Graco has also received accolades from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) for our booster seats: the Nautilus 3-in-1 car seat, Argos 3-in-1 harnessed booster and TurboBooster youth booster seat (both the highback and backless models).  The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety conducts these studies to help parents decide which booster is best to help protect their older child. They test the boosters based on this criteria:  most likely to provide good lap and shoulder belt fit in a range of vehicles.

As a parent myself, I trust Graco car seats for my kids–PP rides in a high back TurboBooster & Pinkie Pie loves her Nautilus car seat, so it’s great to see Graco recognized for its true commitment to keeping children safe.

Congratulations, Graco toddler car seats!

The collection includes five unique products: Graco Alano™ FlipIt™ Reversible Handle Travel System, Graco DuoDiner™ 3-in-1 Highchair, Graco Nautilus™ 3-in-1 Car Seat, Graco Pack ‘N Play ® Silhouette™ Playard and Graco Duo™ 2-in-1 Swing & Bouncer.

Check out some of the features that make this collection a must-have for new parents:

Graco Alano™ FlipIt™ Reversible Handle Travel System:

- The Alano Flip It has a unique reversible handle feature so your baby can face you, or face the world

- This stroller grows with your child from infant to toddler and can be used up to 50 lbs.

Graco DuoDiner™ 3-in-1 Highchair

- The DuoDiner highchair grows with your child from infant to toddler and converts to a space-saving booster

Graco Nautilus™ 3-in-1 Car Seat

- The Nautilus helps keep your child secure in a 5-point harness, from 20-65 lbs and then converts to a belt-positioning booster from 30-100 lbs

- This car seat is designed to allow you to transition into either a Highback or Backless booster for a comfortable fit for your child up to 100 lbs

Graco Pack ‘N Play® Silhouette Playard

- This Playard is the perfect place for baby to nap and play

- The Silhouette Pack ‘N Play includes an infant bassinet, playard and posture-plus changing table for your comfort

Graco Duo™ 2-in-1 Swing & Bouncer

- The Duo 2-in-1 Swing and Bouncer includes both a swing and bouncer to soothe and amuse your baby

- This is a great option because it allows you to save money and space without having to buy two products

The entire Graco Sprout ‘N Grow collection is available in the adorable Sweetpea fashion.

Be sure to check it out at Target this week for a $10 savings on each item. Don’t miss your chance to get all of the essentials for your baby to grow with. Happy Shopping!

Looking for great deals on some of your favorite Graco items? Look no further! Baby Depot at Burlington Coat Factory is always a great place to find amazing discounts on the Graco products you love, but starting this week, the prices are even more unbelievable! This a sale you won’t want to miss…

Graco Morgan Collection

Pack ‘n Play® Classic Playard – Sale $89.99
Entertaining toys amuse your little one. This changer offers convenience for quick diaper changes and a safe, cozy space for your baby to play.

Lovin’ Hug® Infant Swing – Sale $89.99
The ergonomic design of Lovin’ Hug™ swing’s hammock-style seat mimics the curve of your arms, giving your baby a sense of security. At the same time, the plush mobile, 10 classical songs and 5 nature sounds, keep him soothed and amused.

Meal Time™ Highchair – Sale $69.99
The 4-position height adjustment combined with the 3-position reclining seat help you to find a comfy position for your little dining companion. The locking casters and convenient fold make tucking this chair out of the way between mealtimes a snap.

Passage™ Travel System – Sale $174.99
This three-piece system features a Graco Passage Stroller, the top rated SnugRide® Infant Car Seat and a stay-in-car base. The stroller’s sturdy frame has built-to-last durability.

Graco Car Seats

ComfortSport™ Convertible Car Seat – Sale $89.99
This ultra-versatile seat can be used rear-facing for infants from 5 to 30 pounds, and then forward-facing as a toddler seat for children 20 to 40 pounds. With a five-point, front-adjust harness, EPS energy absorbing foam, removable head pillow and a handy cup holder, it’s got the key essentials you’ll need.

Nautilus™ 3-in-1 Car Seat – Sale $154.99
Our Nautilus™ 3-in-1 car seat helps keep your child in a 5-point harness up to 65 lbs. When ready, it converts to a belt-positioning booster seat, and finally to a Highback or Backless booster, for a comfortable fit up to 100 lbs. Plus, this seat is outfitted with reinforced steel for enhanced durability.

My Ride™ 65 Convertible Car Seat – Sale $129.99
The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends your child ride rear-facing as long as possible, so My Ride 65 stays rear-facing up to 40 lbs. – longer than most other car seats in the US. Then, it secures your forward-facing child in a 5-point harness until he is 65 lbs.

Enjoy!

That probably also means you can’t help but think about your child’s safety a little bit more than usual.  

Coincidentally, September is baby safety month, so you’ll find a number of extra activities, tips and resources specifically focused on your child’s safety from Graco over the next few weeks.

To start it all off, today is the first day of the Great Trade-In Event at Babies “R” Us! Now through September 19, bring in your old baby gear and get 25% off new Graco gear. This is especially important if you happen to have an expired car seat. (Yes, car seats expire! Find out how to see if your Graco seat is expired here.) Plus, there is no limit to the number of products that you trade in.

And check the Babies “R” Us circular or e-mail newsletter for more great deals like 15% off items like the Graco Nautilus™ Elite and Graco Metrolite® Stroller in Laguna Bay.

It’s all about safety this month at Graco – stay tuned for more!

The Graco Nautilus grows with your child, keeping her secure in a 5-point harness up to 65 lbs. When she’s ready, it converts to a belt-positioning booster from 30-100 lbs.

From there, the Nautilus transitions into either a Highback or Backless booster for a comfortable fit up to 100 lbs. Extensively crash tested, including side-impact testing, outfitted with reinforced steel and thoughtfully designed with plush comfort features, this 3-in-1 car seat is will last your little travel companion well into childhood.

Check out this video that gives some basic steps on how to install the Graco Nautilus Car Seat with a 5-point harness:

Tell us about a mom in need (or an organization that helps moms in need) that you would like to honor this Mother’s Day and you could win one for you, and one for them.

For this GOGO, you have all weekend to enter! We’ll announce the winner at 9:00 a.m. Monday morning.

To all of the moms out there who give everything they have to be the best parent possible (the sweat, sacrifice, kind words and cuddles) — THANK YOU from all of us at Graco and Happy Mother’s Day.

*Comments are now closed. Thanks to everyone who participated. The winner is Justine McD! Justine, Graco will be in touch shortly to get you (and your husband’s best friend!) your prize!

As a part of Graco’s monthly blogger spotlight, here are a few questions I asked Jennifer from Mami2Mommy. Check out her blog & follow Mami2Mommy on Twitter or become a fan on Facebook.

1. When & why did you start blogging?
If my mommy brain serves me correctly (these days it’s a 50/50 shot!) I think it will be a year in May that I have been blogging. I started it because I wanted to chronicle every moment with my son, Shaun.

It was also a great way for me to share and receive advice on being a new mom. However, I never anticipated how busy I would be with my little peanut so all those moments I wanted to blog about didn’t exactly happen. Go figure.

2. As a mother, what has blogging meant for you?
This may sound corny to some people but it has been my salvation in many ways. I am very close to my two sisters – one lives in North Carolina and the other in New York – and not having them around for the first few months of my son’s life was very difficult.

In all honesty, I think had it not been for the blogging and the social media community it would have been a tougher situation to deal with.

It provided me with a much needed support system and a community of women who were sharing the same experiences – online and IRL (in real life). And it gave me a voice not only as a mother but also as a Latina mami which was very important to me.

3. What’s the thing that has surprised you the most about being a parent?
My decisions as a parent have surprised me the most. Before my son was born, I would make a mental note of the things that I saw family, friends and strangers doing with their children and say to myself, “I would/wouldn’t do that.”

And it’s funny because whatever thoughts you have in your head before that precious angel comes into your life may not exactly be in the cards after he is born. For example, I always told myself that I would not let my son watch television until he was at least two years old.

He was hooked on The Wiggles at 9 months old. Sue me.

And don’t get me started on the decision to use only cloth diapers. After day 3 that idea was a distant memory. But I did breastfeed and had never thought I would. Yay me!

4. Is there any advice that you can offer to new Moms?
You will receive a lot of unsolicited advice but remember that people mean well so don’t let it upset you or sway you too much.

Take it with a grain of salt and go with what you feel is in your heart, in your gut. If it is not something that is going to endanger your child then don’t stress over it. Twenty years from now your child will not be in therapy talking about the effects of why you didn’t feed him only organic products. Is it a healthier alternative? Sure it is, but it’s not the end of the world if you don’t.

We live in a country where we have many choices and I love that. But you are the mommy now. You make the decisions. Just make sure to educate yourself on them and in the end, I promise, you will make the right ones.

5. What is your favorite Graco product?
This is a completely unfair question! To choose only one is impossible. I love all my Graco children…umm…products equally!

Shhh…they are all sleeping now so I’ll tell you. Currently it’s the Nautilus™ 3-in-1 Car Seat. My son looks so comfortable in it and I love the fact that it transitions as my son grows. Did I mention the cup holder too! But don’t mention this to the others or I promise I’ll completely deny I have a favorite!

Do you have a favorite blogger you want to see here on the Graco Blog? Let us know, and they might be featured in next month’s Monthly Blogger Spotlight!

Whether you are installing with LATCH or using the seatbelt, we can provide you with step-by-step directions.  The best part is the advatage of actually seeing someone else do it - giving you an additional level of comfort when installing. Graco currently has six installation videos available. Video # 7, featuring the Snugride Infant car seat, was filmed last week and will be availble online by the end of April.

Heidi Parker (member of the Graco family) and her daughter Reese (just two months old and a natural on camera!) joined us to film the installation video.  Heidi is a certified Child Passenger Safety Technician, so working with her on set was a breeze, and Reese was such a trooper!

For those of you that have never been on a video set – let me educate you.  For a two minute video,  we filmed for about six hours!  It is a FULL day of “lights, camera, action”.  Not only is there a 10-person crew on set to manage the lights, the sound, the camera , the makeup, the talent, and a producer, but we also have several members of the Graco team there to ensure we get exactly what we need to create a resource for new moms.

It is in fact, a production.  We even get to see how it is looking on camera, by watching the film on a real-time, on-set television.

Lastly, once the video portion is complete, it is time to record the voiceover.  Usually by this point, we are all pretty tired.  Especially the talent!

Although it is a long day, it’s a good one.  Most important,  it is a day committed to providing comfort for new parents and giving them the tools they need to ensure their car seats are installed properly and securely.

We hope the videos serve as a constant resource for parents (check them out again when installing a “big kid” seat) as we have installation videos for all types of seats.

Here is a quick run down of my round-the-clock use of Graco products:

7:15 am: Pinkie Pie starts to stir…I hear her starting to chat, basically saying, “Get me out of here!” through the Graco imonitor digital monitor

7:20 am: go into Pinkie Pie’s room & turn off her Graco humidifier & her music playing in her Graco Sweet Slumber.

7:25 am: depending on if Pinkie Pie has the sniffles (which she does now), I use our Graco NasalClear to clear out the stuffies

7:30 am: down in the family room, change Pinkie Pie’s diaper on her Graco Pack n Play

7:40 am: secure Pinkie Pie in her Graco DuoDiner highchair while I get her breakfast ready. I let her play while I prep her meal then settle in next to her for meal time.

8:00 am: momma needs some hands-free time to clean up breakfast so Pinkie Pie plays in her Graco Baby Einstein Activity Center. Pinkie Pie likes to “stand” and play so this allows her to do just that.

8:15-9:00 am: Pinkie Pie typically has more play time with me & her big sister, PP, then she starts to get a little sleepy..time for her next nap. Off to the Pack n Play for a diaper change & a nap.

11:00 am: once Pinkie Pie is up after her nap, she gets a bottle then relaxes in her Graco sweetpeace. At this age, she likes to listen to the music & play with some toys (when she was younger we used to use it more as a soothing swing).

12:00 pm: lunchtime! back in the highchair for some stage 1 fruit. Once lunch is over, Pinkie Pie & I have some snuggle time, then she hangs out in the Graco Doorway Jumper to get some baby exercise.

1:00 pm: diaper change in the Pack n Play, another bottle then off for another nap. Pinkie Pie is such a good sleeper–I am lucky!!

3:00 pm: Pinkie Pie is up & after she is changed, she hangs out with me & PP in her Graco Bouncer. As Pinkie Pie gets older, she doesn’t like to sit in a bouncer for too long (it was a life saver when she was newborn) and now she sits & plays with some toys & board books. We get ready to head out for a trip to the mall. For the quick trips, I use the Graco Snugrider stroller frame, but when we head to the mall, I usually use the Graco Quattro Tour stroller (more room for shopping bags & Pinkie Pie likes to sit in the stroller seat at this point vs. the car seat).

3:30 pm: secure Pinkie Pie in her Graco SnugRide 32 infant car seat & snap her into the car (Big Sis is riding in her Graco Nautilus). We’re using the Quattro Tour since we went to the mall, and I’m thankful for the space it gives me (huge storage basket, cup holders for my fountain soda, compartments for my keys & cell phone to keep them handy). PP sometimes gets tired too so I will hold Pinkie Pie & let PP lounge in the stroller for a while.

6:00 pm: dinner time..back in the Graco DuoDiner for dinner prep time & feeding time. I love the wheels on the highchair since I have Pinkie Pie stationed at the head of the table with some toys to play with, then I wheel her to my seat to feed her some veggies.

7:30 pm: bath time with PP (which is probably the favorite thing for both girls to do). Get Pinkie Pie all nice & clean, put her in her cute “jammie jams”, put the humidifier back on, classical music back on, bottle time then off to dream land…I grab the parent receiver of the monitor then head down for some quality time with hubby (which means reality TV time!!).

I might work at Graco, but these are also the products I use as a mom everyday. I can say as living proof that they make having a baby a little bit easier!

So, in order to get around this (and to add some color to my back seat), I got a pink Nautilus 3-in-1 car seat (in the Miley fashion to be exact). I was shocked by how excited PP got when she saw the box. She jumped up & down & asked when we were going to put it in the car.

I got the seat out of the box and PP proudly sat in it as I adjusted the harness straps. She couldn’t wait to get in it. My husband installed the car seat as PP asked when we could go somewhere so she could sit in her new seat. No more fights about sitting in the “baby seat” anymore–PP runs to the car so she can sit in her “big girl pink seat”. Ohh..the power of pink!