I’ve had this conversation a million times with family, and I’ll bet you’ve had a similar, ongoing conversation with family members:
Concerned family member (CFM) – “Why don’t you just put a winter jacket on her”
Me – “It’s not safe”
CFM – “But they’ll get cold”
Me – “I’ll bundle them up, but I’d rather them be safe”
CFM – “Well we used to put you in the carseat with a giant snowsuit”
Me – “Yea, but NOW they recommend just a thin shirt”
CFM – “But they’ll FREEEEEZE!”
Me – “No, she’ll be fine. I’d rather her be a bit cold than fly out of her carseat *show a snowsuit, carseat video online*”
CFM– “I’m just going to buy her a down jacket, it’ll compress right”
Me – “They actually say that’s dangerous too”
CFM – “But look, it compresses…”
Me – *starts losing my patience, “No!”
Then, CFM every time I visit with the baby throughout the entire winter– “She looks soooooo cold!”
This conversation is EXACTLY why I wish I’d had a carseat poncho with my daughter! It’s the perfect compromise between safe and warm.
So, this year I reached out to the Queen of carseat ponchos, Stefanie from Mouse & Hatter Design, and got one before the craziness of poncho season began.
We tested it out in September, and even though it was 15 degrees at the time, I couldn’t get my daughter out of it!
So, if you’re new to the world of carseat ponchos, what exactly are carseat ponchos?
Basically it’s a poncho, that’s designed to put over your baby or toddler and allow you to easily transport them from the house to the car without getting cold.
The idea is that when putting the kiddo in the bucket or car seat, you lift up the poncho, then bucket up the carseat, and put the poncho OVER TOP of the harness…that way, the kiddo never gets cold AND are safely strapped in (like in the pictures below).
Where do you buy carseat ponchos?
Carseat ponchos aren’t available in box stores yet (like Toys R Us), so I was able to get mine from Mouse & Hatter Designs, an online and handmade shop based in Ottawa.
The owner is a professional seamstress who makes children’s apparel, and makes high quality pieces.
I’ve received other carseat ponchos before, but this was absolutely the best quality I’ve ever received. The stitching was perfect, and the construction was flawless…better quality than store bought!
The poncho itself was topped with a super soft minky material, and lined with a cozy fleece. It reminds me of a super soft version of a snoogle for toddlers lol.
There were a ton of fabric options, but I choose this one because it reminded me of the crab from Moana, which my daughter is currently obsessed!!
The best part, there are snaps around the wrists so that her arms aren’t stuck underneath (not everybody includes this), but this means that she can use her hands easily. The openings where a teeny bit big, BUT in hindsight I realized that they’re actually the perfect size because she’ll normally be wearing this with mittens on cold days (not testing it out with a t-shirt in the summer lol).
The main reason why I love Mouse & Hatter is the QUALITY!
You really tell just how my TLC Stefanie puts into her work, and every piece I own feels special. She also has a TON of fabric, so just ask, and she’ll find a style that works for you.
You can find the carseat ponchos here: https://mousehatterdesigns.com/
