Infant Life Jacket

My wife and I are trying to find a good infant life jacket. Our child is two months old and the only she is going out this summer is if she has a good life jacket, any recommendations would be great....thanks

I picked up some good ones at Costco for a very good price. But I will admit the baby stayed in the car seat most of the time without the jacket on. Not smart, but it's what we did. Any boat over 19 feet are you're not required to wear vests. My 4 and 5 year old wear them no matter what.

imo the best one out there and appears to be the most comfortable.

http://www.mountainbaby.com/item.php/Salus_Bijoux.html

thanks Bruce, looks like that is what we will get unless anyone else has a better solution

Just be aware that the Bijoux is not CG approved. I doubt anyone would check but good to know.

didn't notice that, good point though, but it does say "yet". i felt very comfortable letting our 2 month old wear this last season. it floats their head above the water and turns them right side up should they land head/front first. we used it along with their car seat and a UV sun shade we picked up online. worked like a charm.

You can carry a CG approved jacket but put the baby into the Bijoux. The CG approved ones are not designed for a newborn and are not as safe. Quite different than a non CG approved competition jacket.

I bought one at Walmart for $20 it was a Stearns ( I think). I had another one that zipped in the front and the front was covering my daughter's face (she is 6 1/2 months right now). The Stearns (I think) has a zipper in the back and a clip that hooks on the right shoulder and then 2 leg straps. It seemed to be much better for her comfort wise and was cheaper than the other one too. I have looked for a link and I can not find it anywhere. I will have to get the jacket and take some pictures... but the nice thing was that the flotation on it was cut lower where the baby's face is and there was no zipper in the front... I do not have any pictures of her in the new jacket, but I will post one of her in the old one. the 1st 2 pictures she was just a few weeks old and then the last one was 2 weeks ago when she was 6 1/2 months and we did not zip up all the way she did not seem to mind and actually liked chewing on the zipper, but he new one is better in my opinion. I will post some pics as soon as I can.

Have a Body glove infant vest for my son. He is 4 months old and fits him great. Vest is good up to 30lb and best of all its USCG approved. USCG approval requires the vest to turn a baby on its back an float the head above the water within a specified # of seconds Don't have the number in front of me but I know it's pretty fast. By the way USCG has much stricter standards for PFD than CCG just some thing to think about. The Bijoux says approved by Canadian authorities.

Question: What PFD does the Coast Guard recommend for infants?

USCG response: The Coast Guard does not recommend taking infants onboard a recreational boat. The PFDs currently available for newborns up to 18 pounds may not provide a proper fit to perform as expected. Unless the parent is able to test their newborns out in a PFD, sized for infants, in a swimming pool, they will not know if that device will float their child with his/her head out of the water. You must be sure you know the PFD you have works for your infant. Otherwise we recommend the child not be exposed to any risk in a boat on the water.

I have a red infants' like what boozer has in the pics. I think it's rated to 30 lbs. If you cant find one cheap locally, let me know, I'm sure we can trade childs' safety for a little beer $. I'm in cali so shipping won't be too bad. let me know.

Thanks guys, it is mom's chore this week, to find a vest that I am comfortable with taking the little one out in...I guess we should buy a couple, test them out in the pool and take the ones back we don't like...

Actually Brandon the USCG does not have stricter standards than the CCG. The Canadian federal government did not have regulations in place for very small infants because no one had come up with a design that worked and consequently the smallest vest had a minimum weight spec. Children under the minimum weight and age were not required to wear a vest that would not help in the same manner it would for larger infants. This was to avoid a misunderstanding by consumers as the the effectiveness of the vest. The identical vest would have the identical upper size when rated by the USCG but the USCG had no minimum weight rating, where the CCG vest did have a minimum.

Here's the one we had, it was a body glove and he slept in it all the time.

Art,
The info I had on who has the stricter standards came from waterskiworld.com, so it could be wrong. Can't believe everything on the internet. Also stated in my above post the USCG recommends for infants under 18 pounds you should try the vest in a pool and see which one works for you child. Based on that statement sounds like the USCG does have a minimum weight. I personally have not sat down and read the rules and regulations for both the USCG and CCG in their entirety. I know that the US and more specific California have some of the strictest standards any where.

From: waterskiworld.com

If you are buying a vest for boating or canoeing in Canada, is a Canadian Coast Guard Approved standard. US Coast Guard Approved vests have higher standards than Canadian Coast Guard Approved Vests, so if you are not a rental agency in Canada worried about legal issues in Canada, you will be perfectly safe in a US Coast Guard Approved vest when boating in Canada.

And this was directly from USCG website on PFD's

USCG response: The Coast Guard does not recommend taking infants onboard a recreational boat. The PFDs currently available for newborns up to 18 pounds may not provide a proper fit to perform as expected. Unless the parent is able to test their newborns out in a PFD, sized for infants, in a swimming pool, they will not know if that device will float their child with his/her head out of the water. You must be sure you know the PFD you have works for your infant. Otherwise we recommend the child not be exposed to any risk in a boat on the water.

Yeh, you always have to question internet info. I'm fine if anyone questions me if I post.
With regard to the CCG vs USCG rating in Canada, the Canadian regulations do require a CGA approval. If you do get pulled over you are supposed to have CGA. So the waterskiworld comment is wrong.
However, we get a lot of US tourists and the authorities will generally understand the similarities in requirements. It's easy to use US money in Canada too. It's much harder to get a store in the US to accept Canadian currency. (Unless it's a bar near the border)

The wife gets home tonight and I will take pics of the new jacket tomorrow and post them... I thought that it was a Stearns, but I can't find it online anywhere so I will double check

please let us know. I have a 1 week old right now and was about to start researching my options for the summer.

Why do you need a life vest? Just put your hand behind their head and they'll pull themselves up the swimstep. Oh wait, wrong thread. Sorry

Some of the pictures of what I'm seeing on here are a little scary. Hyperlite make a vest specifically for infants. It should be snug and the crotch strap snug as well, not loose.

i have a purple and black oneil for $25

(Message edited by slipknot on May 13, 2009)

here are the pictures of my new vest it is a Stearns and it says it is made with Hydroprene that is thinner and more breaathable than neoprene. (and for the record Jeff those 1st pictures I took were when she was just a few weeks old back in November... I was just getting her used to having a life jacket on.

here are a few more pics

I hope that these help I tried to find a link for this particular vest online, but could not. It definitely has more room around her face and the foam inside is much lighter weight too that the other one. I found this at Walmart for $20 good luck.

Hey Billy, looks like you found a gem. (Oh, and the jacket looks excellent, too)

I personally cant wait to get my daughter on the boat and out on a lake, etc.. but this is one instance where I just wouldn't risk anything.
I'm just not taking my daughter along until I feel she can hold her head strongly and not get knocked around. All the flotation devices in the world wont help whiplash. It's tempting for me as my daughter is 3 months old but the size of a 9 month old (26" 17lbs), but when she's tired her head easily will sway. I'm not being an alarmist, but there's just too much risk with newborns and a day on the lake.. And yes she's out first so we're a little more precautionary than 2nd time parents! Not too much though!
By the time summer ends my daughter will be 6-7 months... I'll probably just wait until next year to take her out.


(I could just see the thread now...
"What's best for getting black tar poopie out of my marine grade vinyl??? Babes, Magic eraser, or diaper wipes????")

IMO- there is far more risk taking the babies out when they become mobile. We took our son out at six weeks, we didn't have to worry about him at all, he would sleep the few hours we would ride. We would wrap him up in blankets so his head and neck were supported.

Now he is one - he is all over the place and wants to hang off the edge of the boat, wants to drive the boat. Its the best thing ever to watch him enjoy it but a lot more risk of him getting hurt now.

Billy,
Thanks for the tip. Just went to Wal Mart and picked one up (in blue though, out of pink). In your pics the neck hole looks fine, but looking at the vest in person it looks tight. Did you have any issues with that? Looks like the snap at the neck is not adjustable.

It is not adjustable, but it fits her pretty good right now and she is a little over 16 lbs. I think that the streach in the back will allow to grow and the head and arm holes are big enough that I guess her neck and arms will just stick out more.... ( bought the 1st one hoping for a boy, but now I would not give anything for the girl) I will keep the blue one for a spare or if there are any other small ones that are going out with us.

My comment was not directed at you Billy.

My son has one of Bijoux vests and we are very happy with it. He is one now and has been using it since he was about 4 months old. Very adjustable and has mesh back so it doesn't get too hot. Works well now that he is driving the SAN.