

I have a question that I think is a good fit for the GoodFather. I’m a soon-to-be dad that received your gift CD-ROM a few weeks ago and I took the advice in the “Car Seat Safety” lesson and installed our car seat early. Now that I have it in, I wanted to have the installation checked by pros. The seat appears to be in great shape, but it was passed-down to us by a friend so I’d like them to check it out for wear-and-tear as well. Are there government or state agencies that do this, or is this typically done by someone at the hospital?

Thanks a million!
DJ

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Hello DJ,

This is a great question, so I’ll go through the main safety check process step-by-step for those that don’t yet have the gift CD-ROM:

1) Check Your Seat
Don’t use the seat if you find missing pieces or hairline fractures. If it passes your own inspections, we’ll run a quick online check (or by phone) to make sure it wasn’t recently recalled.

2) Check the Child Seat Safety Recall Listing
Find the model information printed on the seat and visit this link to the Office of Defects Investigation website to see if your seat has had any issues. From there, you’ll

be able to check for your model number for a possible recall. Today’s listing covers recalls from January 1990 through July 6, 2007 but I really don’t recommend using a seat that goes back as far as the 90′s. If you prefer to call, use the DOT Auto Safety Hotline 1-888-DASH-2-DOT

3) Visit a Child Passenger Safety Inspection Station
CPS stations are staffed by nationally certified technicians located throughout the country, so find your local inspection station here. They will be able to inspect your car seat’s installation inside your car and help answer any questions you might have about positioning and latching your car seat into your automobile.

4) Download and Mail the Child Safety Seat Registration Form
This is an important step DJ. You didn’t purchase the car safety seat from the store, so the manufacturer won’t have your contact information if problems are detected with your car seat in the future. To register your ownership for your car seat download the PDF provided at NHTSA’s page here, fill out the information, and mail it in. Now you’ll be on the list to be contacted in the off chance that there is a safety issue with your model.

That should keep you busy for now, but be sure to visit our “Stork Tools” section on the Dr.MOZ company page for additional new parent resources. Thanks for the great question DJ, and congratulations with your upcoming GoodFather status!

The GoodFather