Mother Knows Best- Review of Binxy Baby Shopping Cart Hammock

I’m going to be completely honest. I have avoided going shopping with my infant son like the plague. As a new mother, the whole idea is just very overwhelming to me.

First, there is getting out of the house. Packing his diaper bag takes me an hour by the time I decide on everything I need. I always start out with the intent of just grabbing a bottle and blanket because we’re just running a quick errand after all, but the new mom monster inside screams “what if?” reminding me that if I don’t take everything but the kitchen sink, I won’t be prepared for the infinite “what if’s” that can occur anytime you go out with a baby. What if he has a diaper explosion, what if someone touches his hand and I don’t have hand sanitizers, what if he drinks more than one bottle, what if he spits up all over himself and there isn’t an extra outfit, what if he’s bored…you get the picture.

Secondly, there is the stroller issue. It is physical torture to load and unload the 45-pound stroller I just had to have because it was top of the line, and everyone recommended it. Loading my son into it is a chore in and of itself because he hates being strapped into anything, stiffens up and throws tantrums. But the worst part is trying to figure out how to push a stroller and a shopping cart at the same time without growing an extra set of arms. Oh, and if you’re wondering why I don’t just use a baby carrier or tote him around in his car seat, I’m a very petite person and he’s a very big baby. The dynamics just don’t work without leaving me with a broken back. Also, he ends up being buried in groceries if I place the car seat in the shopping cart. Not ideal.

Finally, flu season. Need I say more. You want me to put my son in that germ infested shopping cart? I think not.

Like the quintessential crazy new mom who goes around the house sanitizing door knobs and light switches, I held my ground and refused to go shopping with my son. And then the inevitable happened. I had no choice. On a desperate day, when no one was around to watch the baby for me, and I had to make the indelectable decision of eating stale Saltines with grape jelly or go grocery shopping, I swallowed all my fears and apprehensions, and gasp! Went shopping with my son. Now normally, this idea would send this overly anxious momma into an overly anxious frenzy, however, thanks to one miraculous and innovative item, I was equipped and fully prepared to take on the challenge.

My weapon of choice was the Binxy Baby Shopping Cart Hammock. It is exactly what it sounds like. A hammock that you hang in the shopping cart and place the baby in there safe, sound and germ-free while you shop around. Now don’t get me wrong, this still meant I had to face the close quarters of a store during flu season, and I still packed a full arsenal of baby stuff, BUT the rest of my maiden voyage was practically stress free. I didn’t have to strain my back lifting the stroller in and out of the car, I didn’t have to deal with a fussy baby who hates being strapped into his stroller, I didn’t have to break a sweat juggling pushing the stroller and a shopping cart, I didn’t have to craft a makeshift cushion with blankets in the shopping cart seat to lay my son down in only to find him sucking on the filthy seat strap two seconds later, and I definitely didn’t have a mental melt down in the parking lot like I assumed I would.

I was hesitant at first at how easy it would honestly be, but it really was as easy as it is advertised. It went like this: Remove baby from car seat, grab shopping cart, one-handedly secure hammock, place baby in hammock, shop. For the early months, before my son was able to sit up on his own, this saved my life. He was so happy to lay back, recline and take in all the new sights, sounds, and bustle all around him while I was able to get necessary chores done. I knew he was content, which made me very content, and guess what? One might say, we even enjoyed ourselves.

Bottom line: The Binxy Baby Shopping Cart Hammock helped transition me out of the fog and franticness of the early stages of motherhood and back into the real world. It truly made getting out and about so much easier and helped calm a lot of my trepidations. I would highly recommend this to anyone with an infant that isn’t sitting up on their own yet, and especially any mother who isn’t getting out with the baby on her own yet. It meets or exceeds all applicable safety standards, comes in many colorful and trendy patterns, and for around $50 it is certainly a bang for the buck. Heck, I spent more money on a bottle sterilizer that caught on fire and almost burned down the house. Long story.

For the link, click here. I recommend buying directly from the product’s website. They’re less expensive than Amazon, and you have more color and pattern choices.

Contributed by: Concetta DeLuco