Got a little new addition to the family coming alone sometime soon? You’ve probably been spending plenty of time preparing the nursery room, stocking up on nappies and buying all the adorable onesies you can get your hands on, but don’t forget about your car. Besides your home, your car is probably the other space where you spend a good chunk of your time – which means your baby is going to be along for the ride a good deal of the time. If you want your car to be a soothing and relaxing space for your little baby, get ready with these simple tips.
Keep Bright Sunlight Out
We all know that naps are absolutely crucial if you want a happy infant (or toddler), and cars tend to be great places for many families when it comes to getting a fussy little one to fall asleep. The humming of the motor and vibrations often relax a newborn and help them sleep. However, if you live in an area with hot summers and glaring sunshine, your baby could end up being scorched by sunlight when they badly need to be getting some shut-eye. Hire a company to install car window tinting to create a darker and more soothing atmosphere instead. This way, you can head out on errands and not worry that hot, uncomfortable sunlight is irritating your little one during naptime.
Choose The Right Soundtrack
You probably read about how your baby could hear the sound of music and voices while they were still in the womb, right? Sounds are still important when they transition out of the womb and into the world, so make sure you have the right music around them while they’re traveling with you in the car. There are plenty of great CDs available aimed at babies, some of them packed with classical tunes designed to boost your baby’s brain development as well as others that just provide some good old fashioned nursery rhymes for you to sing along to. As your baby grows, you might even get to hear them sing along, too. If you’re hitting the road during a naptime, make sure you have some relaxing tunes on hand to help lull them to sleep.
Install Some Entertainment
As your baby grows from the newborn stage of mostly sleeping and eating into the more alert infant phase, they will probably be happier in the car and less likely to become grouchy and difficult to deal with if you provide some entertainment. Buy a few hanging toys that attach to your baby’s car seat or the ceiling of your car so they have something to stare at, and then begin to grab and play with as their motor skills develop.
Don’t Neglect Comfort In Their Safety Seat
While safety will rightly be your number one priority when shopping for a newborn-appropriate car seat before your baby arrives, that doesn’t mean that comfort needs to fall by the wayside. You can use padded strap covers to make sure those straps are soft and squishy against your little one’s body, as well as decorating it with toys and fun features like wind-up musical dolls and a cuddly stuffed animal so they feel relaxed and at ease while also being protected in an emergency.
