Latest Tragedies

Saturday Karen sliced her hand on a piece of glass and spent half the day at the ER with her father. They glued it up. Then she fell Sunday morning walking out the door. There was no glue left by Monday. I hope it is okay.

I got to attempt to do up Caitlyn for her dance pictures. I am very insufficient as a beauty person. I attempted makeup and did okay with that. Just got mascara spots on her. I utterly failed at making curls. The dance teacher said she had something for the recital.

Sunday I woke up with mastitis. That was really fun- Not. It was like having the flu with a giant bruise. I went to the doctor on Monday and got on meds. I'm feeling fine today and just have a little "bruise".

I think Ben gave me his infection. He has a sinus infection, so he oozes nasty, yucky boogars all day.

I think I've decided the turboboosters are fine for the kids until outgrown. Perhaps by that time something fantastic will be out. That means I don't have to save money for more car seats. Yet.

Instead I'm considering letting Emily take orchestra next year. She'd need a 1/4 violin. Those aren't too pricey, so I could save up for that. Or I could get my own instruments fixed. (What an idea!)

School Seating

Why don't they make seats like these for schools? They are comfy, different colors, and, best of all- you can harness the kids so they don't get out and bug other students!




Karen got to be harnessed in her pink seat after the picture. I picked up the twin seats from a freecycler. I got all applicable info to know the seats are safe for use. They aren't the best. They are the more delux model of the Tribute that Ben has been in. Since the new titan fit in the van, I put the very slim tribute into dh's car. I'm attempting to sell the other titan. Otherwise it would make a decent spare in case Karen pees in her seat again. The pink cover has to hang dry. The titan covers can go in the dryer. I have gone through potty training of 3 kids and not one of them has ever had an accident in the car. Karen is the fourth and just has to be the difficult one. Monday evening she peed all over her car seat, the seat underneath, and the seat belt. Just lovely.

Life stuff

I thought I'd take a break from my car safety issues to tell what all is up around here. Grandma signed the kids up for swimming lessons. This month is Karen's turn. She has no fear, loves the water, and is doing really well. The other three kids are impatient about their turn. They put on their goggles in the house and jump of chair "diving boards". Emily is tall enough to go down the slide by herself this year. Caitlyn has a little over an inch to grow. The kids are talking about doing swimming next school year as their activity. I realized it was a lot cheaper than any other activity, so presented it as an option. Caitlyn wants to be on the swim team. She is a very competitive child and would really enjoy racing.

Ben had his 1 year check up a few weeks ago. (He was nearly 14 months old.) He has made it to 20 pounds, 10 oz! I could forward face him in our nearly expired Graco Tresured CarGo seat. I'm not going to forward face him till he has outgrown the rear-facing seat. There was an article in the recent issue of Pediatrics on why babies should be rear-facing to at least age 2. I asked the ped for a copy and it is in the mail. What I've seen of the article is really good. Eric went in for his 5 year checkup. He is 43 pounds. The doctor said he's doing awesome. I knew that. Yesterday the kids went to the dentist and once again the kids' teeth look great! I am impressed that in 8 years Emily has not had one cavity. I guess either the kids inherited great teeth or we're doing something right.

I've started my indoor garden. I've got onions, oregano, parsley, tomatoes, and pumpkins just coming up. Hopefully I'll do things right this year and get these plants to grow outdoors. I wish I had a rototiller. My elderly gardener friend moved. I need to find another gardener buddy.

Child Passenger Safety

Riding in an automobile is the most dangerous thing our children do and they do it nearly every day. We never know when an accident will occur. 80 percent of automobile accidents happen within 20 minutes from home.[i] Therefore it is imperative that our children ride safely each and every time they are in an automobile.

The first step is to select an appropriate child safety seat. Infants under the age of one year AND weight of 20 pounds must ride rear-facing.[ii] The baby weighing twenty-five pounds at nine months of age must ride rear-facing as does the eighteen pound eighteen month old. Recent research has led the American Academy of Pediatrics to recommend rear-facing to the limit of the seat.[iii] The least expensive rear-facing seat (Cosco Scenera) rear-faces to 35 pounds.[iv] The average child will reach that limit around age three.[v] A rear-facing seat is outgrown in height when the child’s head is one inch from the top of the car seat shell.

Once the child has reached the limit for rear-facing, they must sit in a forward-facing harnessed seat. The majority of forward-facing seats harness to 40 pounds. maximum harness heights vary from 14 inches to 17 inches. A forward-facing seat is outgrown when over the weight limit, the shoulders go above the top useable harness slot, or the ears are above the shell of the seat. The bare minimum to sit in a belt-positioning booster is age 4 AND weighing 40 pounds. Often children this young are not mature enough to sit in a seat belt or he/she may fall over when asleep in the car. Most child safety experts agree that children should be 6 years old before moving to a belt positioning booster due to bone development.[vi] In order to reach this goal, many children should be in a harnessed seat that has a higher weight limit of 50 lbs. or more.[vii]

When it is time for a booster seat, one with a high back should be selected. The head rest should provide side impact protection. Look for a seat with open belt guides so the belt can move freely and not allow slack in front of the child. The back portion of the seat is outgrown once the child’s shoulders are above the highest belt setting. Then it is time to use a backless (low back) booster. When the child can pass the Five Step Test[viii], they may ride with a lap-shoulder belt alone. Remember that every step up in child restraints is a step down in safety.

Eighty percent of child safety seats are installed and used incorrectly.[ix] Be sure to read both the car seat manual and the portion of your vehicle's manual pertaining to installation of car seats. When installed, the seat should not move more than 1 inch at the belt path. The harness should be snug with no twists in the straps. Bulky clothing should not be worn.[x] The chest clip needs to be positioned at armpit level. Do not use an expired car seat. Most expire 6 years after the date of manufacture.[xi] (Found imprinted in the seat’s plastic.) Finally, it is recommended that a Child Passenger Safety Technician review your work. Call 843-2338 to make an appointment with Tooele’s CPST.

Children are our most precious cargo. They look to adults for protection. Let us make wise decisions to keep them safe.

---

[i] http://stokes.chop.edu/programs/injury/files/PCPS_Charts_Images/dist_from_home_05.pdf

[ii] http://www.car-safety.org/rearface.html

[iii] http://www.aap.org/family/carseatguide.htm

[iv] http://www.carseatsite.com/recommended_car_seats.htm#Infant/Toddler%20Seats_(Convertible_Seats)

[v] http://www.kidsgrowth.com/stages/viewgrowthcharts.cfm?id=BW318

[vi] http://www.kyledavidmiller.org/pages/4211/Car_Seat_Safety:_5-point_Harness_is_Safest.htm

[vii] http://www.kyledavidmiller.org/pages/3137/Our_Recommended_Car_Seats.htm

[viii] http://www.carseat.org/Boosters/634_5step_demo.pdf

[ix] http://www.usa.safekids.org/tier3_cd.cfm?content_item_id=2530&folder_id=680

[x] http://pediatrics.about.com/od/carseats/a/0107_wintercoat.htm

[xi] http://www.childrestraintsafety.com/manufacture-expiration.html

New carseat pictures

Karen loves her new, pink seat. She loves having a place to put her legs and being able to see out the window.



Benjamin trying out the pink seat.

Obsessed

I have been obsessed with the thought of rear-facing Karen in the car. I recently watched the crash videos which made me want to rear-face her even more. I found out that the $44 Cosco scerena is only 16 inches wide. I went to walmart tonight with my measuring tape just to make sure. I picked up the pink, flowery scenera and bought it with my music cash. It rear-faces to 35 pounds. Karen weighs 26. I haven't mentioned this to Aaron yet. He will think I'm off my rocker. Especially since I haven't told him.

I cleaned the house a bit more today. Tomorrow we'll really go at it. Except I told the kids we'd learn about the parts of a flower tomorrow. I suppose we can take a cleaning break to learn something. Caitlyn wants to make dandelion cookies too. They are healthy and full of vitamins. Maybe we will.

Another car seat success!

Today I took the van in for service and took the courtesy shuttle home. The driver was more than happy to wait for me to install seats for the kids to ride safely. Once home I installed three harnessed seats in the Tempo. I had to take the younger three since dh was working at home and not tending babies. I found the harness for the Graco Treasured Cargo seat as it is thinner than the cosco high back booster that Karen usually rides in. I like the graco seat except for the harness adjuster being in the back. If it weren't for that I'd switch Karen's seat. The Treasured Cargo expires this December anyway. Here' my pictures:

The seats in the car


The kids in the seats in the car



Thats the Graco Treasured Cargo, Sunshine Kids' Radian, and a rear-facing Evenflo Tribute.

In other news, Emily is having issues. It may be the weather. She always has problems when the weather changes. She doesn't seem to understand why she can't play all day- especially outside all day with her hair all messy. This afternoon she started crying about how she didn't like that it wasn't spring anymore. She cried the day she put on shorts and there was snow outside. She cries just about anything. Eric is allergied. He was sent to bed when I was out, so I doubt that he got his allergy medicine. Karen is starting to have allergy issues too. She's going through a phase that I don't like. She seems to be deaf, but I know she can hear. Caitlyn sure is a good kid. She's the only one with no issues going on. She's just going blind. I took her in to the eye doctor this morning. Her vision with her current prescription is 20/70. I shelled out the money for new glasses. I hope no one else needs them any time soon. Between glasses and the cars we are spending a big chunk of our tax return.