The Bottom Line
The Hugs-A-Lot car seat blanket provides parents with a safer alternative to thick winter coats for keeping baby warm in the car seat. Made from thin fleece, the Hugs-A-Lot car seat blanket will not compress to the extent that a thick coat would in a crash, which means the car seat harness will remain properly adjusted and safe. The Hugs-A-Lot car seat blanket is well-made and the fleece is just right for keeping baby toasty warm.
Pros
- Thin fleece blanket allows car seat straps to be properly adjusted.
- No bulky zippers or snaps.
- Leg pouches keep baby from kicking the blanket off.
- Hoodless version can also be used as a swaddling blanket
Cons
- Older babies may be able to wiggle their arms out of the blanket.
- Size ranges, which are important for safety, require you to buy more than one blanket as baby grows.
Description
- Machine-washable fleece car seat blanket.
- Designed to prevent dangerous car seat harness slack caused by thick, bunching fabrics.
- Available in preemie, 0-6 months, 6-12 months and 12-18 months sizes, and with or without hoods.
- Solid colors start at $24.95, prints start at $29.95.
Guide Review - Hugs-A-Lot Car Seat Blanket
Buckling baby into a car seat with a thick winter coat is dangerous because the coat can compress in a crash, allowing the car seat harness to slack and possibly allowing baby to be ejected from the car seat. How can you keep baby safe and warm at the same time? The Hugs-A-Lot car seat blanket addresses this safety concern with a thin fleece blanket that is designed to keep baby warm while keeping the car seat harness straps properly adjusted and as close to baby's body as possible. The Hugs-A-Lot car seat blanket is available without a hood and also with a pom-pom hood or a pigtails hood. The Hugs-A-Lot without the hood also can be used for swaddling younger babies. To use the Hugs-A-Lot car seat blanket, you open the blanket and spread it out in the car seat and place your baby on it. Then you tuck in baby's feet, put the hood on baby's head and buckle the car seat harness straps as usual. After tightening the car seat harness, fold the blanket's side "wings" over baby's arms. With the Hugs-A-Lot blanket, your baby is well-protected from the cold without any material bunched under the car seat harness straps. The Hugs-A-Lot is machine washable and the good quality fleece should resist pilling. Available in preemie, 0-6 months, 6-12 months and 12-18 months sizes, the Hugs-A-Lot blanket may be outgrown quickly. The sizing is important, though, because a too-large blanket might bunch in the car seat, causing the seat belt slack that the product seeks to address.
