Safety First

I've been waiting for the right moment to post this blog and, after a conversation with a friend this afternoon, there is no time like the present. Plus, Christa at Quintooples had a wonderful product review the other day that deals with this topic.

Many of you know how serious I am about car seat safety. Our children can't make decisions for themselves so they need parents who are well educated to keep them safe in the car (and elsewhere).

Bubba rides REAR-FACING in a Sunshine Kids Radian 65. He's 31 1/4 inches tall and weighs 23.5 pounds and YES he can still be rear-facing. I can't even imagine having him forward-facing.

I was talking with a friend of mine today and for one reason or another we came to the subject of car seats. She said that when her oldest son was still in a car seat she had a cop pull her over and tell her that he "couldn't be rear facing anymore because his feet [were] touching the back of the seat". He went on to tell her that he "does car seat checks all of the time" and that she would have to turn him around. He explained that if she were in an accident and his feet were forced into the back of the seat that his hips could be "dislodged" (his words). Wouldn't you rather have to deal with a broken hip than a broken neck? How many other people that we trust to give us correct information are giving INcorrect information!?!?

www.Car-safety.org states:
In the USA, this recommendation is valid through the 30, 33 or 35 pound maximum rear-facing weight limit of newer convertible carseats, or until the child outgrows their convertible carseat by height. The height limit of a rear-facing carseat may be listed in the owner's manual. A child is also considered too tall for a rear-facing seat if the top of their head is at the level of the top of the carseat shell. It is NOT considered a safety issue if a child's legs are bent at the knees in a rear-facing carseat, or if their feet can touch the vehicle's seat back. At a very minimum, children should remain rear-facing until AT LEAST one year of age AND 20 pounds in weight. *This is simply a guide and by no means a rule!!!*
In countries like Sweden, children are often kept rear-facing much longer, even to 3 or 4 years old. Auto related injury and death rates for rear-facing children in Sweden are near zero because of this.

Maybe we should take a page out of Sweden's book?


THINGS YOU CAN DO TODAY
1.) Tighten those straps so their shoulders can't slip out in a crash
2.) Get those chest clips in the right place (even with their armpits not on their soft tummies)!
3.) Get rid of those supposed non slip seat protectors that are under your seats. They could be doing more harm than good. Click here for a few reasons

Please. Children are our most precious gift. Protect them! Don't be in such a hurry to turn them around just because you think that they're uncomfortable facing the rear of the car. They don't know any different! (Actually, I think Bubba loves it. His seat is slightly reclined so I think he's much more comfortable than if he were in a more upright position.)

Plans Change

It has been quite some time since I've been able to carve enough time out of my day to post. A LOT has changed since my last entry.

I fell off the workout wagon. With Daddy needing to workout "more than me", I let him do the nap time workout and I used the time to do things like laundry and dishes. At least I wasn't sitting around but it's not what I had been doing previously.

Daddy was doing an amazing job with his weight loss. He dropped nine pounds in about two weeks. Men... ;) If I had exercised and eaten like him, my wrists would have gotten smaller but that's about it.

The amazing weight loss crusade has been laid to rest though. We've decided to go in yet another direction. Surprise!

After double checking some information with a recruiter in Alaska, Chris learned of the possibility of Reserve recruiting. This option is very similar to the Active Duty recruiting with the main difference being there is no weight requirement since he's already IN the Reserves. Yay!
The local AD Recruiter, of course, never mentioned this option because he didn't want to "lose" Chris as a possible recruit. That's completely understandable from his perspective but I still think he should have given Chris ALL of his options considering he knew the situation with the Reserves, etc. ANYwho...

We've started the paperwork process yet again. It was just lucky that he had his monthly UTA this past weekend so he was able to speak with the recruiter there and start gathering paperwork and having letters of recommendation written.

It'll be another few weeks before the package is sent and approved but at least the process has been started. The only really bad thing about this (either option really) is that the April class is full so he has to wait until JUNE to leave.

Yes, you heard right. That means we're "stuck" here until mid July before the possibility of a move. Like I said, it's a light at the end of the tunnel but I never expected us to be here for so long.