Car seat safety

I've been debating over what I wanted my first real post to be about since I made this. I've finally decided to go with what may very well be THE most important topic: Car seat safety.
Car seats are wonderful. I'm pretty obsessed about researching which ones are best (all of them have to pass the same basic testing, but some are obviously better than others) and how to use them properly. I'm always learning new things so I'm sure there are a lot of people that don't know some of the less common rules.
Car seat safety is a huge deal. These things are responsible for keeping your child safe if you happen to get into an accident. Misuse can result a the seat failing. Car seats failing can end in serious injury or even death. Very few parenting decisions have such serious consequences, but this is one that can be absolutely devastating if you aren't careful.
As you all should know (really, you should! It's in the manual which you should have read before ever using the seat) children are supposed to be rear-facing until 1 year AND 20 pounds. This is a very important law. Yes, it's a LAW in most places that you have to use the seat properly, and all seats say rear-facing until 1 year and 20 pounds. If you turn your child before they hit the minimum age/weight requirements you can get fined, but worse than that, you could lose your child.
A child under 1 year does not have the head and neck control to keep their head from flying forward in the event of a head-on collision ( frontal and frontal offset crashes combine for about 72% of severe crashes). This can result in internal decapitation. When a child is rear-facing in a front-end crash, the seat absorbs the energy and keeps them safe. So while the current law is 1 year and 20 pounds, the AAP recommends keeping children rear-facing until at least 2 years and 30 pounds. Most car seats made now accommodate extended rear-facing. Also, they will not break their legs no matter how "cramped" they are. There have never been any reports of this happening and even if there was, you can always fix a broken leg, but the same can't be said for broken necks.
Now on to some other details. Did you know that it's estimated that only 10% of people use their car seats correctly? That is a very sad number. So many child deaths could be prevented if parents would take the time to learn how to use their seat. Most people don't know how tight the straps need to be, where the chest clip should go, and what after-market products are okay to use in their seat. I see so many people leaving the harnesses so loose the child could climb straight out, the chest clips down by the harness buckles, and just poor installation. Here's a few tips to help maximize your seat's effectiveness:

• The harness should be tight. The "pinch test" is a great way to tell if the straps are tight enough. If you can pinch them away from their body at the shoulder, they need to be tightened more.
• The chest clip should be at arm-pit level.
• After-market products are NOT recommended. Only things that come with the seat should be used. There is no way to know if they will interfere with the harness because they have not been used in a crash-test with the seat.
• Heavy coats and snowsuits should not be used in car seats. It is impossible to get the straps tight enough with these on. To see what I mean put your child in the seat with the coat on, take the child out without loosening the straps, take the coat off, and buckle the child back in. If the straps can be pinched away from their shoulders, the coat should not be used in the seat.
• When installed correctly, car seats should not be able to move more than 1 inch at the belt path. If you cannot get your seat installed correctly, call your hospital or fire department and have them track down a car seat tech to help you.
• Children are 5 TIMES safer rear-facing.
  

I could go on and on about car seat safety and I'm sure I will have more posts about it as time goes by, but I will leave it at that for now. The only other thing I have to say is please, PLEASE read your car seat manual. It could save your child's life someday.
For more information on car seat safety check out this website: http://www.car-safety.org/

Introductions

Hello everybody. I'm so excited to have this up and running. I'll get started on the good stuff soon, but this first post is just going to be an introduction.
My name is Katie. I am a 22-year-old, stay at home mommy to two of the most awesome kids I have ever met. I'm what some people would call "crunchy". I am obsessed with breastfeeding, cloth diapers, babywearing, co-sleeping, and making my own baby food. I don't believe in circumcision or letting baby cry-it-out. I'm not saying these things are wrong, just that they aren't for us. Now here is a little bit about the people that make my world go 'round:
Jesse - This is my wonderful husband. We were married on February 11, 2008 after we found out I was pregnant. We were right in the middle of planning our wedding, but decided to go ahead and get married anyway so I could be on his insurance. We had our wedding on May 24, 2008. It was small, but perfect. He has been there for me through some difficult times and I am so lucky to have him.
Avalyn - My little princess that is 2 years old. October 8, 2008 was the day my wonderful new life started. This was when I first became a mom. There is nothing more wonderful or terrifying than realizing you are officially 100% responsible for another human being. When she was born she was a very small baby. She was full-term, but weighed just 5 pounds, 6 ounces. She was the most amazing little thing I had ever seen. From the very beginning she was just full of personality, she knew exactly what she wanted and had no problem letting you know if she was unhappy. She's still like that, just a lot more vocal. She is probably one of the best big sisters I have ever seen, too. She loves her little brother so much. She shares toys with him, brings him the bink when he's grumpy, and will sometimes just give him random hugs and kisses.
Atticus - Oh, my little man. He is 8 months old now. Time flies so fast. He was born April 27, 2010. The first thing the doctor said when he pulled him out was "Oh wow! He's a BIG boy!" and well... he still is. At 8 months he weighs only 5 pounds less than his big sister and is wearing 12 month clothes. He's just now starting to crawl, but sometimes he'll look like he's just going to stand right up and start running. He's goofy, affectionate, happy, and pretty easy-going. I cannot wait to see what he is like when he's a little older. I hope he still loves his sister like he does now. His whole face lights up the second she gets close to him. I can already tell they're going to be great friends.
So that's everybody in our happy little family. I figured I would go ahead and introduce everybody since there will probably be a lot of entries about them. They are my inspiration, after-all. Here are some pictures so you can put a face to the names: