This post is sponsored by Buckle Me Baby Coats, but all opinions (and confessions) are my honest-to-God truth.
Raise your hand if you enjoy buckling your tots into their car seats during the brutal winter months. Anybody? Bueller? Hellooooooo?
That’s what I thought.
It’s miserable. Thankfully, my 9 and 7-year-olds are capable of buckling themselves these days, but I swear to God, every time I try to wrangle my 3-year-old into a car seat while taking care to make sure the straps go UNDER his big, bulky coat so he doesn’t go flying out of the thing in the event of a crash, my blood pressure skyrockets astronomically.
I kid you not, I single-handedly taught half the kids in my son’s 3 and 4-year-old daycare class their first 4-letter words in the parking lot the other day as I struggled to undo my son’s coat, strap him in, and somehow put his coat back on so he didn’t freeze to death in the subzero temps we were suffering through. Sorry, Kylie’s mom. And Aiden’s mom. And Sawyer’s mom. (Not you, Alexis’s mom. I know for a fact I’m not the first person she’s heard those words from. Hey, no judgment here.)
Well, the universe felt my desperation (and apparently decided it was time for me to stop teaching toddlers swears) and sent me an opportunity to try a coat MADE FOR A CAR SEAT. Like, the thing is actually made to ensure kids are safely buckled into their portable safety cages WITHOUT driving parents to the brink of insanity. *cue angels singing*
The miracle product? Buckle Me Baby Coats. They’re made for ages 12 months to 5 years and work like this:
Even better? They “have been crash tested at an independent University crash test facility where they not only outperformed traditional puffy coats but also tested similarly to no coat at all” and have been “evaluated by CPSTs who loved the design giving them two thumbs up.”
That’s impressive, but if I were capable, I’d give them 10 thumbs up. Alas, I only have 2 thumbs, so I’ll have to settle for mirroring the CPSTs.
Now, as for my experience, I used the Buckle Me Baby Coat in size 4 for my 3-year-old son for 1 week, and I’m not lying when I tell you this coat makes strapping my kid into his car seat more of a dream and less of a nightmare. Here he is getting buckled up for a trip to Grandma’s:
He may not look like it in the pics (the kid is notoriously impossible to get a smile from on camera), but let me tell you this: He loves his coat so much, he refuses to take it off in the house. In fact, he’s currently wearing it right now. And listen, anything that works this well AND that I don’t have to fight my kids about using gets five stars in my book. Because I’m tired. And this takes “traveling in winter” OFF my list of things that make me want to cancel adulting in favor of hiding out under a blanket fort on my bed for infinity.
And you don’t have to just take my word for it. I even interviewed my little monster darling child to get his take on his new prized possession:
Q: What’s your favorite part about your new coat?
A: Good. I like da pockets. Where’s my udder pocket? Oh, dere’s my udder pocket.
Q: Is your new coat warm?
A: Yeah, it’s not cold. It’s warmer.
Q: Do you like wearing your coat in your car seat?
A: Yes. I want to go in my car seat. Can I go in my car seat? In your car? In my car seat?
Q: Maybe in a little bit. Is it comfortable?
A: Yes, but I want to go in my … uh … car seat.
What a gifted orator he is. But seriously. He loves it. And so do I.
Interested in design specifics or want to learn more? Check out the FAQs on the Buckle Me Baby Coats website. Want to nab one of these for your own kiddos? OF COURSE YOU DO. Check out the available sizes and styles.
We’ve got many more months of winter weather to endure still. (*insert ugly crying*) All I can say is neither you nor your child will regret snagging one of these puppies to get you through, both safely and with a lot less cursing (on your part, at least). I DEFINITELY RECOMMEND and am so glad I got this opportunity to give Buckle Me Baby Coats a try.