How do you go grocery shopping alone with 3 month old baby?
Surely someone has come up with a good solution to this by now. I can't put her car seat in the buggy because there would be no room for the food, sh...
Surely someone has come up with a good solution to this by now. I can’t put her car seat in the buggy because there would be no room for the food, she gets in the way of everything when she is in her baby sling, no grocery stores around me have infant seats in their carts. Her daddy usually does the shopping, but he has been working a lot lately due to cut backs in his office. Please help, I’m hungry! Can’t eat fast food all the time…
On store grocery carts, her infant carrier might be able to latch onto the part where older children usually sit. If you open this up, you can place the carrier on there, facing yourself until it locks in place. This way you will have the entire front of the cart to shop. I did this MANY times and even though it was a little more difficult than usual, we made it through alright. She’s now 10 months old and sits in the cart like a big girl!
Also, if this doesn’t work, you can turn her carrier sideways and place it at the END of the grocery cart. Then fold up the child seat part and you can still get a good amount of groceries in there.
Put her in her stroller and use the bottom portion to put your groceries in. Just get some things that will tide you over for the next day or so … no need to do a big shop!
Good luck!
Find a friend who can go with youor watch your little one while you go? Or find a grocery store that does have the infant seats on their carts. I know its a crazy catch 22. Some stores will even gather what you need and have it ready or deliver it. Good luck and happy eating.
many of the "bucket" carseats can hook onto the cart w/out losing space for the food….
my personal thing was using a sling… that way I could walk away from the cart and not feel like my baby’s safety was compromised…
Maya Wrap (ring sling) was my favorite, but there are other types, brands, styles…..
well i have a honda civic which is almost the same size inside as your buggy. and what i do is have nothing in the trunk so i can fit as much as possible and also put some stuff in the front seat. i know you wont be shopping for a full months supply so i know you can make it fit or you can have somewone watch her while you go shopping or ask to use a bigger car for a few hours while shopping. there are many ways you can do it but if you make it hard on yourself well tthats why you think you cant do it.
After shopping with 4 kids ages 12, 9, 5 and 2, shopping with one 3 month old would be a breeze! If you need more than will fit in the cart with the baby, shop a little and then tell a cashier your issue, put the cart aside, take the baby out (important step!) and finish your shopping in another cart. Most stores will send a bagger out to help you load up the car so you can push the baby while they push the cart. Welcome to motherhood and making adaptations. You need to start thinking creatively to work out problems like this. I promise, this is a simple one…..good luck
Put her in the sling, and deal with the inconvenience. That’s what I did. (Or if you have big carts, balance the infant carrier on the front over the seat part, but always keep a hand on it – they can fall off).
Its not easy, but you have to buy food, so just do it. Think of all the moms who do it with a newborn AND a toddler! It can be done, just keep trying and you’ll find a comfortable way to do it.
Its about finding the least difficult way to do something not the easiest way.
Good luck.
The new car seats are made to fit and fasten into the seat portion of shopping carts. I cover my 11 week old with a blanket and he sleeps. The moving motion of the cart puts him to sleep. I was scared to death when he was a couple weeks old and I took him shopping. Afraid he would start crying halfway through shopping and I wouldn’t know whether to continue to shop or leave. I actually left the store once when he started crying as soon as we got to the store because I knew i would never have been able to shop for an hour while consoling him.
Why doesn’t your car seat fit on the top part of the shopping cart? There should be little grooves in the bottom of the car seat that are for locking into a base. Balance them on the metal backing of the seat, and the front of the car seat on the handle of the shopping cart. Mine always locked onto the metal bar, so the seat never fell off.
Most car seat will snap or latch onto the top part where toddlers usually sit. That is where I have always put mine at. when she is able to sit by herself, you can get one of those cart covers that go on them. They work good.
LOL i know how you feel!! i have 5 little boys ages 8,7,6,4 and 2 months. try grocery shopping with that crew
BUT i get it done. The trick is to take two carts. Put the baby in the one and the grocerys in the other. Pull one behind you and push one in front of you. OR take and put your baby in a back carrier and push the cart in the front. Its really not that bad once you do it the first time, the second time with be simple. You learn to manage with what you have. Once you get the hang of it you will do just fine 
Alot of the newer car sets that come with bases, are usually able to snap onto the front part of the cart, where older children sit.
Mom of 5 boys
i use to get the carseat put it on top of the seat of the basket, give my son a toy and shop, in a couple months it will be worse, enjoy it and learn rightnow, cause when they start walking, forget about it!!
is baby still in an infant carrier or too big? Most infant carriers can clip onto the front handle bar and over the backrest where older children sit at the front of the cart – this leaves the main part of the cart open for groceries. you can even ‘lock’ it/snap it in and release using the release that you use to lift it from the base in the car.
I had big babies who were out of the ‘bucket’ seat before they could sit up – and I used to go grocery shopping by either getting just a few small items with a basket while pushing stroller – or you can actually pull a shopping cart behind you while pushing the stroller – pull the cart from the back not the front. it works well..takes a bit of practice but it does work (if you dont get the one with the wobbly wheels) .
Put her infant car seat carrier on the child seat of the grocery cart, they usually hook right on. This really shouldn’t be that hard of a task, you will have to face much more difficult tasks in the days to come.
You can carry her in a front pack. It frees your hands up and gives you the space needed in the cart.
Buck up, its called parenthood. Deal with it.
I know with most stores you can leave your daughter in her car seat and that will latch on top of where an older kid would sit. Or once your husband gets home even if its late you can get your daughter to sleep and go get groceries in I have the same problem, except I have 7 month old twins and a 2 yr old so when I absolutely have to get groceries I have to put one in her car seat up top, lay one in the buggie while in car seat and my poor 2 yr old has to sit in the corner of the cart while I find places for food and even if i took the girls out of their car seats to sit in buggie there is only one opening for one kid….Ive only seen warehouse stores with buggies that will hold 2 kids up front
i think the sling is VERY convenient and doesn’t get in the way personally
AND i can just latch her on to breastfeed and get on with my business hands free
easy as that…….my baby is a litle over 2 months old and not a bother at all when i go shopping
My daughter’s carseat won’t fit in the seat of the cart, and even if it did, she wouldn’t sit there that long! I’ve used the sling a lot. While it’s cumbersome, it’s better than nothing. She usually sleeps, but last time she screamed the whole time so I had to take her out of the sling and carry her. Fun.
Last night I actually went grocery shopping after I put her to bed. Daddy stayed home obviously, and she woke up but he got her back down. I’m exhausted today because I usually go to bed when she does, not 2 hours later, but it was well worth it to go shopping alone! I also had to go to Walmart b/c it was the only place open that late, which I hate, but you do what you have to do!
the best way for me to do any type of shopping with baby is in the baby Bjorn carrier. She is almost 6 months and is getting too chubby for her thighs to fit.
but it was great while it lasted!
how about putting her carrier in the seat part of the cart? most car seats will snap into there. It works.
LOL wait until you have an infant and a toddler, then it really gets interesting!
If she has an infant car seat that doubles as a baby seat/carrier, you know the kind with a handle – I think most infant seats do this…
Anyway, that seat should sit in the seat part of the cart, it doesn’t have to go in the buggy part. Just don’t walk away from the cart, I’m sure you wouldn’t anyway.
I was also going to suggest a baby sling. What about one that you can wear as a backpack instead of one that you wear on the front?
I feel for you – been there!