One of the biggest differences between Finland and the US is the car culture here in the US. Peanut and I go everywhere by car -- a real change from the days when we would roll to the store or post office in Tapiola.
I actually think this car juggling act is tougher than the stroller!
Here's why:
> I'm moving Peanut in/out of car seat to stroller to car seat every time I need to go in somewhere. She can't sleep through the changes in scenery and often really doesn't want to get into one after she's been in the other.
I've noticed many American mamas have car seats that look like they are designed to sit in the child seat part of the shopping cart. They have some sort of hooks to hold them safely in place and letting baby snooze peacefully. Unfortunately our MaxiCosi Cabrio doesn't.
Or, they have a stroller base into which the car seat fits - nifty!
> We have her umbrella Maclaren stroller with us so in the store, one hand goes to navigating the stroller, the other to carry the shopping basket. Let me tell you -- it gets full and heavy fast!
> Since Peanut can sit on her own, today for the first time I tried putting her in the shopping car child seat to do away with the challenge of stroller in one hand/shopping basket in the other.
It worked quite well though Peanut would rather be facing the direction we are going :-) Mostly she just turned herself this way and that to see all the people. Occasionally she adopted a lounging pose.
I had to make sure I parked next to the cart return in the parking lot so I could manage getting her into the car seat and keeping her in my sight after I did.
Another useful local invention is the shopping cart seat cover. Not exactly sure how it works, but its a cloth seat that fits into the child seat part of the shopping cart. In part I guess for comfort and in part to protect bebe from the germs of all the other babies using the child seat.
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