Whether you are only tooling around town to park play dates and to the grocery store, or traveling hours away to visit the grandparents, having the right car seat can mean the difference between a pleasant drive and a hair-pulling, crying-induced anxiety attack.

With baby in back and Mommy or Daddy way up front in the driver’s seat – and not exactly within arm’s reach – parents need to feel confident that their little one is safely secure and content.

The last thing any parent wants is to have a child in the car seat in the back seat who screams or cries during the entire ride because he is uncomfortable or just otherwise unhappy being buckled in. And worse, no parent can drive contently while worrying that her child can easily squirm out of the car seat, or that it won’t hold him in if there’s a crash.

While safety is definitely a priority when choosing the right car seat, finding one that is not too expensive is an added bonus to most families, given the current struggling U.S. economy. Depending on the style and brand, many car seats can cost hundreds of dollars.

One option many parents choose is a convertible car seat that can be used for several years. Many fit newborns and adjust to fit toddlers as they grow.

Below are three of the most affordable and safest car seats on the market today.

1. Safety 1st OnSide Air Protect

This convertible car seat sells for about $90. Other highlights include:

• Rear-facing for babies and toddlers up to 40 pounds

• 5-point harness

• 3 buckle locations

• Features an air protect technology to help protect the baby’s head

• Many parents who own a Safety 1st OnSide Air Protect car seat say it’s easy to install and fits in even smaller compact cars.

• Comfy

2. Cosco 40 RF Juvenile Scenera Car Seat

This car seat sells for about $83. Other highlights include:

• Rear-facing for babies and toddlers up to 40 pounds and 43 inches

• Many owners of the Cosco 40 RF Juvenile Scenera Car Seat say it is lightweight and easy to install

• Features a convenient cup holder to keep baby’s bottle and later a toddler’s sippy cup handy

• Comfortable

• Sturdy

3. Graco Comfort Sport Convertible Seat

This convertible car seat sells for about $90. Other highlights include:

• Holds babies and toddlers up to 40 pounds

• Has been crash-tested to ensure the safety of babies and toddlers

• Features energy-absorbing foam

• A removable fabric head support that can be easily washed – a plus when dealing with squirmy toddlers with sticky fingers or leaking sippy cups

• Many parents who own the Graco Comfort Sport Convertible Seat say it is easy to install, and also easy to get the baby in and out of the seat and the car.

• Five-point, front-adjust harness

• A level indicator that is easy to read to help with installing the car seat in the rear-facing position

• Many moms love that the cover comes off easily so it can be washed.

• Safe and comfortable

Janie writes on baby related topics and volunteers in a nursery. If you’re looking for a new car, she suggest you click here

1 Pair (2pcs) Car/Truck Embroidered Seat Belt Shoulder Cover Pads for Mtsubishi US $6.99 Auction Ends: Monday May-21-2012 7:12:09 PDT   | Watch this Item

B&W Polaroid S6301 Baby in carseat,toy in mouth US $5.98 Auction Ends: Monday May-21-2012 7:13:03 PDT   | Watch this Item

It’s not too late to shop at some your favorite online stores to buy Christmas gifts for your preemies and/or twins (or anyone for that matter)! Plus today is National Free Shipping Day 2011! Here’s our top six (6) picks that will get you the gifts on everyone’s list in your hands on or before Christmas Eve, December 24th, 2011:

1. Amazon – they sell Everything!

– Order by December 19th with Standard Shipping
– Order by December 23rd with Last Minute Prime Shipping

2. Best Buy – Combine with Best Buy Coupons for the “best buys”.

– Order by December 20th (10:59 am) with Standard Shipping
– Order by December 22nd (10:59 am) with Express Shipping

3. The Land of Nod Check out their Kids & Baby Sale!

– Order by December 2oth (1:30 pm) with Standard Shipping
– Order by December 22nd (1:30 pm) with Overnight Shipping

4. Kohl’s – Lots of current deals!

– Order by December 20th with Standard Shipping
– Order by December 21st with Overnight Shipping

5. Macy’s – My daughter “Macy’s” favorite place to shop!

– Order by December 21st with Standard Shipping
– Order by December 22nd with Express Shipping

6. Overstock – Plus $5 off $150 and Free Shipping through our link!

– Order by December 19th with Express Shipping
– Order by December 20th with Fastest Shipping

For more Shipping Deadlines for Christmas 2011, check out Steal The Style and/or BestOnlineCoupons.com.

Auction Ends:   | Watch this Item

With an accomplished background as a marketing and business strategist, Tami Gaines has proven how individuals and business owners can achieve success from the inside out. She has been widely recognized as an expert and visionary among national media like The Wall Street Journal and has built an impressive client list that has included The Marriott, Goldman Sachs, Bank of America, Consumer Reports, Unilever and The Commonwealth of Virginia. With an M.B.A. from Columbia University and 25 years as an entrepreneur and executive, Tami could not have foreseen the events that would take her from the board room to the hospital room.

Tami believes that our will is a renewable resource and it is by sheer will that she was able to thrive during the five months of her life that she found herself: Unexpectedly pregnant with twins; Suddenly single after nearly 12 years of marriage because of the decision to keep them; Confined to a hospital bed for 5 weeks in an effort to maintain the pregnancy; And then an experienced mother in a new reality, fluctuating between prayer and advocacy for the health of the twins, born at only 25 weeks, weighing just over a pound and a half each. Her daughter spent nearly 4 months in the intensive care unit before coming home. Her son spent 15 months in the intensive care unit and 3 months in a rehabilitation facility before finally coming home in late August 2007, technology-dependent yet self-reliant. The twins join their older sister and brother, 10 and 7 years, respectively, in a home that had to be spiritually gutted and rebuilt to allow space for forgiveness of and gratitude to my former husband for leaving so that we could live from a place of faith and self-love.

Tami has used the lessons of her personal and professional journeys to restore her power and gain wholeness again. Developing an intimate connection with the Universe and then giving that connection a voice through the way she lives is her true devotion. She has expressed her truth in the way she gives context to experiences, takes action, makes decisions, in the people she chooses to surround herself with and the energy that she gives out and lets in. Her legacy will be one that empowers people to live their greatest lives, despite any challenge facing them.

At the encouragement of parents, doctors and hospital administrators, Tami has written Preemie Parents, 26 Little Ways to Grow With Your Premature Baby, to help other parents cope as she has — with heart wide open to learning life’s lessons. Both practical and inspirational, Tami has revolutionized the way people experience prematurity, divorce and other unexpected crises. Tami returns power to those who feel powerless as they go through their challenges by reminding them that “the context that we give our experiences is ultimately our defining story.”

“We never know how much power we have within us until we’ve gone through something, that before, we could never conceive of getting through.” — Tami Gaines

My friend did a lot of research trying to find the best (and most reasonably priced) double stroller for his new (and too cute) twin baby grand-daughters, Taiya and Aliya. He ended buying the Contours Options Tandem Stroller by Kolcraft, which is currently on sale at Amazon.com for $184.54 with Free Super Saver Shipping and Free Returns (this item is eligible for Free 365-Day Returns on Baby items from Amazon). The list price is normally $249.99.

This Kolcraft Contours Options Tandem Stroller includes a car seat attachment that accommodates most brands of infant car seats on the market today, but as you see from the picture above, the newborn babies are able to utilize the reclined seats just fine. There are also numerous toddler features including areas for easy step-in and rear stadium-style seating for improved view and 8″ swivel wheels with suspension and 10″ rear wheels that never go flat for better maneuverability important feature in a tandem stroller. Each seat can hold up to 40 pounds each. Users love the handy quick trigger fold and free-stand design that remains upright after folding (The folded-up size is 24″ x 25″ x 42″).

My, have double strollers come a long way since my twins were little!? I would have loved to have this stroller made for twins as well as discount websites such as Savings.com seventeen years ago!

Baby Trend Snap N Go Double Stroller Frame in Black 1305TW US $55.00 (0 Bid) Auction Ends: Monday May-21-2012 7:18:47 PDT   | Watch this Item

Twin Umbrella Stroller New Baby Double Strollers #4239 US $49.99 (0 Bid) Auction Ends: Monday May-21-2012 7:52:16 PDT   | Watch this Item

Peg Perego Aria Twin 60/40 Double Stroller GERANIUM ~ BRAND NEW US $346.96 Auction Ends: Monday May-21-2012 7:57:54 PDT   | Watch this Item

When my preemie twin daughters were in the NICU, my “bible” was The Premature Baby Book: A Parents Guide to Coping and Caring in the First Years by Helen Harrison and Ann Kositsky. While it was originally published in 1983, most of the information was still relevant in 1994. In fact, between my two preemie twins, they had almost every complication (ie Respiratory Distress Syndrome, PDA (heart murmurs), central line infections, retinopathy of prematurity (ROP) and Necrotizing Enterocolitis (NEC), etc.) that the book covered.

Since that book is now hard to come by, and I’m not giving up my copy (it stays in my remembrance tub), I frequently get asked what book do I recommend? After some research, I suggest the top selling book in the appropriate category on Amazon: Preemies: The Essential Guide for Parents of Premature Babies by Dana Wechsler Linden, Emma Trenti Paroli and Mia Wechsler Doron M.D.

Linden and Paroli are actually mothers who met in the hospital when their preemies were born, and Doron is a neonatologist who all put together this comprehensive guidebook for parents of premature babies. Order your own copy from Amazon.com.

Since I’m a big fan of saving money with coupon codes, you may want to see if you can find some Books Online coupon codes. Unfortunately Amazon never has coupons available for books, but their prices are comparable without.

Baby knitting pattern book cardigan cable jumper booties preemies prems US $5.00 Auction Ends: Tuesday May-22-2012 1:33:56 PDT   | Watch this Item

Preemie Baby Book and NICU Journal Scrapbook US $14.99 Auction Ends: Tuesday May-22-2012 18:58:03 PDT   | Watch this Item

Pamela MacPhee

The following is a guest post by Pamela MacPhee, Author of DELiVERiNG HOPE: The Extraordinary Journey of a Surrogate Mom

While I have never given birth to preemies or twins, I think I can relate to some of the mixed up emotions of fear and hope and anxiety that accompany a complicated pregnancy and birth.

I have carried and delivered four babies; none of the deliveries were easy.

The first three were mine.

But it was my fourth that was the most anxious and emotionally draining pregnancy and delivery, not because I delivered preemie twins, but because I carried a baby that did not belong to me.

I grew up with my cousin, Henry, playing tag in the backyard, jumping on beds and racing down the Sierra Mountains on skis. I loved him like an annoying little brother. So a few years ago when his wife was diagnosed with cancer, I struggled to find a way to help. After learning that as a consequence of radiation treatment, Lauren would not be able to carry a baby, I found my opportunity. I could not imagine the devastation and emptiness of a life without the possibility of children, and so with a hopeful heart I offered to be a surrogate mom, to carry their baby for them. My offer completely overwhelmed them.

When they eventually embraced the idea of a journey through surrogacy together, I saw what my offer meant to them and then I was overwhelmed. While I was excited to be giving them hope for their future, I realized in that moment that it would be my responsibility to make sure that their hopes and dreams were realized. I had to succeed, to come through for them on my promise. I couldn’t even consider the alternative.

Months later in the hours after our first embryo transfer attempt, I found myself whispering fervently to those little ones seeking a home inside my uterus. Failure was not an option. And so when the fertility doctor slid a gelled paddle across my belly two weeks later searching for signs of life, I held my breath in anxious anticipation. When the sound of a quickening fetal heartbeat filled the examining room, I exhaled in relief and my eyes filled with tears as I watched my cousin and his wife marvel at the sound of their child inside of me.

Nine months later lying down on another examining table inside a hospital OR while the obstetrician made the first incision of a planned c-section delivery, I found myself holding my breath again. Please let this baby be healthy and perfect. I have to succeed. Failure is not an option. Minutes later the doctor lifted a beautiful, healthy little girl from my belly for her parents to see for the first time, and again I sighed in relief. And my cousin’s wife moaned with joy.

I suddenly felt exhausted. Finally I could let go of all that anxiety and fear and sense of responsibility. Holding their baby later that morning, I admired her perfection, her courage, her tenacity, and thanked her dearly for joining me on our journey. We had done it together and now my cousin and his wife could embrace life again. It had been a long, anxious road, but we had succeeded. And in no time a small child would be playing tag with her cousins in the backyard.

I published a book about our surrogacy journey titled DELIVERING HOPE, and if you’d like to read more about our amazing journey and the joy of giving a family, please go to my website at DeliveringHopeBook.com to find out more and order a book!

Abigail Pogrebin, author of “One and the Same,” and her identical twin sister, Robin Pogrebin, discuss the unique relationship between twins on the Today Show last week (October 22nd, 2009).

In her new book, “One and the Same: My Life as an Identical Twin and What I’ve Learned About Everyone’s Struggle to Be Singular,” author and former “60 Minutes” producer Abigail Pogrebin interviews countless twins for their hilarious and heartbreaking accounts of what it’s like to grow up with an identical sibling.

One and the Same: My Life as an Identical Twin and What I’ve Learned About Everyone’s Struggle to Be Singular is currently available (and on sale) at Amazon.com.

Stars of David: Prominent Jews Talk About Being Jewish by Abigail Pogrebin... US $1.37 (0 Bid) Auction Ends: Wednesday May-23-2012 20:09:10 PDT   | Watch this Item

NEW Stars of David - Pogrebin, Abigail US $10.96 Auction Ends: Sunday May-27-2012 6:11:26 PDT   | Watch this Item

A North Carolina husband and wife who were thrust into the unfamiliar, terrifying world of the NICU upon the birth of their premature twins have written a book to help others in similar situations.

Nicole E. Zimmerman and Edward J. Spraque announced a book designed to help parents of preemies, their families and friends as well as healthcare providers who care for these children — to understand and navigate the uncertainty surrounding premature births.

The NICU Rollercoaster: How to Set Up and Use an Online Blog to Help Survive the Ups, Downs, Agonies and Joys of Your Baby’s Stay explains common problems preemies face, offers suggestions for coping and shares the authors’ experiences.  The innovative format combines helpful how to survive advice with blog entries and blog reader comments.

The NICU Rollercoaster is available to purchase through Amazon.com.

Janie McQueen, author of The New Magic Bookshelf: Finding Great Books Your Child Will Treasure Forever sent me an excerpt of her book (from Chapter 6, Book-Lovers From Babyhood) to share…

Any new parent knows that media and medical community reports are teeming with hot information about how babies’ brains are wired and influenced by their surroundings, and how synapses (brain connections) made within the first months of life are strengthened in proportion to infants’ exposure to new experiences.

Newsweek reports that fueling the neuroscience frenzy, “educational,” often electronic, products from companies like Baby Einstein, Brainy Baby, Baby Prodigy and Baby Genius now represent about a $20 billion a year industry. “Instead of Mandarin lessons, researchers now say parents would be better off spending more time talking, singing, reading and playing with their babies and toddlers. No special equipment is required,” notes the article’s author, Barbara Kantrowitz.

This more effective “affectionate interaction” can be better accomplished through baby-level introduction to the fundamental cultural blocks—literature, art and music—in simple, natural forms. In fact, children’s author Maurice Sendak credits the physical closeness of sitting on his father’s lap during reading with starting his lifelong love of literature. That physical connection can easily translate your affection for reading to your child.

Janie’s book is available for purchase from Amazon.com.  Janie is also expecting twins herself – a boy and a girl due in December, which will bring her kid count up to four like me!  You can find Janie over at MagicBookshelfOnline.com.

Find more books that I recommend over at HouseForKim.com.

1959 Walt Disneys DUMBO 1967 The Jungle Book 1965 Winnie the pooh CHILD Albums US $4.99 (0 Bid) Auction Ends: Monday May-21-2012 7:13:14 PDT   | Watch this Item

Five Children and It (Puffin Classics), E. Nesbit, Acceptable Book US $5.99 Auction Ends: Monday May-21-2012 7:13:51 PDT   | Watch this Item