Training for Baby: Infant shoe horn

We are well into our last trimester and it is starting to sink in that the baby is coming soon.

Being first time parents, we have tried to learn as much as we can about this tiny person and how to take care of him. We even enrolled in a free infant car seat class at our delivery hospital. It was a two or three hour course, taught by a man I will affectionately refer to as “Mr. Car Seat.”

I lost track of how long it was because of the sheer amount of information coming at us. We had brochures and booklets to follow along. There were car seats there for demonstration and we had to pick out what was wrong with the seat. The only thing I kept seeing wrong was that the plastic baby’s head was on backwards.

Mr. Car Seat pointed out that baby headrests were hazards and that we shouldn’t be putting toys along the handle of the carrier.

I had no idea car seats were this complicated. We learned a lot of information, but the experience made us panic a little.

See, we already have our car seats. We registered for two – one Chicco Keyfit and a Britax Boulevard 70 – and wonderful family members bought them for us!

We went to the class feeling great because we had already gotten the seats. We even brought the Britax seat, still in the box, with us to the class. We left it in the car because we didn’t know if we needed it.

At one point in the class, Mr. Car Seat mentioned that before he will inspect your car seat you must have attempted to put it into the vehicle yourself. “Don’t bring it in the box,” he said.

We slowly sunk into our seats.

Then, we noticed that both of our car seats were being used as examples in the class. At first, we were terrified that he was going to point out the problems with these seats, but apparently we did an OK job selecting them. They are rather popular models and the installation didn’t look too tough.

Mr. Car Seat was amazing. The man can install hundreds of car seats into just about any vehicle. Some people were born to do things in life. This man was born to make sure your infant is safely traveling! The idea that he will make sure our seat is safe gives me so much peace of mind.

After the class, we talked with Mr. Car Seat about our Britax seat. It is one of those seats that can carry a child until he is ready to drive or up to 40 pounds, whichever comes first. Mr. Car Seat suggested we order the Britax infant positioning insert, which will help our small infant fit better into the seat.

We went home and looked this thing up. The first thing my husband said was that it looked like “an infant shoe horn.” At $14.99, it was a cheap investment in our baby’s comfort.

We are now the proud owners of an infant shoe horn that we have no idea how to use.

I am putting Mr. Car Seat on speed dial.