You have gotten a lot of great advice. I would agree with the sun shade and only use the mirror if you can refrain from looking at it while you are driving. This is just one more distraction that can cause an accident. Deffinatly get you setup ready then have it checked out. The hospital should do this before you leave anyway, but this way you can make adjustments before the big day.
Aslo, please do not put anything under the seat or in the seat that was not intended to go there. Towels and blankets will not be adequite support in the event of an accedent, but rather increase the likelyhood of injury. Blankets on the inside can be pulled loose and become a suffication hazzard. Use the same common sence in the carseat as you do for the crib. -no loose blankets, or toys, stuffed animals.
Also no bottle feeding in the car as you cannot see well enough to know if they are choking. I know that they make bottles with long straws for this now and they are rediculous. Babies make sounds, you will learn the good and the bad in no time. The fact that you are already concerned about it shows that you will be a great mom.
Good luck, relax, and congrats.
I don't know if this was mentioned but when I brought my little one from the hospital, I kept hearing whimpering & kept looking back but didn't see anything wrong. When we got out of the car, my hubby noticed that her little cap the hospital gave her had somehow fallen down & covered her face. So that was something we didn't expect to happen. Just thought I'd mention that. Good luck!
Once installed the seat should not be able to move more than one inch in any direction.
There are weight limits for the infant seat but you need to watch for length as well...if your child's feet are crawling up the back seat while in the infant carrier, it is time to move them to a convertible carseat which can face rear or front...
you can purchase a swim noodle and cut one third of it off...Use that to help properly position the carseat if your vehicle's regular seat has a deep dip towards where the back and bottom meet.
I, personally, always use a "mighty-tite" seat belt tightener versus the metal belt lock that comes attached to the seat when you buy it. I find that the "mighty-tite" is easier to use and allows more control for tightenting shoulder straps down to prevent the seat moving more than the 1 inch in any direction.
Once your child is born, their size can affect how much they move around in their seats. With infants 7lbs or smaller where there is a lot of room between their head and the side of the seat, you can safely place a firmly rolled receiving blanket in a u shape over their heads (shoulder to Shoulder). For smaller infants and premies you may need two or three of them. When we finally brought my twins home from the NICU, we needed two per child (they weighed in at just under 5 lbs a piece.
For the most part, putting the seats in safely and making sure the straps are used properly are the most important thing you need at this stage. When you infant becomes a toddler or ill is when you will have to listen and watch for much more (like sounds of vomiting for ill babies, and sounds of unbuckling or unsafe play for toddlers).
Good Luck and congratulations on the new addition to your family!!! ;-)
I highly recommend taking it out to the DPS installed and they will inspect it for you to make sure it's all in there okay and whatnot. They will tell you changes to make and how it needs to be done. My husband has been out there three times with ours and there's always an adjustment to be made. They know their stuff and it gives you great peace of mind to know it's in there as well as possible.
Congrats with your baby and best wishes for a healthful pregnancy!
Thank you to everyone who responded. So many great and knowledgable mothers in mamasource! I feel armed with all the information I need thanks to all of you.
-RB