Car Seats

Most car seats are so bulky even if they’re lightweight, making for an awkward time trying to secure the seat and keeping a hold of your children at the same time. Just going on a routine outing to the park can become a hassle. You must take time to pack the stroller, then secure the car seat. While you’re busy doing all of this, how can you keep aware of your surroundings? With the Christmas shopping season just ahead of us, all the time a mother must take to do these things can leave her feeling very vulnerable.

This Dakota Backless Booster Seat is for older children (33-100lbs), but it takes time and attention to get our older children situated in their car seats too. With a weight under 4 lbs and compact design, this ultra-comfy booster seat with help you spend less time struggling and have everyone safely secure in less time.

This booster seat has a machine washable cover and sells for $29.95 at OneStepAhead.com.

Have you noticed the local markets are providing sanitized towels for wiping down their carts before you place yours hands around the handles? It’s a great idea and an even better one is protecting your child from those same germs before placing them in the cart.

I like this two in one shopping cart cover because it promotes health and safety in an easy and convenient manner. Some of it’s features include extra padding, rear-security buckle, loops for small toys or teethers and a zippered pouch.

This shopping cart cover is one-size-fits-all, so it’s perfect for most shopping carts and even restaurant high chairs. Order yours at Right Start Web site, rightstart.com, for $42.99.

I don’t know what I would have done with out my JJ Cole Bundle Me. My son was born in January and the day we took him home it was -10 degrees outside. Thankfully we got a Bundle Me.

Now he still had on a ton of layers but with the Bundle Me it was much easier transporting him in the winter. I didn’t have to dress him in big snowsuits I just zipped him in. The Bundle Me always kept him warm and never even came out of his car seat, except to be washed.

JJ Cole also makes a Bundle Me Lite which we used in the spring. I would highly recommend the Bundle Me’s to make a busy mom’s life just a little easier. You can find them for $39.00 at major baby chains.

I love this infant seat. My younger daughter used it until she outgrew it, a friend borrowed it for her son, and when this next baby arrives he or she will use it too. There are many things that I like about this seat. As far as car seats go, it was relatively easy to install, and it has an indicator to help you identify whether it is sitting level in your vehicle.

Of course you want to have a safe seat, but this is also a great-looking seat. I definitely enjoyed showing off my baby in it. It also snaps easily into both my Peg Pliko stroller and the chassis of my Peg carriage system.

My only complaints would be that the handle could use some padding, and that my daughter outgrew this seat rather early. She is a tiny thing, but she moved into a convertible at five months because I felt like this was getting a little snug. Overall, though, I would highly recommend this seat. You can buy one for $190 at babyuniverse.com.

If you’re looking for one of the hottest celebrity baby stroller systems on the market, look no further than the Orbit Infant System. Dubbed “The best thing since sliced bread” by Tori Spelling, the system’s main innovation is that the infant car seat can rotate on both the stroller and car seat base 360 degrees for easy access and mobility.

A nifty demonstration of this feature can be viewed on the website at orbitbaby.com.  While this product has for the most part received rave reviews, you might want to take the cons into consideration. One major drawback is that it’s very much a collection of seats and gear that you must buy in order to get the most out of it (meaning continued use through the toddler years) and it can get complicated.

In general, however, the product has received rave reviews, and if you want to join the ranks of celebrities like Heidi Klum, the Orbit System is the way to go.

If you are bored with traditional car seat designs, or looking to make your son’s old car seat look a bit more feminine for a new baby girl, you might want to look into these fun car seat covers. Many of the available fabric combinations weren’t quite to my taste, but I find this one to be quite attractive. It would certainly make your car seat stand out. The inner part of the cover is made of a pink and white minky dot fabric, which is all the rage in blankets these days. I love the bold floral print on the canopy and sides. Covers are designed to fit most car seat models from Peg Perego, Britax, Graco, Chico, and Combi. Each cover costs $234.99. While this is about what I remember paying for my car seat, you can think of it as a more environmentally-friendly alternative to purchasing a completely new seat. Matching accessories are also available. You can buy one at bundlesofblossoms.com.

As a mom, I’m sure you know that car seats have a tendency to get dirty and worn out. Whether it’s juice stains or stuck-on cereal, they can be pretty hard to clean. I’ve learned to love car seat covers exactly for that reason. You can make an old car seat look like new with a simple product that can keep you from having to buy a new one until your baby grows out of it. I’m all about bright colors and soft fabrics, so when I saw Baby Bella Maya Leopard Toddler Car Seat Cover, I knew it was for me. With it’s soft leopard fabric and bright pink trim, this cover will provide comfort and style. It’s easy to remove too! You don’t have to strain yourself trying to remove the straps because it connects by snaps, so it’s a breeze to take off and clean. The seat belt pad is also included. You can get one at abellaboutique.com.

At first I wasn’t very enthusiastic about JJ Cole’s Bundle Me. My friend raved and raved about it, but I wasn’t sure it was for me. After receiving one as a shower gift, however, I decided to try it out. I ended up loving it. My daughter was born in December and this carrier cover was a lifesaver! The shearling lining is extremely soft. The cover attaches to a car seat without interfering with the operations of the seat’s harness. It can also be attached to a stroller. One of my favorite things about the Bundle Me is that it stays put. You don’t have it worry about losing your little one’s blanket in a snow drift or under the wheels of your stroller. I was so happy with this product that I have now bought several as shower gifts for friends. I loaned mine to my sister, but I will definitely be reclaiming it before my new baby arrives. Celebrity parents have also been impressed with this product. It was even featured on the Martha Stewart Show. You can buy the original Bundle Me for $39.95 at bundleme.com. A lighter weight version for warmer weather is also available, as is a larger toddler size.

This is certainly the car seat for infants and toddlers. Just from looking at it, you can tell that it is a comfortable seat to sit in. It is very heavily padded and the upholstery fabric is super-soft. It comes in a number of prints from traditional to trendy. The combination of safety and aesthetically pleasing designs is no doubt what has made these seats appealing to celebrity parents. Matt Damon, Britney Spears, Jenny Garth, Michelle Williams, and Jennifer Garner all have Britax seats for their little ones. My daughter moved into hers at about 5 months and still has tons of room in it at almost 2 and a half. The seat can hold a child up to 65 pounds which is quite nice. The only downside to this seat from my experience is that it is very hard to install and adjust. Luckily, most communities have experts who can install car seats for you. You can buy one of these luxurious seats for around $285 at tinyride.com.