Since Maggie was born, I’ve been dreading the day when I’d have to haul all four kids to the grocery store on my own. I somehow made it four months before a stomach bug prevented us from grocery shopping over the weekend (when one of us would’ve been able to stay home with the kids) and it was officially GAME ON!
The one thing that worked in my favor… or should I say two things?… was that the school year had already commenced for the boys. I just waited until Daddy shuttled them off to school before venturing out of the house with two-year-old Evie and four-month-old Maggie. I had my game face on but my stomach was tied in knots and I was sweating bullets, I was so nervous. Maggie is the first of my four children to HATE baby wearing. I had packed the carrier out of desperation, despite knowing she was likely to scream the entire time. But what choice did I have? We were almost entirely out of food! And it would be four days before my husband would be home from work and school before 10:00 at night.
Time to woman up!
I was digging through the chest I use to store baby supplies and diapers, desperately searching for every imaginable distraction I could think of for an infant. I suddenly came across a product I was saving to review…
A waive of relief and skepticism washed over me. I’ve been dying to try the Buggy Bench! How great would it be if the baby actually liked riding in it? Probably too good to be true. Only one way to find out though! I tossed it into the car with the diaper bag and loaded the girls into their car seats. Off to the store we went!
I intentionally parked next to the cart return area. That way I wouldn’t have to choose between leaving the girls alone in the vehicle long enough to retrieve a cart or trying to setup the Buggy Bench while holding an infant and fighting a toddler. Once I had wiped every touchable area of the cart with hand disinfectant wipes, I spent all of two minutes rigging the Buggy Bench in the shopping cart. The box warned against positioning it in a way that could result in the benched kid hitting their head on the back of the cart’s built-in seat, so I opted to face it towards me. I figured Maggie would probably prefer to see her sister and I anyway… but my plan quickly backfired when I realized I’d positioned it so close to her sister’s seat that she could actually grab it.
To remedy the issue, I loosened the rear set of straps (the ones under the backrest) slightly more than the front set of straps, causing the seat to lay back just a tiny bit. Doing so naturally caused her to lay back and relax. In case she decided to do the typical infant sideways tilt, (and to hopefully encourage her to take her morning nap) I also strategically stuffed Maggie’s favorite blankie next to her. She was very happy with the arrangement.
Another thing I found to be incredibly convenient about the straps is that they make it very easy to attach a toy. Maggie’s favorite lovey is an elephant her sibling have named “EleFriddles” (after the little girl’s bear in “The Great Bear”) who luckily has a little plastic loop on her head for exactly this purpose.
Once I had everything positioned it was amazing! Maggie loved being able to watch her sister and I, while Evie was smitten with the novelty of riding in the cart with the baby. Everyone we passed asked about the Buggy Bench and I ended up giving out the handful of business cards that came with my Buggy Bench (very smart that they included those!). I love that the Buggy Bench leaves the cart available for groceries. I put the diaper bag under the baby’s feet and filled the rest of the cart (and underneath the cart) with food. Last time I had to shop with a baby in tow (when Evie was an infant) I opted to use the double stroller and quickly learned that there was no room for food AT ALL. I remember how the basket under the stroller dragged with the weight of common grocery items. Ugh. Needless to say, using an actual cart with two small kiddos feels amazing.
In the end, I wish I’d gotten one of these much sooner… like, three kids ago! I’ve used it three more times since the shopping trip pictured here and it’s become an absolute necessity for our family. I just keep it in the back of our vehicle now! If you know anyone expecting (or who recently welcomed) their second, third or tenth kid, I strongly suggest getting them a Buggy Bench for Christmas… or for their baby shower… or a birthday… or Tuesday… Whatever excuse you need to use, just get them one. I know I’ve said it before, but I don’t give my endorsement to products unless they deserve it and the Buggy Bench is an absolute game changer. Need more proof? I’ll let this picture speak for itself:
If you want to read more about the Buggy Bench and buy one from the company directly, visit their website here!
Otherwise, if you have a gift card to burn, you can find the Buggy Bench on Amazon too in Posh Pink (like mine), Seafoam Green, Ocean Blue or Caribbean Blue.
Disclaimer: This item was provided to me for free in order to facilitate this review. I pride myself on being an honest person though, so my opinion was not influenced in any way. I am also in no way obligated to post a positive review. So if I say I love it, it’s because I really truly do.
Lost and Farm 