Baby Talk Zone

Your new baby will soon enjoy the rigors of traveling. Maybe not to the south of France or Aspen, but soon your child will be going with you to the grocery store, to grandma's, to the park, and maybe elsewhere - providing you're bold enough to take a little one supplied with all the right equipment. In today's article you will learn of the necessities needed for baby travel.

Diaper Bags: Mary Poppins had quite a bag. It was a good size, held everything, and it didn't make one of her arms longer than the other. If only they made such a bag. Today, you'll see a lot of parents using over-sized travel bags or large purses for diaper bags in place of the hard-to-get-but-buy-em-when-you-find-em Mary Poppins bags.

Big travel bags are a great idea. They're bigger so they can be used as a purse in addition to having the diapers, wipes, clothes, blankets, and the kitchen sink - which you now have to carry with you whenever you go anywhere. The only thing that regular diaper bags have that these over-sized bags don't are those special slots to put bottles in so that the bottles don't tip and leak all over the bottom of the bag. (Of course, there are bottle lids and caps so that stuff doesn't happen.)

Medications: No matter how close you watch over your baby, he will catch a cold on occasion, get diaper rash, and fall down at least 100 times before it's all over.

A baby sized chair for the car: You need a car seat. It's the law. It doesn't matter if you never plan on taking your baby anywhere. Hospitals won't let you leave with your new baby unless you have a car seat.

Many brands of car seat are out there with subtle differences between them in design and fashion. The type of car seat most popular is the one where the seat detaches from the base and you can carry your baby and the seat all in one. Or there are those where you carry the seat and attach it to a stroller. You don't have to wake up a baby to get him out of the car, or unwrap a baby in cold weather. Just unlatch the seat and go.

Detachable car seats (where you carry the baby and the seat) are not good for older, heavier babies. For them, you'll have to invest in a larger seat or just buy the detachable kind that goes with a stroller.

1. Do not use a car seat that has been involved in a car accident.

2. Do not use an infant seat (like those from swings) as a car seat.

3. Strap the car seat down with the car's seat belts. There is a special tool you'll need to use to lash the over-the-neck seat belt with the lap belt. Attach this to the side of the car seat opposite from where you buckle the belt. This keeps the seat from tipping over when you round a corner.

4. Strap your child down with the car seat's restraining belt.

If the idea of buying more than one kind of car seat doesn't appeal to you, look for a car seat that you can use until your child reaches 40 pounds or 40 inches in height. It's required by law that your child remain in a car seat until that time - or until they're four years old. If you have a big baby or towering toddler, consider getting one of those lap-restraint type of car seats. Commonly called toddler seats, these abbreviated car seats are ideal for kids who are too big for traditionally-sized car seats.