It is summer, which means travel time in our home. In the past, we have flown with our car seat and go-go-kidz, which I still love and lend out to my friends quite frequently. Now that The Boy (TB) is getting bigger, however, I decided to invest in acar seat cover and CARES system. I use the cover and check the car seat, which is usually free.

Early on, I held off because I thought the curve of the seat would be uncomfortable for TB, but I have to admit, I love the CARES system, and so does my son.

When we boarded, I quickly slipped the main portion around the seat, and then looped the harness through his seatbelt. It took very little time, and we were able to board as a family instead of separately. (We normally tried to have one parent board with the car seat and the second board later with TB.) The harness and strap were easy to adjust.

CARES fits kids 22 to 44 pounds, which makes it a great addition for children on the airplane. It is also nice during layovers, because the system folds back up in to his six inch sack. At a meer one pound, it is a great travel companion.

The picture I am posting is slightly misleading. I snapped this picture prior to take-off, and when I looked at my son in it, I realized that the portion that attaches to the seat back was not low enough. We also further tightened the harness to fit his slight frame. According to the installation instructions, the red strap should be just above a child’s shoulders.

The CARES system is available for purchase in the US ($74.95) and UK.

(This post is cross-posted at www.piecesofmymind.com.)

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We are devoted users of our travel crib. My son slept in it from his first night at home, in the bassinet insert at the foot of our bed. (Well, ostensibly he slept, but I remember nothing about that because if he was asleep, so was I.) We hauled it from country to country, on the train and the airplane and in a luggage rack on top of our car.

When I shopped for travel crib sheets, I was disappointed with the flimsy and scratchy standard options at the baby megastore I visited on a trip to the USA. I read a bit about the sheets, how they frequently popped off the rough canvas mattress and how, with multiple and frequent trips through the laundry, their elastic soon failed to bounce back.

Fortunately, I came across Mr. Bobbles Blankets in my Baby Bargains book. Along with pillows, blankets, and burp cloths, Mr. Bobbles makes some fantastic travel crib (or, as they call it, Playard) sheets. They’re constructed like a big pillowcase with a foldover pocket on one end, so you just slip the mattress inside and slide one end into the pocket. The fabric is thick, 100% cotton flannel, in sweet prints that wash beautifully. They’ll never pop off the mattress or lose their grip, since there’s no elastic involved. Since we bought ours, they’ve added stretchy backing material as a new design feature to make the sheets fit even more snugly.

Our Mr. Bobbles sheets have traveled with us from Asia to Arizona, and seen their way through washing machines on three continents. They are almost as good as new, with no stains or evidence of the various emissions that babies’ bodies inevitably deposit on their bedclothes. In fact, they just get softer as we wash them, so they’re even better than when I bought them. And, now that my son is older, he loves to identify the different cars and trucks on one fabric design, or talk about the froggies on the other.

Mr. Bobbles Playard Sheets cost $19.95 each, with $1 discount per sheet if you buy more than one in the same fabric design. They fit most American travel cribs/playards (standard size 27″ x 39″). See the Mr. Bobbles website for details.

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It’s International Babywearing Week, and in honor, I will share Ten Reasons to Wear Your Baby… or rather ten reasons why I wore my baby that might apply to you!

1. Traveling light.  The first international trip I took The Boy on, I had way too much gear– car seat, stroller, diaper bags (yes, more than one). It was a hassle. On the way back, I figured out I could wear him and have much less “stuff” to carry. These days I take the carseat with the go go kidz attachment and a sling.
2. Convenience. Stairs? No problem. Need to switch the laundry from the washer to the dryer? No problem. Need to mow the lawn? No problem! Forgot your changing pad? No problem! Crowded store? Still not a problem! Dirty shopping carts? Also not a problem! Babywearing made my life a whole lot easier!
3. A Happy Baby!  Babies that are carried are happier, and what makes a baby even happier? Snuggling close to mommy!
4. Great exercise for me!  Have you carried a 25 pound toddler on your back (or front) while mowing the lawn or exploring Washington D.C.? It’s GREAT exercise and really works on the abdominal and back muscles that were weakened during pregnancy.
5. Including The Boy in my life. When wearing The Boy while cooking (him on my back so he can’t reach the hot pans), he could be involved and see what is going on without being in a dangerous situation on the counter.  He also gets to mow the lawn, go for walks, shop– all from the best seat in the house!
6. Extra snuggle time. Who doesn’t want to snuggle their baby or toddler?
7. A calm place. Whenever The Boy gets over-stimulated or is tired while we are out, he can come climb on board.  Wearing The Boy keeps him close and sooths both of us!
8. Nursing on the go. I was able to use my slings to nurse The Boy while shopping, sight seeing, and eating. It leaves my hands free to carry items, push a cart, or whatever else I might need to do.
9. Arm and hip comfort. Holding The Boy through a basketball or football game (or really any extended period of time) is hard on my arms, shoulders and hips.
10. Overall, I wore my son, because it was what seemed most natural to me. I practice attachment parenting and this is one way to enact their eight principles.

There are ten of my reasons. Why do you wear your baby? Do you have a great babywearing story to share? If so, please do!

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Last year while in DC over the Christmas holidays, we received a lot of comments on how warm and snuggly Oliver looked in his stroller bag.  The stroller bag is a pretty common thing in Germany and the rest of Europe, so I thought I’d introduce you to the company that produces the baby stroller bag, and now kid stroller bag, that we went with, Odenwälder Babynest.  Odenwälder Babynest is a German company that makes high-quality, hand-made sleep products.

Mucki L Thermo-Revolution Footsack

Alex Blanket

Car seat inserts

Down Toddler and Kid Comforters

Odenwälder Babynest is available in Germany from Amazon.de, and the company website lists handlers in many other European countries.

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