Car Seat Dilemma - 5pt or Booster?

So many people have different opinions on car seats. Do you need the top model? Are they all the same? What about using a 5pt harness for a longer period of time? Did you know they actually expire? When do you turn them forward facing? I have tons of these questions and I need other moms and dads to chime in.

Lets start with the last question. When do you turn them around??? According to a NYTimes article in 2011, Children should be rear facing until age 2. The advice from the American Academy of Pediatrics,  is based primarily on a 2007University of Virginia study finding that children under 2 are 75 percent less likely to suffer severe or fatal injuries in a crash if they are facing the rear. Now I turned my first child around the day before her first birthday. The second one we turned around about a week after her first birthday. Now with the third, they are telling us until age 2. Will you follow that recommendation? I know all of our children survived when they were forward facing at 1 but it only takes one time for that to change. I know it's frustrating to have a kid backwards. They can't see anything and it's easier just in general. Since my kids are so small, I think I better listen to the recommendations. You see online about those horrible accidents and the kid lived because they were backwards. Good advice. What will you do?


As for which seat to use after they are in their "convertible car seat", I have to recommend a model in which the child can stay in the 5pt harness for up to 85 pounds. Yep, 85 pounds. It's called a Frontier 85 from Britax and I love it. It's not more expensive than the other seats such as a Marathon or a Boulevard. Both my children who are 3 and 5 have them. I know people complain about keeping their 5 year old 50 pounds kid in a 5 point harness but until she complains and it becomes a daily struggle that I can't handle it anymore, she is staying in it. I got her the fun cow print so she actually loves her seat. She shows it to everyone. It's got a flat bottom and it's very roomy. You don't have to re-thread the straps so it just lifts up and the straps get bigger. My mini 24 pounds 3.5 year old is also in one. Hers is on the lowest setting. My 5 year old still has plenty of room. We went from the Graco Nautilus to this one. The crotch strap on the Nautilus was getting too tight and it was on the largest setting. Could we use a booster? Well, for the older one, yes. The younger one, no. I don't know why I don't like them. I just don't. They feel flimsy. I guess we could use the Nautilus as a booster, but we have it in dad's car for the 3 year old. I'm just not ready to rely on a seat belt for a child. Am I being paranoid? Yes. Is this making it harder on myself? Probably. I just hope no one tells my kids that they don't have to be in a 5pt harness at 5 years old and they can be in the one with the seat belt. Here is the Frontier 85. I paid $219 for it on AlbeeBaby.com. We have one in hot pink and one in cow print :

Do you see how it's flat at the bottom? I like that. Lots of room for the kids legs. I like the double cup holder. The backrest goes up and down. The arm rests are not huge. I'm just a big fan. Check online for good deals but I find amazon.com and albeebaby.com have good sales.


If you want to be more informed, check out these videos on the benefits of keeping your child in a 5pt harness longer. 


Kyle Miller's Story of 5pt Harness Safety
Belle's Gift - 5pt Harness Story


As for seats expiring, they really do. The plastic begins to breakdown. Even if it has not been in a crash and has been stored covered and inside, they still expire. We have to get a new convertible car seat for our third daughter which is why I'm looking now and starting to think about new seats. Back to the research board on getting a rear facing to front facing car seat. Hopefully this is the last or second to last one that I will ever buy!


Happy Baby Thoughts :)
R

Baby's First Foods

Something I always had questions about was first foods for baby. I think I started with my first child around 4-5 months. That was over 5 years ago so it's kind of a blurr so I'll touch on my last two kids and relay what I learned there.

How to know they are ready? My kids always "told" me when they were ready. My newest bean is almost 5 months and about a week ago I noticed she was smacking her lips together. My doctor always said that was a sign. Last week we started with a little rice cereal mixed with formula. I made it as thin as possible. She didn't quite get how to put it in her mouth. She smushed it around around and stuck out her tongue. I tried a few spoonfuls, she didn't really get any in there. I tried a few hours later. The next day we started with some sweet potatoes. My doctor always said try the same vegetable for three days... as many times as she is interested, then move on to a next vegetable. But give it three days. If she tolerates it (meaning doesn't get sick etc) then you can go onto the next step. Little Bean is doing great on sweet potatoes right now. We have done three days of that, today we are trying carrots.

Now what can go wrong you ask??? Well lets revisit my second child which as you have already been told has had MASSIVE digestive issues. We didn't start her on cereal/solid foods until 6 months or so. Some background information: The middle bean was projectile vomiting for 10-12 times a day from birth. I'm not talking spit up, I'm talking across the room, hit the wall, soak your mother kind of vomiting. You had to see it to believe it. We started putting rice cereal in her bottles when she was young per recommendation from the doctor to help her keep her food down. I think it just made it worse. She just threw that stuff up and it made her choke on it. She got so constipated that we had to put corn syrup in her bottle. Again, made it worse. It was a cyclical issue and it was one problem after another. We decided giving her "real food" was just adding fuel to the fire. We tried Oatmeal to start with (since we figured she had enough of the rice) and she was pretty miserable. I think when those issues were solved we did the solid food. She was still really plugged up. Just kind of a bad experience. Now for our first child, we never had those problems and we are hoping and assuming that this newest and last bean won't have any issues. SOOOO, the middle bean started with organic sweet potatoes, then carrots, then green beans, then we went to the fruits... apples, pears, prunes. Eventually she was eating normal but we went VERY VERY SLOW. You don't have to do that. That is the game plan for the newest addition. Slow and steady to make sure she has no reactions.

What type of baby food you ask???? Well with my first one, we bought a mini Cuisinart Food Processor with some credit we had left over from our wedding. Its a great little gadget. I boiled my own sweet potatoes, peas, apples, and anything else I could think of. We had a great book called HOMEMADE BABY FOOD PURE AND SIMPLE. Loved that book. Probably not in print any more but you get the idea that there are plenty of books out there. Now if you are a first time parent, go ahead and make your own baby food. Go out and get the Baby Bullet by Magic Bullet. I would have been all over that when I was a first time mom. Second time mom???? Well, if you are able to do it, then that's awesome. I'm a third time mom. I don't even go to the store. I buy ALL MY BABY FOOD AND DIAPERS ONLINE. Never go into a store. That's my rule.

We buy organic. I figure if I can't make it, it might as well be organic. We buy the cases of Earth's Best baby food. They come in starter packs. First Fruits. First Veggies.

When they get into the Stage 2 and they can tolerate thicker foods, we move onto the next step. Earth's Best makes some awesome mixes of food. My favorite are the fruit and grain combinations. We definitely are going to order online. Try Amazon.com, Diapers.com, Drugstore.com, Target.com. I love free shipping. Anywhere that has sales. My kids tend to eat TONS but don't buy too much in advance as you never know if they will like a certain type. Also, remember they make pouches of babyfood now and the company Plum Organics makes those spoons that screw onto the top of them. Check this out:

What was your kid's favorite babyfood?

As for the STAGE 3. We never really made it there. By the time my kids had teeth and could chew those little noodles in there, we were onto table food. I started with soft avocados, then moved onto edamame and cut them up after I took them out of their shell. They loved them. I tried to do a few jars of the Stage 2 combinations and some table food. Again, it depends on when they had teeth. My children had teeth early. A full mouth by age one. No wonder my 5 year old has lost 2 teeth and has 3 more loose. 

As for what to put your kid into when they are starting out? My mini bean is in her swing right now and I'm getting ready to give her more carrots. Just letting her tummy settle. She will be eating in that thing or her car seat until she can sit up and go in her high chair. 

Speaking of high chair, one chair I always recommend for moms and dads is a great product from Fisher Price. It's the Healthy Care Booster Seat. We take this thing everywhere. Restaurants, friends houses. We use it in our own kitchen. Love love love. It comes in two models.... one with a tray top and one without one. DON'T get the one with a top, you will never use it. Best $30 we ever spent.

Well better go finish feeding the baby. By the way, feeding solids helps my kids sleep better. :) Yeah for sleeping more. 

Let me know your thoughts on feeding.

Happy Baby Thoughts

:)R

0 to 1...1 to 2...or 2 to 3???

The most common question I get when I'm at the store as a mother of three girls ages 5 and under -besides for "Ma'am can I help you????" (usually from someone who has only one child or two young children is.... "was it harder to go from 1 to 2, or 2 to 3 kids???". I'm pretty sure I asked someone that same question when I was pregnant with my third child. You are always a little concerned about taking the next step... having the next child. Will you be able to handle that second child? Will that third child throw you over the edge??? I think for some people the answer to that question depends on their children. Did the first child sleep through the night pretty quickly? Were they up all night still with the first one when the second one was born? I was asked this exact question a few weeks ago from a mom who was pregnant with her third. She asked how old my two oldest were and figured out they are the same age as hers. I told her that of course the worst was behind her, that having the third was not that bad. Pretty much told her the truth but left out the haze of the first few weeks of having the third child. After all, we all have selective amnesia, right? We don't remember those days. And if we do, we sure don't tell an 8 month pregnant lady ready to take on the same task.

Now for us, our first child was pretty good. Sleeping through night at around 4 months of age. Lots of ear infections but nothing we couldn't handle. I was tired. Very tired. But with a little Starbucks and spending 8 hours a day at our local gym in Nebraska and the help of a great friend and some bottles of wine for mom, I was fine (of course not while I was watching the baby). We were ready to take on number 2 when she was around 18 months of age. Well, ready to THINK about taking on #2. Our second child was a whole new ball game. Not sleeping through the night until FOURTEEN MONTHS...thats right, 14 months. She was up every hour on the hour for about 4 months. No joke. It was pretty bad. Then it kind of spread out and she stopped projectile vomiting and screaming so things got better just wasn't a big sleeper. The "colic" stopped and we all felt like we were going to survive. I didn't want to think about having more kids until she was about 2 or later.... we just wouldn't be able to handle it.

I met a woman the other day who started talking to me about her want to have another child but they are having so many issues with their first (allergy, sleeping, possible autism and/or behavioral issues) that they  want to have another child but are afraid that the second one will be just as big of a challenge. I guess you never know what God is going to give you. I was on the fence with a third but wow, what a difference a few months makes. Our third is a God-Send. Literally "sent from God" to put a calming peace in our lives. She sleeps 12 hours a night and I'm just hoping that she stays as happy and healthy and continues to light up the room when people come in. She slept through the night at 7 weeks. Yep, 7 weeks. I couldn't believe it. I think God was trying to tell me something. Still a little crying here and there, but overall, pretty awesome.

I think all men whenever they talk about kids, I always hear them say... "Much easier to go from 'man on man' defense to 'zone defense'. They love the basketball metaphor. I guess they are right. We are now outnumbered by our three girls. If I could sprout another set of hands for the baby, that would be better. For me, it was harder for me to have that second child than to have the third. When you have the first, your world actually stops. You can stay home. You don't have to work for three months. You can stay in your pajamas all day long. Everyone says, "nap when the baby naps". Really?? I hadn't thought of that. You are so fricking tired, you have never been up this much in your life without alcohol being involved. You sleep standing up. You fall asleep with the baby in your arms and somehow not manage to drop her. I remember feeding her in the chair and somehow I wake up and it's three hours later and neither of us have moved. Not sure how that happened.

With your second, you probably have to get up at some point to feed the older one but the first one probably still naps so you can sleep when the older one sleeps and nap when the baby naps. You are once again tired but you manage to make it through the day. Its the art of juggling that you learn when you have your second. If you were not a multitasker before, you quickly learn how to do it. My second was definitely the hardest. She screamed for 6 hours a day straight. Straight. And always when no one else was home. Projectile vomited. Several times a day. And when no one else was home. I was beginning to think no one believed me until she did it on my husband and he was a believer. AND I still had to watch the older one. I still had to get up. I still had to make breakfast. And it seemed like once I got the baby to bed, the toddler would be up. It never ended. I was ready to call it quits on kids right there but somehow, someway, you forget and you realize that your life is not complete yet. You want a third.

The third child. The world does not stop. There is no break. No downtime. As soon as family leaves and your husband goes back to work... BAM... you are back. Still have to drive to preschool or Kindergarten. You still have to go to playdates and soccer and swimming. Still have a routine. You can't miss a step. The third baby kind of gets the short end of the stick. No scheduled nap times. We are not home from standard 1-4pm for nap time. They sleep in the car all the time. You keep moving on and driving. You have two other kids. I once asked someone if it was hard to go from 3 to 4 and they said "No... what's one more when you are up that high". When I was growing up, there was a family with SEVEN GIRLS in their family. No idea how their mother did it. I guess "when you are up that high, what's one more". By the way, they are the awesomest family ever (if that's even a word). I'm sure they had their share of chaos, but ORGANIZED chaos from what I could see. Very cool.

So Mom and Dads, I want to know..... was it harder to go from 0 to 1? 1 to 2? or 2 to 3? or were they all the same??????

BE SURE TO VISIT THE POLL ON THE LEFT HAND SIDE OF THE PAGE REGARDING WHAT WAS YOUR BIGGEST CHALLENGE.

Happy Baby Thoughts
:)R

Mom's solution to "I see London...I see France" - UNDEROUTS

Knickerbocker-Glory UNDEROUTS

My oldest daughter ONLY wears dresses. She doesn't own one pair of pants that are not leggings to go under dresses. I bought her some shorts this year but she really only wants to wear twirly dresses and leggings, she does NOT want to wear shorts under her dress. I remember going to Catholic School and having to wear that plaid jumper. I used to wear shorts underneath because I would be hanging upside down on the jungle gym and boys would be looking up my skirt or at least my mother always thought they would be. I got yelled at for breaking uniform and wearing shorts. I'm sure after a while they started to let the girls wear shorts but this product would have been perfect for girls who want to be girls and have fun just like the boys. Hanging upside down. That's my girls. Playing and hanging around like monkeys. They do it at home so I'm sure they do it at school. My oldest will be in Kindergarten this fall so I'm sending her to school in these.

In the summer, it's too hot. I saw something somewhere that talked about UNDEROUTS which are "underwear that are made to be seen". I looked online and really liked what I saw!!! These things are high quality underpants that are more like bike shorts. Usually we buy the Gymboree bike shorts but I think these are a little bit cooler and hold up better. And technically she doesn't need to wear underwear UNDER them. They are underwear.

They came today. I got her a pair of pink and lime green boxer style. She put them right away and started running toward the playground. I always tell her to go upstairs and change because no one wants to see her underwear but with these I don't think I will have to. She is 5 and fits into a size SMALL. Got some for the younger child who is a small 3 year old. She fits in a toddler XXS. They come in Bikerbockers, LongBockers and BoxerBockers. We got the Boxerbockers. They are the shorter ones. I plan on getting a pair of Bikerbockers that can go under some other shorter dresses. Perhaps in the fall we will get the longer ones.

Check them out. If you have a daughter who likes to wear dresses, go for it!!! Become their friend on Facebook and look for sales.

Knickerbocker-Glory Underouts

Swings, Bouncers and More

Having three kids is a little nutty. I haven't been able to sit down and not fall asleep. Just posted an update on Swings, Bouncers and other items. I go down a list of things that we use on a daily basis. These things I can't wait to get rid of them when the baby gets older :) 

Happy Reading.

http://babygearmama.blogspot.com/p/swings-bouncers-and-playthings.html

Booster Seats - Saving Your Child's Life - What Every Parent Should See

I have been debating on whether or not I wanted to post about this. Every time I see this video I start to freak out as a mother. You do your best every day to protect your child. You think you are buying the right seat and making the right decision. I don't know what happened with this situation but I'm sure the choices that the mother made haunt her every day. I bet she did everything right. She listened to her doctor and the manufacturer and put her child in the right seat, but I guess it wasn't enough. The seatbelt failed.

When my daughter was three, I started to consider when I should move her to a High Back Booster seat. I started to do some research and I came across this video. 

Please view his story: STORY OF KYLE DAVID MILLER

I went to the store to look at booster seats. I went online and read reviews. We already had a Graco High Back Booster from my niece who came to visit. My child was already 3 years and 30 pounds which was the minimum requirement for this seat. What I soon learned is this is more of a seat belt positioner than a car seat. It raises the child up so the seat belt can properly restrain the child. In the video above, it appears that the seat belt locking mechanism failed and the three year old was thrown from the car. This made my heart sink into the pit of my stomach. I know the parents did what they thought was right but perhaps the child was too small for the seat? Or did the belt actually fail? My pediatrician says to keep them in a 5 point harness as long as possible. That is what I have done.

I found a wonderful 5 point harness CAR SEAT that goes up to 85 pounds comfortably. It's called the Britax Frontier85 Booster Car Seat and we love it. My daughter is FIVE YEARS OLD and 50 POUNDS. She could have gone in the High Back Booster two years and twenty pounds ago but I made a choice. Yes, we still have the High Back Booster but we use it only in emergencies. I let a friend borrow it the other day to transport my daughter. I don't like it but I'll use it. I really want to keep her in the 5 point harness for as long as possible. Just a choice I made. Yes, she may be 7 years old and still in that seat. I plan on getting another one when my middle daughter grows out of her Convertible Car Seat but that won't be for a while since my three year old is only 10th percentile in weight and height. These seats are not cheap but I think they are well worth it. By the way, since my daughter is 5 years old, she is able to buckle and unbuckle herself. It does not take me any time at all to put her in the car as she does it herself. One criticism of the "seat belt positioner" is that some children are wiggly-worms and don't sit still and the seat belt positioner does not work properly. Consider the maturity of your child before you put them in there!

Please watch this video. Even if you don't make the decision to keep your child in a 5 point harness for a longer period of time than what is recommended, at least you will be informed.

By the way, the Britax Frontier 85 comes in COWMOOFLAGE color as shown below and your 5 year old will love it!!!! We got ours at Albeebaby.com. We paid about $212 including free shipping ;)

PLEASE VIEW THE VIDEO ON THE STORY OF KYLE DAVID MILLER AND HOW YOU CAN SAVE YOUR CHILD'S LIFE BY PUTTING THEM IN A 5 POINT HARNESS. 

For more information on the story of Kyle David Miller, please visit their website

Whooping Cough - Baby killer - It can happen

That's not a very happy title for a blog but you really need to read this.

My sisters reminded me that I needed to get vaccinated for whooping cough and so did my husband. I had heard of it by thought it was an ancient disease that no one ever got anymore. Boy was I wrong. I did some research on it and came across this blog of a someone who lost their 27 day old baby. As I hold my one month old baby I can't help think about that family and the tragedy they went through. Please read and make sure mom and dad both get vaccinated (according to my OB you can't get vaccinated while pregnant but they do it in the hospital and i made my husband go to his doc to get that and a flu shot before we came home) It could save your baby's life.


http://kennethaskorner.weebly.com/1/post/2011/12/first-post.html