Carseat Sun Shade

We live in the Northwest so, consequently, we don't have to deal with the sun very often. But when the sun does come out, my poor Washingtonian kids desperately try to shield their eyes from the great flaming orb in the sky. Normally I can help them manage while we play in the yard. But when we are in the car, I can't exactly drive and cover their eyes at the same time. My eldest son can wear his sunglasses but my little guy absolutely HATES having anything on his face. For little Hayden, sunglasses are out of the question! Hats don't offer enough shade for his eyes, and the pull-down shade cover on his carseat only goes so far. When the sun is in the right spot, his poor little face gets blasted with sunlight and I'm left with one pissed off baby. And if you have a kid, I don't have to explain to you why a screaming child in the backseat of the car is extremely stressful and why you'd go to any length to get them to stop!

When Hayden was really little, I sewed this cute little blanket cover that worked brilliantly in the beginning.

Get the pattern here: http://cally-cruze.blogspot.com/2009/10/infant-carseat-blanket.html

But as he got older, Hayden started to push the blanket aside, or grab the bottom of the blanket cover and pull it up onto his face which I was not very comfortable with. So we said goodbye to this design and tried to figure out something else. We tried draping big blankets over the carseat but we still had the same problem of him pulling the blanket down, not to mention, it made it very hot for him under the blanket. But after a few trial and errors we finally found something that worked perfectly: a fitted crib sheet! We took a fitted crib sheet, hooked one end around the back of the carseat, and the other end around the back headrest of the seat of the car and ta-da! A perfect sunshade that didn't pull down (since it was hooked onto his seat and the back seat of the car) and it didn't over-heat him because of the thin sheet and the open sides. It also allowed him to still see his brother from the sides so he wasn't completely closed in (which helped to keep him entertained). It might look a little silly, but it kept the sun out of our kid's eyes, it stayed off of his face and couldn't be pulled down, and all in all it kept our kid happy. I call it a win!