Car Seat Safety After Our Car Accident

This post is sponsored by Graco®. All opinions are 100% my own.

Just a few short weeks ago my mother, all three of our kids and myself were all in a pretty bad car accident. That being said – it could have been so much worse.

My mom decided to go through carpool pick up with me for both of the boys on a Wednesday afternoon just a few weeks ago. I am going to be traveling a few times for work in the upcoming weeks and I wanted to show her the school pickup route and we were going to take the boys out for ice cream afterwards for a mid-week treat. Little did we know – I would be SO thankful my mom was riding with me as well as even more thankful for our huge car we recently had just purchased, as well as the kids’ car seats.

We were stopped at a stoplight one light away from our turn to head down to the beach for ice cream and to our house. We had been through two carpools and were ready to get out of the car, let Charli stretch and get the boys something sweet. While stopped at the light, an older SUV slammed into the back of our car going around 45 mph with no signs of breaking, swerving or attempt to avoid hitting us.  We were smashed into two cars in front of us causing it to be a 4 car wreck with 12 people involved. We ended up being the only car that did not have anyone having to be taken to the hospital.  The driver was unconscious after hitting us and we are still waiting on the full police report.

As a parent, we obviously want the best and safest car seats for our children and there are so many great options out there. After the accident, we replaced our old seat with the Graco® SnugRide SnugLock™ 35 DLX Infant Car Seat. Finding a car seat like the Graco® SnugRide SnugLock™ 35 DLX Infant Car Seat is super important. Not only is it rigorously crash tested to meet and exceed US safety standards it also has been side impact tested and contains EPS, which is an energy absorbing foam effective for impact energy management.

A safe car seat is a correctly installed car seat. That’s one of the benefits of the Graco® SnugRide SnugLock™ 35 DLX Infant Car Seat. It has a hassle-free 3-step

installation making it easy to install properly. I have created a video below to show you just how easy it really is to install. Moms – you won’t even need your husband to help with how clear and easy they have made this installation. Plus, it gives me confidence knowing I can get no movement coming from the base even when I install it myself, and that is without me having to climb in the car and sit on it to pull it tight. Ha! Most mamas I am sure can relate!

The Graco® SnugRide SnugLock™ 35 DLX Infant Car Seat gives me the confidence every time I install it and have to switch it from car to car – since we have been in a rental car for a few weeks now waiting on our car to be fixed. The car seat gives you the reassurance that you have installed it correctly with its audible ‘click.’ First, you install the LATCH belts (or seat belt),  then you remove the extra slack. Next, you simply lock down the SnugLock arm and hear a “click” indicating the base is secure. When you put the car seat into the base before hitting the road every time, you hear another ‘click,’ which to be honest, sounds like “I’ve got your baby, she’s safe.”

A few other features I love about the Graco® SnugRide SnugLock™ 35 DLX Infant Car Seat are the easy one-hand adjustable handle, the adjustable base with four recline positions that lets you customize fit to your vehicle – we have used this a lot switching from car to car – and the easy-to-read level indicator. Plus, the Silent Shade™ canopy allows for Charli to sleep anywhere at any time, without being disturbed. With 2 big, loud and wild brothers, this is also a huge selling point for us!

Watch the video below to see just how easy it really is to install!