Fredericksburg Parent

24 Fredericksburg Parent and Family • February 2021 ages & stages WRITTEN BY RHIANNON ELLIS BRINGING HOME BABY Top Car Seats for 2021 Visit the CDC's website for current child passenger safety information and guidelines. Bringing baby home is an exciting moment that new parents anticipate for months leading up to the big day. Choosing the right car seat to make that trip possible is a big and often stressful task. Compiled here is a brief overview of the various seat styles along with some highly-rated selec- tions to make the decision a little bit easier. The Infant Car Seat An infant car seat is made for the family on the go! Not only does the seat detach from its base and double as a light- weight carrier, but additional bases can be purchased sepa- rately, making it convenient as well as safe (one-time installation) for multi-vehicle families. Some infant car seats latch onto accompanying strollers. This allows mom or dad to move a sleeping or otherwise content baby from vehicle-to-stroller with- out disturbing them. This particular style of seat is rear- facing only, therefore it will need to be replaced once baby has out- grown this stage. Graco SnugRide SugLock 35LX Infant Car Seat featuring TrueShield TOP PICK Graco SnugRide SugLock 35 Lite LX Infant Car Seat $ BUDGET FRIENDLY Summer Affirm 335 DLX Rear-Facing Infant Car Seat Parents of preemies often spend a lot of time at the hospital, so going home with baby is an even big- ger event. Going home can sometimes be postponed if baby isn't big enough to safely ride in a standard car seat. Fortunately, some manufacturers have consid- ered this and have designed seats to accommodate babies weighing as little as three pounds. For the (Very) Little Ones TOP PICK

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