Genre: Opinion/Argumentation

Guess Who Went To The #GracoSafety Event At Babies R Us! Introducing...the new Snug Ride Click Connect 40 from Graco. Last Saturday I was invited to assist at one of the 50 VIP events that took place nationwide, and I had a blast! I took the little peanut along with me. Doesn't she look snug all tucked into her Graco MyRide? It's easy for me to be excited about Graco car seats-they're my favorite brand. I've owned seven! I was thrilled to be involved in the launch of this new car seat, and not only because I got to leave the house and go on a little road trip to Grand Rapids. No, it's also because car seat safety is something that I have always been interested in. Bored and hugely pregnant with my first child, I read article after article about how much safer it was to rear face their car seat, and made up my mind to keep my kids facing backwards until they were to big to fit. Did you know: The American Academy of Pediatrics says that "...toddlers are more than five times safer riding rear facing in a car seat. They should stay rear facing until 2 years of age." We all want to keep our kids safe. Keeping them rear facing is a huge part of that! If this seat had been on the market when I was pregnant, you can bet your britches I would have wanted it. I still want it, but it turns out that collecting car seats is not something my husband approves of. Who knew? The lovely Kate from Sluiter Nation hosted the event and let us all in on the great features of the Snug Ride. There were two events back to back, and she rocked both of them. Not only did we get to spend the afternoon schmoozing and talking about fun things like how important it is to keep your child rear facing until at least two, we also got to give away TWO brand new Snug Rides! Ashleigh from Being Cheap Is Easy was our first winner, and she was thrilled. No word yet if she is going to give it away to her pregnant friend, like she said, or if she's going to keep it, like I totally would. It was such a pleasure to get to know the other bloggers that attended. Heather from Sassy Wassy Momma attended as well, and she brought along her little miss, Aurora. Kate highlighted all the great things about the seat, including the great cushy padding inside. Did you know that when you purchase a car seat, you should never add any inserts or extra padding? The addition of any extra products can reduce the effectiveness of the seat. My all time favorite part of this seat? The Snug Ride has a unique feature allowing you to adjust the harness and headrest WITHOUT undoing the straps. Have you ever removed the straps from a car seat and had to thread them back through those tiny slots, nervously making sure they are exactly right? It's a huge pain. I love that you don't have to remove the straps to adjust them as your child grows. This is my totally unscientific opinion, but I also think this will eliminate a huge chance for user error. The seat comes in two great patterns, Moonstruck (pictured at top) and Mena, which is the one we were able to get up close and personal with. We also got to play with the matching stroller! The new Snug Ride has the Click Connect technology, which means that it clicks right into the stroller and connects securely. Also, this stroller is something else. After wrestling with my huge double jogging stroller, I just about fell over when I saw how easy this one folds up. Trisha was our second winner! I can't believe we got to give away two seats. It was awesome to announce the winners! It was a pleasure to attend and assist at this event, and I'm so glad I had the opportunity. I love that I was able to learn about such a great car seat! If you want to learn more be sure to check out Graco Safety . You can also look on Instagram and Twitter under the hashtag #GracoSafety for more firsthand opinions from the other bloggers that attended the events! The Graco SnugRider Click ConnectT 40 -- the first and only newborn to two-year infant car seat that actually grows with your baby from four pounds all the way up to 40 pounds. The car seat is designed for a parent on the go. The infant car seat can be easily removed from the base and used as a carrier when the infant is small, providing portability and convenience so you can easily move your infant in and out of the car without disturbing them. The American Academy of Pediatrics recently made the recommendation to keep all children in rear-facing car seats until the age of 2. Graco set out to make this product so parents can keep infants rear facing longer while still keeping them comfortable. This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of Graco. The opinions and text are all mine. 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