United Brachial Plexus Network, Inc.

Ok here I go with the car seat issue again. I am still trying to decide on the best type of car seat for Kyle. The 5 point harness seat that I have, the straps adjust in the back. So that will be kind of hard to deal with when he is in the splint, cause obviously I will have to make some adjustments for the splinted side. Then I have a car seat with the triangular piece that comes down over the head and buckles between the legs. It has the adjustable strap in the front. But...with the splint on....is it OK to have the car seat straps going over the injured, splinted shoulder anyway? I would think that that might be a little painful for the kids....but I don't know. Any inputs would be appreciated. Can you tell I'm getting a little stressed now. Thanks.
Karrie

karrie,

I'd use the 5 point harness seat, a booster type seat with the 5 point will be lighter to carry,it even has a handle at the top to carry it with..(we just got the century next step booster for anna) as for the strap adjustment, loosen them up all the way so you can get them over his splint and there should be two little straps in the front you can pull to tighten them, and then one of those straps will loosen them when you get off the plane.. the over the head thing I wouldnt even attempt.. when putting him in the seat do his splinted arm first, sometimes I'd get anna to scoot down so it be easier getting it over her splint..
take a deep breath eveything will work out.. will keep you in our prayers
marg & anna

Karrie, we used a booster seat with blake that buckles in the front(Century next step) with the modquad splint and again now for the cap splint. It adjusts really easily in the back, we left the uninjured side alone and made the splint side a little looser. We just put him in the straps injured side first. He is four now, but we did the same thing when he was 2 with the modquad. Hope this helps and good luck.

Karrie,
Never say sorry for needing to ask questions!! I took a several day course on car seats and I still ask questions! Remind me of how old Kyle is and how much he weighs? If he is 40lbs or more than you will likley need to use just a plain booster seat and the adult lap shoulder belt. Most seats upper weight limits is 40 lbs. But of course check the seat! The lower limit also varies from seat to seat but you can often times do this when they are at least 30 lbs. But I have to stress that using the harness system in a car seat is considered the safest unless they have reached the harness weight limit.

I did read a parent one time before saying that she used a T-shield and it worked fine for her. I am not sure about it since the sides are not shallow... my thinking is that it might not be comfortable. I personally am slightly uncomfortable with the T shield-strickly because I haven't seen them on the market for sometime. Which my guess means the one you are using might be kind of old. It is recommended to not use a seat after it is 6 years old.

So here are my best recomendations for you:

1. Get a newer 5 point harness that has an adjuster in the front. This allow for Kyle to get into the seat better and you can then tighten. I do not in anyway recommend leaving the straps loose. This could be very dangerous in a crash situation.

2. Use a booster seat with an adult lap-shoulder belt. You can only do this if Kyle weighs 30 lbs. He is safer in a harness system until 40 lbs. And if you do use the booter with no internal harness system you can not use it on an airplane. They are not FAA approved for lap only belts unless you have an internal harness system.

3. You could use the T shield seat if it is not too old. And if Kyle will still fit in it and it doesn't have issues caused by the splint.

Hope I have helped alittle. And I am really hoping that this doesn't stress you out more!! If you would like to e-mail me we can exchange phone numbers and talk about it on the phone!

Always,
Kristie

Hi, Karrie. I basically agree with everything Kristie wrote. I want to add also though that if you're going to use a booster / lap-shoulder belt combo, that you might want to make sure that the car seat is on the side of the vehicle that would enable the shoulder belt to go over his uninjured shoulder. I have read some of the adults mention how uncomfortable shoulder seat belts are to wear (thank you for those who've provided that info.). That might seem obvious to some, but thought I would post it anyway b/c I don't know if I would've thought of it. I also want to mention that the straps on Nicole's 5-pt harness have never seemed to bother Nicole in a splint and believe me, I tighten those straps right up once I get it hooked up. It seems to me that the ones with the triangular piece might not work out as well, but I don't know b/c I never tried to use one with the splint. My personal recommendation would be to purchase one of the car seat / booster combos with the 5-pt harness, that Kristie prev. posted some links for. No need to apologize. Didn't someone post once about an organization that might be willing to donate a seat for you to have or to use temporarily? Francine? -Tina