The WAYB Pico is a travel-friendly folding car seat for kids 2 years and older, weighing from 22 lbs. up to 50 lbs., and from 30″ to 45″ tall. But is it the best car seat for traveling families? And is it the best option for your family?

I’ll start with the “pros” of what makes the Pico foldable toddler car seat ideal for many traveling families.

Note: This WAYB Pico review contains affiliate links to help fund this independent website.

Pico WAYB pros:

+ The Pico meets the stringent safety requirements of both the FAA and NHTSA, so you can use it with confidence on airplanes and on the road.

+ Its low profile and small footprint make it an easier fit in airplane seats than many car seats.

+ The Pico is so much easier to install on airplanes than most car seats. The lap belt easily passes through the back channel and has guides to slip the belt into. Watch this demonstration video to see how (minus the tether you won’t need/use on airplanes):

+ Its aluminum frame keeps it lightweight but safely durable (a comfort for the highway, but also if you have to check it through the baggage system).

+ And yes, it folds when not in use, making a more compact package for travel or storage (in your cruise ship cabin, etc.) during travel. The WAYB Pico’s dimensions when folded are 11.6″ L x 14.5″ W x 18.9″ H.

+ It comes with its own streamlined backpack carrying bag to make it easy to get to the airport gate or taxi while keeping your hands free for your stroller, suitcase, or child’s hand.

+ And at 8 lbs. it weighs about as much as a newborn, so you won’t mind carrying it either!

+ The Pico folding car seat also breaks the cycle of plastic car seats that end up in landfill. Better still, these car seats aren’t just made from “infinitely recyclable aluminum.” WAYB also has a program to recycle your Pico car seat for its next incarnation.

Pico WAYB cons:

Here are some of the possible reasons you might choose a different toddler car seat for travel:

• The Pico is forward-facing ONLY and for kids 2 years+. So you might need other car seats until your child is ready, or if you prefer to keep your child in a rear-facing car seat a little longer .

• Its low-profile also means it’s low-to-the seat. This may make it more difficult for children to see out the windows of vehicles. Some kids might be more likely to get car sick (or bored) in this situation. (See my tips for avoiding carsickness here for more help.)

• It’s price tag. The Pico foldable car seat is priced from $400 + depending on which accessories you might bundle it with (eg. backpack car seat carrier or companion cup holder).

Nevertheless…

Still, the Pico foldable car seat for toddlers and kids up to 50 lbs. might also help avoid the need for a second car seat as your child grows — in addition to adding convenience for your vacations along the way.

And considering its longevity and ease of use between vehicles (including carpools and rideshare), that may be well worth it to you. Click here to see current pricing and packages for the WAYB Pico folding car seat.

For more help choosing the best car seat for travel, and traveling with car seats, see these related pages:

• Seven Easy Ways to Get Your Car Seat Through the Airport
• How to Travel with a Car Seat (Without Losing Your Mind)
• Flying with a Baby or Toddler Advice Index
• Best Travel Car Seats for Toddlers
• Review of CARES flight harness for kids on airplanes
• The Best Car Seat Alternatives for Travel
• Five Things You Should Know Before Flying with a Car Seat
• Best travel booster seat
• Recommended Car Seat Travel Bags and Carriers
• The Best Car Seat Accessories for Travel
• Car Seats, Taxis, and What You Need to Know

The post Review of the WAYB Pico Folding Car Seat for Travel appeared first on Travels With Baby.

Unfortunately, the BedBox (recommended here), which turns a kid-size rolling suitcase into a small bed or leg rest, is packing a hefty price tag of $199 US these days. But there is good news: this cost-effective solution for tiny travelers on any airline.

This inflatable leg rest becomes a seat extension for flying kids. Use it to create a lie-flat sleeping zone for babies, toddlers and preschoolers. For their older counterparts, leaving one chamber un-inflated creates a comforting footrest.

Use it at either one-third or two-thirds the maximum height. Some adults also like to use this foot rest on low setting for extra comfort in flight, including as a head rest by placing partially inflated on their airplane trays.

And don’t overlook these other uses for your inflatable leg rest. Ahem, THE BACK SEAT of the car. Plus, it doubles as an inflatable stool for extra seating once you reach your hotel or cruise ship.

Here you can see the different height options with dimensions shown.  Tip: If your plane offers even less leg room (I’m looking at you, Spirit Airlines), simply deflate as needed to fill the space.

Note: This same basic inflatable leg rest / seat extension appears for sale under multiple brand and product names. But most seem offered with two washable dust covers (for top and bottom) and carrying sack. Click here to see customer reviews and prices on Amazon (thanks for supporting this site with your clicks!).

Click here to see more Pack This! recommended products for flying with kids and general family travel. Have you pinned this to your travel board?

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More tips and advice are on the way! For help for planning travel of every kind–with babies and children of every temperament–in Travels with Baby: The Ultimate Guide for Planning Travel with Your Baby, Toddler, and Preschooler.

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Safe journeys,

Shelly Rivoli, author of the award-winning Travels with Baby guidebooks

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Of course, mastering the art of the quick-fold to fit it back into its carrying case may require some practice and ninja stealth, as with all of these “pop up” things. Nevertheless, it is doable (watch the video linked below for help), and the Babyni’s benefits for travel are clear.

Here are the top 3 scenarios where I think the Babyni will serve those with infants up to 6 months well in the months ahead (can be used for older babies, too, but I think this range is the sweet spot for this product):

Road trip pit stops.

Too much time in the car seat? At grassy rest areas and parks en route, the Babyni pops up instantly to provide a clean space for stretching and sprawling (and diaper changes when better facilities can’t be found).

Camp sites.

Have no fear, you’ve got an easy safe space for baby to play while you set up the tent or man the camp stove. Bugs bugging you? Just employ the snug-fit mosquito net over the opening.

Beach days.

Got a happy roller on your hands? This will help keep sand out of the mouth and eyes (yes, I’ve been there) and give partial shade from sun. Sheds sand easily when through.

Want to find out more and read customer reviews of the Babyni–and see a short video of set-up and and take-down? Follow this link to the Babyni on Amazon–your click-throughs help support this site! Thank you.

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Safe journeys,

The post Pack This! The Babymoov Babyni appeared first on Travels With Baby.

But first, pin it to your travel board for future reference and to help others!

Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links to help fund this independent website at no cost to you. Two Bubble Bum boosters were provided to me for review purposes with no promise of a positive review. My opinions are always my own.

The Bubble Bum has been a great solution for us many times, and we’ve even loaned ours to friends for their travels. Read on to see for yourself if this inflatable safety booster may be just the thing to help ease your family’s travels.

If you’re like me, the first thing you may wonder upon hearing the words “inflatable safety booster” are, is any booster that’s “inflatable” actually safe for road use?

Safety? Check!

I was surprised to learn that, not only was the BubbleBum invented by a nationally certified Child Passenger Safety Technician, but the creators have had it tested and certified for BOTH U.S. and European safety standards–something most child safety seat manufacturers don’t bother with.

Even more surprising? The Bubble Bum even passed the European safety testing when DEFLATED. (What?!) To be clear, its certification reads:

“BubbleBum is crash test approved and meets and exceeds the EU ECE R44.04 and the US FMVSS 213 safety regulations. These entail both crash testing and materials testing.”

So, I’d say they’ve got safety covered with this one. But how does it play out during travel?

Traveling with our two BubbleBum boosters

Yes, it can be rolled up to fit in its own travel sack at about 12″ Long x 6″ Diameter. But for our purposes, it was perfect to leave our two Bubble Bums as flat as possible and instead pack them right inside our youngest child’s car seat carrying case.

We checked them all through to Hawaii for free in the car seat travel bag (car seats are checked free with most airlines, but suitcases, notsomuch — see Flying with a Baby or Toddler Best Tips Online for more hacks).

When we reached our rental car, and rain began to fall, the girls were able to sit inside the car and finish inflating their seats as it poured. Like Therm-a-rests and similar products, the Bubble Bum begins inflating as soon as you open the valve, but giving it the final taught breaths and sealing it off with a twist at the same time can be tricky.

Likewise, when deflating the BubbleBum, I found it necessary to use my knee to keep the rolled seat totally deflated while closing the valve to prevent it from re-inflating. This wasn’t a problem, however.

The one draw back we found was that it was very difficult for our girls to route the safety belts through the red clips each time they got back into the car, partly because one had a car seat on that side of her and partly because it just is a little tricky.

We got used to helping them with this, though it has been nice to no longer need to do that with their standard boosters! While there is an optional shoulder belt positioning clip that might be helpful with the younger children using this booster, we did not need it.

Click here to see the BubbleBum at Amazon – and thank you for supporting this site!

Other things to consider…

Thanks to the two Bubble Bums provided for our review, we had no problem fitting our three kids across the back seat of our rental car during our vacation. At only 13 inches wide, and weighing less than 2 lbs., it is also ideal for carpooling with extra children.

Better still, its packability makes it easy to send along to school with your child on days when someone else might pick up.

I would also like to mention, that with a thin layer of memory foam on top of the “bubble,” it’s also surprisingly comfy (yes, I had to try it myself!).

I think the BubbleBum folks should consider making a grown-up version for long-haul drivers and also the elderly who can use a little extra padding, and may no longer be the height considered safe for airbags (what, you weren’t expecting that in the Travels with Baby blog!?).

Click here to see the BubbleBum at Amazon – and thank you for supporting this site!

BubbleBum vs. the RideSafer travel vest

While the BubbleBum is a far more affordable option to the RideSafer travel vest for older / larger children at least 4 years and 40 lbs., I would note that it does not work for the 3-year-olds and smaller 4-year-olds, as the size small RideSafer travel vests do (recommended for 3 years and 33 lbs. and up).

Like the RideSafer travel vest, it can be used with shoulder-only safety belts. Though the RideSafer 2 (deluxe) also includes a safety tether so it may also be used with a lap-only safety belt when a tether anchor is available.

In select states with strict “elevated booster seat” requirements, the Bubble Bum meets this criteria for use in private vehicles. Unlike the RideSafer travel vest, which is not a seat and never expires, the Bubble Bum has a 4-year life.

Click here to see the BubbleBum at Amazon – and thank you for supporting this site!

You might also like:

How to Travel with a Car Seat (Without Losing Your Mind)

For more travel car seat, booster, and car seat alternatives, see Great Products & Gear. To browse all Pack This! features, click here.

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Safe journeys,

Shelly Rivoli, author of the award-winning Travels with Baby and Take-Along Travels with Baby guidebooks

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The post Review of the BubbleBum Inflatable Safety Booster for Travel appeared first on Travels With Baby.

I’ve found that traveling with a virtually flat LED nightlight like this to be a real sanity–and potentially-stubbed toe-saver. It also helps the kids settle down a little faster when we don’t need the bright lights on up to the very last moment that everyone is in bed. And because there are enough things to remember to pack for our family of five already, I try to always keep it in my travel toiletry kit in between trips. It takes up almost no space there and, unlike many other night lights, there is no glass light bulb to break as I sit on my suitcase stuffed with souvenirs.

These eMotionlite travel night lights are designed to be easy on the eyes (10 lumens of 2700K, warm white) and just bright enough to be helpful but not disturb sleep (affiliate link – thanks for supporting this site!). They offer up to 50,000 hours of use and automatically shut off when they sense daylight.

Of course, if I happen to stay at the hotel ahead of your visit, there is a small chance there might actually be a night light awaiting you–I have been known to accidentally leave them behind now and then. For that reason, I recommend getting a pack of two or more so you’ll have a back up ready to go.

Click here to browse more Pack This! recommendations and, as always, you can head to the Travel Gear & Products section to find my recently recommended travel strollers, travel beds, and other gear travel with babies and young children.

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Safe journeys,

Shelly Rivoli, author of the award-winning Travels with Baby guidebooks

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Confession: Every once in a while, I have a forehead-slapping moment where I, one who has blogged family travel for a decade now, realize another simple family travel hack I can’t believe I didn’t think of years ago. This is one of those.

Years ago –> I picked up a couple of clear plastic suction cup hooks just like these to use at home–one for each of my daughters’ wash cloths so we could hang them to dry in  between uses over the bath tub. They are very easy to put up–just get the suction cup wet, hold to the wall, and “clamp down” by moving the hook down into place.

Yet every time we traveled somewhere that bathing suits were needed, I would feel mounting frustration when the hotel, resort, cruise ship, or vacation rental did not provide a suitable place to hang wet bathing suits.

And of course there would be wet bathing suits–in our case, eventually five at a time. And hanging them over the shower curtain rod or from towel bars just puts the dripping water where you don’t want it.

As I recently cleaned out our bathroom closet, I came across these plastic hooks and thought, there must be some very useful application for these–don’t send them off to charity just yet. SHAZAAM. Within 24 hours, I found myself with a wet bathing suit in my hands, squeezing all the water out that I could, and trying to dangle it just so from the shower nozzle so that it would drip-dry without slipping off onto the shower floor.

Of course, mine wasn’t the only swim suit to consider. And that’s when the visions of clear plastic suction cups danced in my head–“Why aren’t these in our travel kit?!” I shrieked at the shower wall.

Suffice to say, next time they will be.

Want to add them to your family’s travel kit, too? Looks like Amazon has a package of six in three different sizes at about 50% off (thanks for your click-through!).

For more clever products and gadgets to ease your family’s travels, browse all Pack This! recommendations and see the best in baby travel gear recommendations including lightweight travel strollers, convertible car seats, travel beds, and more.

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More tips and advice are on the way! For help for planning travel with a baby–or toddler or preschooler, order or download your copy of the award-winning Travels with Baby: The Ultimate Guide for Planning Travel with Your Baby, Toddler, and Preschooler.

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Safe journeys,

Shelly Rivoli, author of the award-winning Travels with Baby guidebooks

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What?! Your kids aren’t babies anymore? Head over to Family Travel 411

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