Why We Skipped the Infant Car Seat

Picking a car seat for the baby you’ll soon be bringing home is such a stressful choice - so many options and opinions out there! Ultimately do your homework and pick the car seat that you feel is safe, fits your lifestyle, and fits correctly in your car. For us, we decided to skip the Infant Car Seat completely (don’t worry, we still used an appropriate car seat, I’ll explain) and I’ll tell you why we did… | This post contains affiliate links |

When my sister had her first baby I remember helping her carry the baby in her Infant Car Seat when she was about one or two months old and thinking (excuse my language) “this sucks!” It was exhausting, and extremely awkward to carry the weight of the baby and carseat (probably around 25 lbs total) by a handle away from your body, trying not to let it bump into your legs or anything else around you. Depending on the model of infant car seat you buy the seat itself can weigh 11-20 pounds, then you add the weight of the baby which will be an average of 6-9 pounds at birth and quickly get heavier as time goes on. That’s a lot of weight to awkwardly haul around.

However, my sister-in-law had decided to skip the infant car seat all together for her kids, and opted for a Convertible Car Seat from day one. I thought this was genius and we decided to do the same. A true Convertible Car Seat is one that’s good from birth through a particular weight limit, typically fairly high. For us the seat we chose was good for 4-65lbs, which meant that it would be rear-facing and perfect for bringing home the baby from the hospital and could grow with us and eventually convert to a forward-facing carseat up to the 65lb weight limit (which will take them into elementary school-age most likely) - and some Convertible Car Seats even go up to a 120lb limit!

By going with a Convertible Car Seat from day one, we only had to purchase one car seat instead of two, as most babies will outgrow their Infant Car Seat well before the age of one. Rather than buying a car seat that would only get used for several months, we invested in one that would grow with our baby and our needs. This saved us money in the long-run, and was less wasteful on the environment.

Since the Convertible Car Seats stay in the car (they don’t disconnect from a base and get carried around like an infant seat), I chose to wear our baby whenever we got to our destination with a Soft Structured Baby Carrier. I found this to be far more convenient and easier than lugging around an Infant Car Seat. Wearing your baby is also great for bonding, can help keep them healthier (they’re closer to you and less likely to be touched by strangers), and so much better ergonomically for your back and body than carrying an infant seat.

But what about waking up the baby, people ask? Yes, you tend to rouse the baby a little when you take them out of their car seat. But they reality is, it’s not recommended for them to sleep in their car seats for any signifiant amount of time as it can supposedly increase their risk of SIDS. Anyways in our experience with our two kids, they often woke up when we turned off the car, before I even tried to take them out of their carseat. And if they are tired enough, you should (hopefully) have no trouble getting them to go to sleep in their crib once you get home.

*Disclaimer: I am not a car seat expert, and my opinion should not be taken as fact. I am simply sharing our opinions on why we preferred a Convertible Car Seat over an Infant Car Seat. Before making your carseat decision, do your homework and discuss your options and concerns with your pediatrician and car seat experts like Car Seats for Littles.*

Out and About with the Eddie Bauer Places & Spaces Cascade Diaper Backpack

Almost six years ago, we got an Eddie Bauer Diaper Tote Bag before our first was born - and ever since it has been our go-to diaper bag for the car and outings. We’ve loved it’s durability and functionality, so when we had the opportunity to try one of their backpack styles with our littlest one we jumped at the chance! | Sponsored - This post contains an honest review of product provided by Eddie Bauer c/o Baby Brezza |

In the past when doing long outings on foot I’ve always thrown diaper bag items into one of my regular hiking backpacks, and inevitably whatever we needed most would always be lost at the bottom somewhere. Hiking backpacks just aren’t ideal for holding all the little items, wipes, diapers, bottles, etc you need - so you can imagine how excited I was to finally try a backpack that was made to be a diaper bag!

I was particularly drawn to the Eddie Bauer Places & Spaces Cascade Diaper Backpack for it’s looks and functionality. I loved that it looked like a fun, modern bag that didn’t scream “diaper bag.” I also loved all of it’s features! It has twelve (yes, 12!) pockets, removable changing pad, stroller loops, wipes case, and insulated bottle pocket. No more digging around to find small items with all of it’s handy pockets! And the wipes case on the side is great for getting a wipe on the go to clean messy hands or faces.

Our family has been loving the practicality and style of this diaper backpack and are really looking forward to bringing it to the local country fair in a few weeks! Being hands-free is key to keeping up with the little ones ;)

SHOP THIS POST: | Eddie Bauer Places & Spaces Cascade Diaper Backpack (exclusively at Target) | L.L. Bean Sweater Fleece | White Mountain Shoes Skipper Leather Moccasin | Polo Ralph Lauren Bal Harbour Toddler Sneakers | Toddler Rain Jacket is old L.L. Bean |

- I received this Eddie Bauer diaper backpack from Baby Brezza but all opinions expressed are my own.  Please read our full Disclosure Policy for more information - 

Favorite Find: Reflective Stickers for Gear and Fabric

Just wanted to hop on here and share my latest favorite Amazon Find - just in time for back to school too. | This post is NOT sponsored, but does contain affiliate links |
We’ve been using these reflective safety stickers for awhile on our helmets, bikes, etc but we recently realized they can stick amazingly well to fabric too! This makes them perfect for adding visibility to your children’s backpacks and coats, especially important for those early morning bus stops.

These particular stickers are Gear Aid "Tenacious Tape Reflective Patches", and we're SOO impressed with their sticking power - especially to fabric! They really stick well and look like they were manufactured as part of the fabric. They're completely flexible and durable.

We have yet to run them through the washing machine, but according to reviews online these ARE machine washable on most fabrics. And after seeing how well they adhere to fabric I am expecting them to perform well (I will definitely update this post in the future with more feedback though). Definitely check them out and add some safety and visibility to backpacks, coats, strollers, hiking gear, and more!

SHOP: Gear Aid "Tenacious Tape Reflective Patches"

Back-to-School Fashion with L.L. Bean

It’s the most wonderful time of the year (…for parents, that is)! September is right around the corner and the kids will be going back to school. Now’s the time to get your back-to-school shopping started and I’ve rounded up some of my favorite kid picks from our favorite New England-based retailer, L.L. Bean. I love how their stuff is built to last so you know that backpack (and everything else) will last for years to come. | This post contains affiliate links |

Back-to-School Fashion with L.L. Bean

Scroll right to see more ->

Hey, hey it's Prime Day! 2019

It's Amazon Prime Day! A great time to finally get that item on your Wishlist, start your Christmas shopping, or simply stock up on household items. There are lots of great sales today and tomorrow - and I'm sharing some of my favorites on Birch Landing Home's Facebook page! | This post contains affiliate links |

Shop some of my favorite deals HERE, on Birch Landing Home's Facebook page or browse all the deals HERE, directly on Amazon. The sales on Amazon-branded items (Kindles, Firesticks, etc) are especially amazing!

Summer Fun Found on Amazon!

Summer vacation is here, now let’s have some fun!
I’ve scoured Amazon for fun yard games, beach toys, car games, and activities for kids of all ages - even some indoor activities for those rainy days. There’s no excuse for boredom this summer, let’s have some fun! | This post contains affiliate links |

"Thanks for Helping me GROW" DIY Teacher Gift + Free Printable Tag

Teacher gift ideas are always tough… I always want to do something thoughtful, useful, but still affordable. This year we decided to make ruler painted flower pots to go with the “Thanks for helping me GROW” theme. In them we planted small aloe vera plants which will come in handy for soothing sunburns over summer vacation. | This post contains affiliate links |

Materials:

• terracotta pot

• yellow acrylic paint

• paint brush

• sharpie marker or black paint

• dirt

• plant (I used aloe vera plants)

How-To:

First paint the lip of the pot with the yellow acrylic paint, you might need to do several coats to get good coverage.

Then mark inch lines evenly around the rim (I made a template with a piece of scrap paper). It may not come out evenly when they meet up so feel free to take artistic license with the spacing.

Then using a sharpie or black paint and a fine paintbrush, paint the lines of the ruler (whole, half, and quarter lines) as well as the numbers.

Once everything is dry, fill with soil and a plant of your choice. We decided on aloe vera since it’s a useful plant as well - the teachers will be able to use it to soothe any sunburns that may happen over summer vacation.

All that’s left is to add a card or a gift tag and a message of thanks!

FREE PRINTABLE TAG

Bathing Suit Drying Hack

Living by the lake, we constantly have wet bathing suits all summer that need to be hung to dry, At first we used a drying rack in our shower but it was rather cumbersome and a pain to constantly set it up and take it out, until I had a revelation and found these awesome plastic hooks that hang from our glass shower walls. | This post contains affiliate links |

These plastic hooks fit perfectly over our shower wall, won’t rust, are easy to clean, and are perfect for hanging wet bathing suits from to drip dry into the shower. They have been the perfect bathing suit drying solution for us!

Bonus tip: Always rinse your bathing suits out in the sink with fresh water before hanging to drip dry. You don’t want them to sit and dry with dirty lake water or harsh chlorine from the pool on them. Rinsing them out with clean water helps keep your bathing suits looking good and lasting longer.

| Over-Door Plastic Hooks (Pictured) | Different Style Plastic Hooks |