We went to the car seat inspection bright and early Sunday morning. We were the first cars there, but we weren't the first ones in line. We were waiting for the inspectors to finish setting up, when an impromptu line was formed by some more aggressive folks...some of which hadn't even tried to install their car seats. They just brought them along and had the inspectors install them...aggressive and lazy...but I digress...
It was all worth the effort because both of our car seat bases had to be re-installed. The seat belted one in the Saturn wasn't installed tightly enough. It took 2 men and a lot of sweat, but they got a snug fit. I was amazed at the amount of brute strength required for a proper installation. The LATCH system car seat in the Honda had to moved from the center position to the side because the LATCH connections were too close together in the center. Apparently, they have to be 22 inches apart. Also they were able to get a better fit using the seat belt, so in the end the LATCH system wasn't used at all.
One interesting factoid...in every magazine and car seat review, you'll read that you should use a rear-facing car seat until the baby reaches one year old or 20 lbs. The car seat inspectors told us that the baby has to be rear-facing until at least their first birthday, and that if they surpass the weight limit first, you should buy a convertible car seat and use it in the rear-facing position until they get old enough to ride facing forward. A child under one year of age should never ride facing forward even if they're over the 20 lb. limit.
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