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Thursday, August 9, 2012

Happy Buckled Baby~Safe Con Britax

So as we are in a rush to jump in the car once again because we are always in a hurry and have some place to go, when we try to put Lil Bit in her car seat, and she says uh, ah! Nope, she's not having it! Pick me up, pick me up, pick me up!  What do we do?
We have been having lots of this, and it even makes us not want to go anywhere.  I want her to be safe.  I do not want to drive off the rode from all the freaking crying that doesn't let me concentrate on the road.  You would think someone is murdering her.

Well first of all, here is what we won't do:

-We will not carry her in our laps, just because she wants to cry about having to be safely buckled in her Britax B-Safe car seat. 

I recently saw a lady with a little girl between 2-4 yrs old.  She had her daughter sitting in the middle console which she used as her own personal seat.  I could not believe that the person driving, maybe a mom, sitter, grandma, etc?, was fine with this. 

We will put Lil Bit's safety first, and will find creative ways to keep her amused:

-Car seat 1st-Before we load the car, we buckle her in the car seat and carry it to the car.  She seems to like this alot because she associates the car seat with a trip out of the house.  This may only work for babies 25 lbs and under but doing it this way has really helped us.  Trying to carry her to the car and then putting her in, is no success.  She wants to grab on for dear life and not let go.

-Food-My daughter seems to be very happy and preoccupied when you hand her food.  Not anything she can choke on, just something to keep her busy.  Whether it be a cup with juice, her bottle, a piece of fruit or veggie, can make any ride to anywhere very bearable for anyone driving.

-Back seat rider-We always try to have someone ride in the back with her.  Her seat is rear-facing.  So she is staring at the black, leather seat thinking she is all alone.  She does not like being alone.  So someone rides in the back to keep her company.  My son loves entertaining her with his cell phone ringtones.  He has this one, Lil Bit's favorite, that we all dance to in the truck.  And if she starts crying, we start singing the beat out loud.

-Planned trips-We try to limit car seat rides so she won't be frustrated.  So I try to plan trips and outtings, around her feedings and nap schedule.  I know this is impossible but it makes a whole lot of difference, when you have a happy baby rather than an uphappy baby sitting in their car seat.

-Find what works for you-I asked everyone for advice on how to get my baby happy.  Everyone kept telling me they were shocked that she wouldn't fall asleep in the car seat or after awhile just stop crying while on car rides.  And nope, the longer we took, the longer she cried, and it didn't stop until we physically got her out of the car seat.  Every baby is different, so find what works for you.  If anything else, do like I did, try these suggested tips first, and tweek them for whatever works for you.

***Disclosure- This post is my entry at a chance to win a gc.  I am a Britax Latina Advisory Board Member and Blogger. As always, all opinions, ideas, and stories stated here are clearly my own.  For more information on Britax products, head over to www.britaxusa.com.

5 comments:

Amanda said...

It's awesome when kids associate getting strapped into their car seat with going somewhere. It definitely helps that they're excited to go "bye-bye".

Dancinghotdogs said...

As moms we definitely have to get creative when it comes to making our kids do what we want. Even when its all about safety!

Claudya Martinez said...

She is so cute! Great tips.

Ascending Butterfly said...

I can tell from the picture she is headstrong! I wonder where she gets that from? ;)

Tracy @ Ascending Butterfly

Chantilly PatiƱo (@BiculturalMom) said...

These are great tips! I love the one about buckling her in the house and then carrying the seat out. We always did this for Lily too. :)