Graco Snug Ride

Hi T.,

Baby wearing is a great idea. The Ergo Baby is a great one, carries up to 50 pounds, so last longer than others, and is great on Mom's back, much better than the frame back carriers! Also gives more support, the baby does not dangle from his/her crotch like with the Snugli or similar. The Ergo can be used front, side or back and has an insert for small babies, and costs the same as the framed back pack I used until my son's weight made it uncomfortable.

All the best,
C.

I used to wear my son when I went shopping. I had a baby bijorn and a sling. the sling was a little easier because I could adjust it, and shift the baby around if I needed to bend down.

Hi T., this is so funny. I just scrolled through my e-mails and saw your posting. And I thought "that must be the T. I know".... :-)
Anyways, I had the same problem with Alexander's carseat. Most of the time I just took one of the bigger carts and just put the seat in. You're right, there isn't lots of space left for groceries... A lot of times I went shopping at night when my hubbie got home, that way I did not have to take the baby, or just take hubbie shopping with you... You can also try to take the Didymos shopping with you...
Now Alexander is big enough to sit in the shopping cart. It makes things a whole lot easier. Hope this helps.
Talk to you soon,
M.

I never had a car seat that fit into a cart, walmart sells those protective covers for both infant seats on carts and the older child seats so you can put them in there without fear of germs. Most grocery stores have the carts with the infant seats on top then you still have the whole space for groceries. As long as you buy some kind of cover for it, there's nothing wrong with using what's available at the store.

Hi T.,

Unless you are buying an enourmous amount of groceries, the frame/stroller for your car seat can take a lot of stuff and there is no need for a shopping cart. Now this is coming from a Mum that lives in Manhattan where a baby on any type of wheels is a must so things may be slightly different where you come from.

If you have the option of not taking baby to grocery store... then that's the best option. I never had that option and did very well with the car seat frame.

I had the snugride and I never put it up top of the carriage. Always in the basket and I just made due with the amount of space I had.
Once my daughter was able to sit almost by herself, I put her in a floppy seat in the carriage. (Beware of imitations, I have a non-floppy seat brand with my son and it was terrible.)
The floppy seat is very padded and cozy. If my daughter was sleeping, I would just lay her down in the seat part of the carriage on the floppy seat, and she would sleep through my shopping trip. Or I sat her up in the carriage with stuffed animals and/or blankets around her. It worked beautifully.

I have a snug ride car seat and have only a few problems with it not fitting in a shopping cart. I put the seat in so that the baby is facing me, not to the side. Every once in a while I get a cart where the seat doesn't fit so well, or it may be a little tilted forward or back, but I've never had it not fit. This is my second child in this seat. Try the seat facing you.

Seats that I've used which were too big I started putting the whole thing in the cart as well, then realized that most seats (where they have the attachment hook on the back/under) will cradel over the cart sideways.
I also shop at a place where they have children seats(little cars) in the front of the cart. I used to get those, prop up the car seat, and the boys would love it.

Get a baby sling. There are various kinds. Don't get a baby backpack. You want a sling because it will allow you to shift the baby from side to side, and to the front or maybe the back. This makes it more possible to do things and also prevents your straining one particular set of muscles. If the baby's only two months old you might think she isn't heavy enough to strain your muscles anyway, but I've seen people get progressively fed up with the baby backpacks as the baby has grown, and then give up the idea of carrying the baby altogether. Baby backpacks are also not so great for the baby's developing spine because they put pressure on it in just one position. Just google "baby sling" and you'll get info on lots of different kinds. I've used the Over the Shoulder Baby Holder and the Maya Wrap, among others. You could try going to a La Leche League meeting and asking to try the slings people show up there with - lots of moms who breastfeed are now using slings. Or get a copy of Attachment Parenting by Granju. The Continuum Concept by Liedloff is also good, though perhaps less practical - it describes the author's time spent with tribespeople of South America and shows why babies and adults are happier there because the babies are in physical contact with the moms or other members of the tribe at almost all times. If you "wear" your baby, you'll probably find that's she's happier, less "fussy", less demanding. You will probably be happier, too, and get more done. It may take more than one grocery shopping trip to get used to it, though, so don't give up immediately if you find it a little awkward at first. It may take a while to find the right sling for you, and to learn to adjust it just right. But it's well worth the effort!

Try straddling the car seat across the back end of the cart (where you would put the groceries). The cart seat would be empty and the baby would be lying from side to side just behind the cart seat. You would then be able to put the groceries underneath the car seat.
I did this w/ my 2nd b/c I would have to put my first in the actual cart seat. Mine actually "locked" into place on one side and then I would use the seat belt from the cart and loop it around the handle. This really kept it in place. I still had room for groceries, a toddler, an infant~ all in one cart. (Of course, use common sense and stay close!!!) Sorry if it's confusing, but I hope you can figure it out.

You might try putting your infant into a baby back or front pack while shopping.

Are you sure it does not fit? My Snugride clips onto the top of shopping carts. It sort of rest right on top and locks onto the back. If not, you can use the Snap & Go which has a pretty huge basket underneath to put stuff in. Good Luck!

Hi T. - the Graco Snug Ride was actually designed not to fit in the front of the cart, but I used mine that way with no problem. I just balanced it over the back of the cart seat and then used the handle to hold the car seat in. I figured that I wasn't going four-wheeling or getting to far away from the cart. I never once had an issue with it.

I can fit my snug ride on most any cart. It does have to be fully reclined.

I find the best and only way I can go food shopping is to wear my baby in a sling or wrap.

My husband is a manager at Wal-Mart. DON'T put your carseat on the cart. It's a long way down and many babies have fallen. Some accidents were the parents fault, but some carts tipped over or the cart was broken and caused the accident. He's seen some very scared/hurt babies.

I wear my babies in a sling at the store.

I had the same problem. Never felt comfortable with the balancing act -- Baby Bjorn front carrier worked best for us.

We had a Snug Ride also - it fits and hooks on the child seat part of most grocery carts - just make sure the little red hook is hooked onto the back of the cart seat. I never had a problem w/ the seat sliding.

i'm not sure what you mean by it not fitting in the cart....we had a graco (not the snug ride though) and all depending on the cart, depended on how she fit in it. some places i HAD to put her in the cart (like walgreens and places w/ the extremely tiny front of the cart) but going to the regular store, like a&p some carts the seat would fit perfect, and some she would be practically STANDING (while still strapped in) but we kept her in it that way. but honestly, if you have the option, and CAN go shopping without her, then do that, it would be much easier. although, when i didn't feel like taking in a cart, and wasn't doing too much shopping, i would go with the stroller, and just shove the groceries in the bottom of the stroller (we had a decent size bottom) and no one would even question us putting stuff down there, i've also noticed many other moms doing that....so those are the options...like i said, IF you have the option, just keep her home until she can sit up on her own and just put that cover in the seat and let her go in there. oh, i started doing that by 5/6 months, and a friend of mine used to just put that cover (the real fluffy one) in the front seat of the cart, and lay her kid down. hope one of these options are of some help to you.