Ok, so I am going to be truthful. For ages, I didn’t know that you weren’t supposed to put your baby in a snowsuit or a bulky jacket in their car seat. I thought that they would be lovely, snuggly and warm and, if you had a little munchkin like mine who wailed like a banshee every time you tried to get her arms into anything, you saved yourself a lot of hassle (and tears) when you arrived at your eventual destination! I have since learned the error of my ways. You should not put your baby in a puffy coat/snowsuit in their car seat because, quite simply, it isn’t safe. That extra couple of inches that the padding provides means that the straps do not fit snuggly enough and, consequently, could seriously increase the risk of injury in a car accident. No one wants this for their precious cargo.
So, what is a Mummy supposed to do? This is where the 7 A.M. Enfant NIDO car seat wrap comes to the rescue. 7 A.M. Enfant products appear to have taken America by storm and boast such celebrity clientele as Sarah Jessica Parker. You can see why I was excited to review this product: if 7 A.M Enfant is trendy enough for SJP’s children, it’s good enough for my little Tibbles!
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The product has a universal fit for any car seat and has very easy instructions to follow for installation. There are even pictures to explain how to wrap your child in the blanket – great for numpties like me (who knew baby brain was an actual thing?!). The wrap is designed to keep your little one warm and cozy in the car and, above all, safe.
How does it work then? The wrap has an oval cut out in the back which you place over the car seat harnesses so that you can access them easily and then when your baby is all clipped in, you wrap the blanket around them and fasten it in place. That’s the theory anyway.
In all honesty, I found the product too much of a faff when I was on my own!! Trying to get all the elements of the car seat harness outside of the wrap (you need to get the oval shaped hole in just the right position!) while juggling a sometimes screaming, sometimes wriggling, sometimes excited but always heavy six-month old was not my idea of a fun time. That said, if you have someone to help you then the car wrap is absolutely fab. Tabitha really was snug as a bug in a rug (see pictures) and loved being wrapped up in it.
I felt a huge relief knowing that she was safe too. Tabitha always liked being swaddled as a newborn and so when the wrap was fastened up, she seemed to like the security of it if she was going to sleep. I am not sure how a baby who doesn’t like being restricted would cope. However, the NIDO is versatile: you could always leave the blanket undone totally or wrap it around your baby loosely and they would still benefit from the warmth. Tabitha certainly preferred the open, untucked look when she was out and noseying about!
The NIDO is a great product for the car and for those times when you are using the car seat on your pram (heaven forbid that this should be for more than 10 minutes a day!!) but, call me old-fashioned, I find using a soft blanket tucked around your baby to be much quicker and easier!
NB: Fiona received the NIDO car wrap in order to review but all views are her own.
Fiona lives in Yorkshire with her husband and little girl who is 6 months
Wow this is such a good idea with all the safety concerns of padded jackets and car seats recently – I’m going to recommend this to my brother for his baby thanks 🙂
this is awesome idea.. thanks for sharing
Brilliant idea! Thanks for sharing with us!