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View Full Version : what to do at grocery stores



minamorin
09-11-2002, 05:54 PM
my son, who is 7-and-a-half month, has just about outgrown his infant car seat. i'm in the process of purchasing a convertible, but my dilemma is grocery shopping. my son does not sit up alone yet, so i cannot put him in the grocery cart facing me. he weighs 19lbs, and is too heavy for me to carry in baby-bjorn. i'm really unsure about those infant seats that are already attached to carts -- they don't look safe to me.

what are my options, since i have to go grocery shopping often alone with my son?

the only thing i can think of is to keep the infant car seat in the trunk, only for the purpose of using it at the grocery store.

does anyone else have a better idea?

pkee
09-11-2002, 06:47 PM
I have twins. Most supermarkets only have a seat good for one. I keep a backpack carrier in the car. This way I can wear one and push the other. Even at 9 months, I have to be careful about the shopping cart choice. Some of them don't have seatbelts or the legholes are too big. I usually choose one with a chestbelt.

Hope that helps.

Pam

egoldber
09-11-2002, 07:28 PM
This is an awkward phase. I used the infant seat for awhile, just like you described. How well does your son sit up? In about 6 more weeks (by 9 months) he should be sitting up really well. I was using the shopping cart seatbelt at that point.

Many people buy a combination seat protector and 5 point harness that attaches to the grocery cart. There are a couple things like this for sale in my local BRU and Baby Depot (Nojo makes one that is about $15, here's a picture http://www.babysupermall.com/main/products/cci/cci21672.html) I found this to be too cumbersome and used a "Comfy Strap" that I bought at BRU ($5, see a picture http://www.dexproducts.com/Pages/ComfyStrap.html). It is basically just a really wide, thickly padded strap. This seemed to give her the additional support she needed to be able to sit up in the shopping cart. Once we started doing this, she loved shopping. She loves to sit up in the cart, point at things, wave to strangers, etc. :)

Given the short length of time an additional item was needed to support her, I was very happy with the Comfy Strap. (I also still use this occasionally when I find the random supermarket or store with shopping carts without seatbelts. HELLO! Who do they think shops in the middle of the day???) Some people like to continue using a seat cover for shopping carts to prevent exposure to bacteria and germs. If this concerns you, the Nojo type item also helps with this.

HTH,

cara1
09-12-2002, 10:01 AM
I agree; it's awkward if he's still not sitting, but he will soon. I just bought an awesome shopping cart seat cover that DS loves. It's from www.babyalacart.com It only has a waist belt, though, not a 5point harness. I've also seen The Clean Shopper, but it's not as plush & has no pockets or toy loops. Have heard of something called Floppy seat, too, and buggy bag or something. See a recent thread I started about this, I think in the stroller forum.

minamorin
09-12-2002, 03:15 PM
thanks, ladies. i've read the other thread. i will check those products out.