Sane Parents Guide: Baby Movers

By Brad Powell

We move around a lot. That’s one of the hallmarks of modern parents. We don’t like to be stuck at home. We want to go to the park, out for a jog or a drive. We might even want to catch a flight. But is mobility possible while preserving your sanity?
And what stuff do you really need to get your first baby from place to place? Not the stuff the Big Box retailer tells you that you need. Not the stuff the glossy magazines tell you need. The real and essential travel and mobility gear that you just can’t do without. The stuff that will keep you sane, without adding all the stuff that will drive you crazy. That’s what you’ll find here.

We will cover mobility in six sections:
- Car Seats
- Strollers
- Travel Systems
- Baby Carriers
- Car Travel
- Air Travel

• Language: English
• Publisher: Brad Powell
• Release date: Jun 4, 2012
• ISBN: 9781476012896

Brad Powell

America is seeing a fundamental shift in the role of men in parenting. While many in the media and academia have observed this trend, no company has emerged to meet the needs of these "New" fathers, the modern dads. Enter DadLabs, Inc., a start-up company dedicated to providing creative media content and information products to serve this new generation of "Super Dads." Headquartered in Austin, Texas, DadLabs is an information and entertainment company that fosters the father/child relationship through media, instructional and retail products.

Book preview

An Introduction for Sane Parents

We move around a lot. That’s one of the hallmarks of modern parents. We don’t like to be stuck at home. We want to go to the park, out for a jog or a drive. We might even want to catch a flight. But is mobility possible while preserving your sanity?

And what stuff do you really need to get your first baby from place to place? Not the stuff the Big Box retailer tells you that you need. Not the stuff the glossy magazines tell you need. The real and essential travel and mobility gear that you just can’t do without. The stuff that will keep you sane, without adding all the stuff that will drive you crazy.

That’s what you’ll find here.

How do we know? From experience. Raising a bunch of our own kids. And from populating DadLabs.com with over 800 videos and 500 articles on the subject of being a parent. And also from talking to a whole lot of parents who come to the site with information and insights of their own. We don’t claim to be experts. Just veterans. And what we suggest here comes from our day-to-day lives as parents. And we’re still sane. Mostly.

We will do our best to keep the fluff and frills to a minimum (though this is an ebook about babies after all).

We will cover mobility in six sections:

Car Seats

Strollers

Travel Systems

Baby Carriers

Car Travel

Air Travel

If you find something that you disagree with or you try something we suggest and it fails miserably (or succeeds wildly), we want to know about it. Join the conversation going on the forums at DadLabs.com and let us know what you think.

What you won’t find in this ebook:

Anything on getting your house ready for the baby. That’s in Sane Parents Guide #1. Or anything on Babyproofing or Marriage Advice. Sane Parents’ Guides covering those topics are on their way.

A final bit of housekeeping before we get to the mobility: This series of books is produced in partnership with BabyBjorn® and their North American distributor Baby Swede. You’ll notice recommendations and endorsements of their products throughout this book. We decided to partner with BabyBjorn® in this project because we know and love these products, have used them with our own kids, and trust them completely. BabyBjorn® products would be featured here even if we had no official relationship. But luckily we do. Without them, this and future installments of the Sane Parents’ Guide would not be possible.

Chapter 1 - The Car Seat

Unlike avid sky divers and extreme mountain climbers, the most dangerous activity the rest of us pursue on a regular basis is cruising around town in our cars. This is especially true for children under the age of 14 years old. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the leading cause of death of children each year in the U.S. is motor vehicle crashes. And the sad thing is many of these deaths and injuries could be prevented with the proper use of safety restraint systems found in most automobiles. So it’s no surprise that one of the most important items you provide for your child’s safety and well-being is a safe and properly installed car seat!

In fact, in the delivery room immediately prior to the birth of my first child the nurses asked me only three questions. These questions served as the litmus test to determine whether or not I (we) were fit to take our soon to be delivered bundle of joy home with us after delivery. Are you the biological father of the child? Does your place of residence have electricity and water? Do you have a state safety approved and properly installed car seat?

That’s it?

What, no questions about my skill or ability to serve as a caregiver to a new born child, the safety and comfort level of the nursery we had assembled, the prudent and careful design of my family's financial plan complete with health, life and dental insurance as well as a well seeded college savings account? Nope. They pretty much wanted to know if I did the deed, the lights were on and I had a car seat. If so, you are equipped to be a parent!

Wow, I took that to mean that the car seat is pretty important. And judging from the stats above it is.

There are several major classifications of car seats on the market and these are based on the weight and height of the child. There are broad corresponding guidelines based on age, but height and weight