After my second daughter was born, we decided we were done having children and got rid of all our baby items as she outgrew them. And then we moved half way across the country. And then we decided to have another baby. Be ye not so unwise as to rid yourself of baby gear before you’re for sure ready to be done with babies.

Instead of starting over with baby gear for our third (and last)(for sure this time) child, we borrowed almost everything we needed—including a car seat. My son was born weighing nearly 10 pounds and he grew very quickly. By the time he was three months old, he was already more than 18 pounds. That month, we transitioned him to the toddler car seat my four-year-old had just outgrown. I quickly missed the ease and portability of an infant car seat.

It is now winter. Am I stating the obvious? My son squirms and cries when I put on his winter jacket and when he’s in his car seat, looking like marshmallow, he looks quite depressed. I keep a blanket in our vehicle so that I can wrap it around him to keep him extra warm and he often falls asleep. I vented on Facebook a couple months back about how I wish that I didn’t have to move a sleeping baby from his car seat to his bed because he usually woke up in the process. Two friends then introduced me to a product I wish I’d known about many months earlier—an infant car seat that holds up to 35 pounds.

The Graco SnugRide 35 Car Seat looks like your typical infant car seat, but instead of holding the typical 5–20 pounds, it holds 5–35 pounds and up to 32 inches. If I had this car seat, I would skip the winter coat. I’d put my son in a sweater and wrap him up all snug-like with a blanket and he’d be much happier. I’d also be able to bring him inside while he’s sleeping and not have to sit in the van to wait for him to finish his nap because moving him doesn’t work anymore and naps are precious.

The Graco SnugRide 35 Car Seat, $220, is available at Toys R Us and Walmart.

Jen Wilson is a married mother of three super-awesome children—two girls and a boy—who range in age from 0-10. She enjoys photography, organizing, reading, TV, and sarcasm. She drinks her coffee black and dreams of one day owning a dishwasher. You can also find her on her blog, Hey Mrs. Wilson, where she has been writing about life in Saskatchewan since 2004.