I would really like someone to invent a wheely thingy for the baby carseat carriers. I can barely lift that thing with my little guy in it and I don't want to have to whip out the stroller or the baby pack every time I take him out somewhere. Any ideas?

Isn't the Snap N Go pretty much that? Maybe you are looking for something less bulky than that.

thanks for sharing these!

Most of the time you won't be able to get out of taking a car seat on a plane, unless you won't be going in a car at your destination. So whether you gate check it or actually use it as a seat on the plane, you still have to drag it along.

As convenient and cute as most car seat covers are, our local Highway Patrol officer says they are not safe! Any attachment bought for a car seat should be fire retardant in case of an accident. I believe a wool blanket is a better choice (if something is absolutely necessary), as it is less likely to go up in flames.

I'm not sure I understand car seat covers, whenever our car seat cover gets a little too dirty, we throw it in the wash but I'm definitely digging the Travelmate, how did I not already know about this!?

You should NEVER use a car seat cover that did not come from the company that manufactured your car seat. Adding additional or changing the car seat cover to a non-manufacturer cover will not only void the warranty on your seat but will put your child in danger. These covers are not crash-tested for use with car seats and can create a situation where the added "fluff" of the cover can make your child not be buckled securely. (For many of the same reasons, you and your children should not wear thick coats or sweaters while bucked.)

We have been on many long haul,overseas flights with our now 3 year old- the CARES harness has been a lifesaver!

By the way, by "void your warranty" I mean that by using aftermarket products on your car seat, you effectively release the manufacturer of any liability should the car seat fail in an accident.

We use the Traveling Toddler car seat harness that attaches the car seat to any carry on rolling bag, to us it made lot more sense than creating another piece to roll in addition to stroller, carry on and diaper bag.

Seriously? I clicked on the list for the full list, and almost everything seemed totally silly and wildly overpriced. As a parent of 2, I think most of this stuff is on the list as a marketing ploy for new parents. The swaddling blanket was about the only thing that seemed at all worthwhile. Wow.

@kmta: gotta disagree on the travelmate. Taking our convertible car seat with us was really our best option-- and trust me, you do not want to lug one of those around the airport!!

The Travelmate has been a lifesaver for me- I am so glad I bought it. I travel with my 2 kids cross country alone quite often. When my 2nd was a newborn the only way I survived was with the Travelmate. My daughter was in the sling and son was in the seat. I think I would have gone insane trying to get him, the baby, our stuff and the seat from gate to gate if I didn't have it.
My friend has borrowed it numerous times and totally agrees.

Take the car seat cover off of this list!
NOT a good idea.

$25 nail trimmers? "Special" food shears for cutting up food? A $22 neck support pillow when you can just roll up a receiving blanket? Am I the only one that found the majority of this list ridiculous??

I like ohdeedoh's choices, but couldn't agree less with many of the other 20! That kidco food mill is useless (it only has the strength to mash things that can already be mashed with a fork and is impractical for making baby food in batches.) And the itzbeen timer? Come on! Garbage. And the shears? Ridiculous--the best way to cut up things like pizza and pancakes is with a regular old pizza cutter! Use a knife for things like grapes. Duh!

I do love my gogo kidz travelmate, though!

i have to agree with most everyone else. these suggestions are pretty bad. I didn't see a single one that I felt the urge to click on besides the travel-mate. and even then.... people have survived thousands of years of parenting without any of this crap.

CARES is genius. It lets a toddler use the tray table and that makes a world of difference for toys.

But car seat covers are just unsafe.

Loved the Travelmate. We used it until our son outgrew the carseat for planes. We are frequent fliers, so it has been worth the $$$.

The carseat cover can be dangerous. Take this one off your list.

We have the CARES harness and it's fantastic. Instead of trying to lug a carseat onboard the plane for my 3 year old, I just gate-checked it, and used the CARES harness on his seat. Easy-peasy.

Granted, I agree that most of this stuff is absolutely unnecessary, but a few of the items are worth their price just for making traveling that much easier with a young one.

And I second (third? fourth?) the car seat cover being removed from the list. Dangerous.

so the harness looks great, but what do you do about a car seat when you arrive at your destination? do you check it as luggage?

I'm about to embark on my 1st flight w/ my 8 month old in a few days. I was hesitant to buy the Travelmate b/c it's $80! I'm so glad to hear that it's a good investment. Phew!

throwing in my vote to take the carseat cover off the list (and maybe do a post on why they're dangerous, for parents who put them on their registries or buy them)

For a toddler we now just use a couple of smashes of our pampered chef food chopper to cut up things into manageable pieces.

Double use tool! No need for something new.

@Epiffani

Almost all airlines will check carseats for free, because they are such a necessity. I don't know of any that will charge you for one.
Another option is to gate-check it, like we do with our stroller. Go to your gate, ask the agent for a tag to put on your stroller or carseat, and drop it in the designated down the jet way, in front of the plane door. The item will be loaded once the plane is ready to go, then unloaded and waiting for you right outside the plane door once you disembark. Gate-checking is great because it allows for use of the item during layovers.

the silliest one to me are the "splat pads" for under the highchair. the floor isn't the only surface that food's going to end up on!

but, the Miracle Blanket is truly a miracle. or at least for our little girl. she is very feisty and has been since day one and traditional swadlling NEVER worked for her. not even the nurses at the hospital could keep her wrapped up! it's also definitely worth 30 bucks. and me and my husband are quite the frugal duo!