The First Ride Home
It’s finally happening: you’re ready to go home. You’ve dressed your little love in his adorable going-home outfit and placed the tiniest hat you’ve ever seen on his perfect head.
“Oh wow,” you think, as you lay him carefully in his infant car seat; “He looks so small… Will he be safe?... Are the straps tight enough?... Are they too tight?”
Everyone tells you he’s “snug as a bug” and you’re just having new mommy and daddy jitters. But as they shower you with congratulations and push you through the hospital exit, you’re both thinking the same things:
“Are these people serious? How can they let us walk away with a tiny human? We forget to feed our plants! We’re always losing our keys! What if we can’t do this?”
We’ve all been there. We can help, step by step… stage by stage.
Starting with that first car seat: an infant car seat. It seems so big compared to your newborn. So daunting. There’s a 5-point harness, different buckle positions and a host of other features depending on the model you choose. Take a breath. Every infant car seat available at Babies R Us meets all federal and provincial safety regulations and infant car seats are specifically designed for the tiniest of travellers, 4 to 35 lbs (always confirm with manufacturer’s info).
“I’m worried about my baby’s head; he’s so small…” Babies have weak neck muscles, which is why infant car seats have supports in place to cradle your little one’s head and are rear-facing (Stage 1) to help the seat absorb the force of impact in case of collision (not that we like to think about that). But the good news is that rear-facing is the safest position for your baby to be in.