*Thank you Chicco for sponsoring this post. Regardless all thoughts and opinions are my own and I only recommend products I truly love.
I know I’m not the only mom who spends an absurd amount of time in my car. Between driving to and from preschool, the bus stop, play dates, activities, and sometimes just sitting in there because my kids are behaving and it gives me a minute to respond to emails. I mean we live in that thing. Good thing I love my car and am actually super sad we are about to have to start car shopping for a bigger one soon with baby #4 on the way. With all that car time, I feel like I’ve figured out what items a mom NEEDS to have in the car – and what better time to share than Baby Safety Month!
Things I require in a car seat: top safety standards, comfort, and easy to clean. It’s surprisingly hard to find good car seats that have all of these things, especially that easy to clean part that is so important because my kids are a total mess. The Chicco NextFit Zip Max is my favorite convertible car seat because of this. The cover easily zips off so I can throw it in the washing machine which is genius, and the cupholders are even dishwasher safe. Plus I’m into keeping my kids rear facing as long as possible and in this seat you can rear face from 4-50 pounds with 25% more leg room which is incredible (and they can forward face in it until 65 pounds)! This seat is really easy to install correctly and can be moved between cars simply which is big since we are constantly switching car seats between mine and my husbands car. The NextFit Zip Max meets top safety standards with a steel-reinforced frame and side-impact protection, and has an easy-adjust comfy headrest, recline positions, and ComfortFlex Waist Belt so your kid will not complain about comfort in this seat!
Ahead of Baby Safety Month, I had the opportunity to chat with Chicco’s Child Passenger Safety Advocate, Courtney Barry, about how to safely install my new NextFit Zip – it was super helpful to have the gut check from an expert. This week is National Child Passenger Safety Week, and I encourage all my fellow moms out there to visit a local CPST, fire station or police station to get their car seats checked for proper installation and use!
Car Vacuum
My friends with mini vans always talk about the built in car vacuums being what’s so great about them. Well good news fellow mini van resistors – you can buy really good car vacuums that just plug into any car and work great. So no need for a mini van yet. This is essential for all those crumbs that are inevitable even if you start with a ‘no food in the car’ rule like me.
Electric Devices
The only downside to my car is I don’t have built in DVD players. I’m so behind the times, I know. And I actually don’t encourage screen time, especially with tablets, at home. But with how often we are in the car I like my kids to have them, for what I like to think are educational games they play. But I figure it’s better than them sitting there doing nothing!
Chargers.
Well this goes hand in hand with the one above. With using electronic devices comes needing to charge them. Since my kids can have theirs plugged in to the chargers in the back seats I keep their tablet chargers back there because we all know their tablets batteries dying would be the literal end of the world for them.
Window Shades
These are one thing I remember wondering if they were really that important when I was looking at baby stuff while pregnant with Maddie Grace. The answer is yes. I recommend the cling-on type – .if If you’ve heard how a little kid cries when there is sun in their eyes you would know.
Organization Bin
With kids comes a lot of… junk. Like a LOT. I love having a big multi compartment pop up organization bin in my trunk to keep their junk separated and not cluttering up my car. Plus since it’s pop up if by some miracle we have no junk to tote around I can fold it up and not have it take up any room!
Baby Wipes
If you aren’t riding around with baby wipes in your car what are you doing with your life? A vacuum helps with the crumbs, and the baby wipes are for all the sticky things that get around the car. And then for wiping off those little faces that are a mess after all their car snacks.
Okay moms – what am I forgetting? What are your mom car must haves? Let me know below!
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