Well, un-named friend (*wink*), I am right there with you these days! With a baby, a job, a house to clean, my own business and a church to volunteer for I am constantly forgetting to eat. But it looks a little different than my super-productive best friend. What happens to me is that I gradually start moving slower in the day and suddenly while Melody is napping I find myself sitting at the computer browsing and thinking "I should be doing something right now. I should wash dishes or fold laundry, but I just feel so tired... Why do I feel so tired? Oh yeah! I haven't eaten lunch!" Sometimes then I will get up and eat something, but sometimes I get distracted in my over-tired and hungry state and forget to eat again.
There is a lesson to be learned here. No lunch = tired, distracted mommy! :)
Now, on to the more serious stuff... For all my mommy friends out there, have your heard about the new car seat recommendations?
The AAP is now recommending that infants stay in rear facing car seats until 2 years old or until they outgrow the height and weight guidelines for the seat. They are encouraging parents to use rear facing seats (such as a convertible car seat) that will hold larger children up to 35 or 40lbs in the rear facing position.
Being unaware of these new guidelines, Christian installed and I excitedly watched as Melody got to ride for the first time in her new forward facing car seat last Saturday.
Isn't she adorable?!
Then my sister let me know about the new rules. (Thank you, Renee!) Luckily, our old car seat is approved for children up to 30 lbs which I chose knowing that I would probably have a larger baby. Melody is currently 21.6 lbs according to my digital scale at home and is now one year old. That puts her right on the cusp of being ready for a forward facing car seat by the old standards. We had made the decision to switch her since the straps on her old car seat were becoming so snug they were making her uncomfortable while riding in the car. After reading the new info though (which can be found here and here), Christian found a way to lengthen the straps on our current car seat, so that Melody can stay rear facing for several more months.
So I guess she will continue to look like this for awhile longer... only bigger of course!
So what about you? Do these new recommendations effect your child? Will you be following them?
I 'm totally with you on forgetting to eat!!! haha.
ReplyDeleteIsn't it crazy?! I even have a friend that when we hang out with our kids during lunch for a playdate we BOTH forget to eat! Haha!
ReplyDeleteMelody is getting so big! She's like a tiny little person now. What a cutie!
ReplyDeleteShe is big isn't she?! I can't believe how much she is NOT a baby anymore. :-( That transition happened really fast. It's like she woke up on the morning she was one year old and BOOM, no more baby! And I agree that she is a total cutie:)
ReplyDeleteLove,
Rachel
The "bucket" seat I used for both Gianna and Dominic goes up to 35 lbs....I didn't expect to have big babies, but I did...lol so I am glad I got a big seat. Dominic JUST outgrew his bucket seat a few weeks ago. He weighs 26 lbs at 15 months....he has slimmed out since he started running around, and Melody will, too. After the first year of explosive growth, most kiddos start getting taller and their weight gain is slower. Dominic outgrew his seat in HEIGHT, not weight. As long as Melody has at least an inch to an inch and half of hard shell behind her head, she'll be fine in your bucket seat for a few more months. :)
ReplyDeleteI'd suggest returning the forward facing seat you bought and purchasing a convertible seat. We have a Britax Boulevard that we used for Gianna, and I am now passing down to Dominic, since it has not expired yet. It allowed us to keep her rear facing until she was over 3, at which point she hit the weight limit for the seat (32 pounds). Now, you can find convertible seats that have rear-facing limits that are even higher, up to 35 and 40 lbs. Be forewarned...the sticker price is....a little shocking :) But, these seats do last a long time. The Boulevard was $300 but Gianna used it for about 3 years, and Dominic now will use it for another 2 or so, until it expires. Along with keeping kids rear-facing for as long as you can, after they get turned around it's important to keep them in a 5-pt harness as long as possible, and a lot of the more expensive convertible seats have very high weight limits for their 5-pt harness when turned forward-facing.
Sorry for the novel. :P We are a bit into car seat safety around here....a very close buddy of mine is a car seat safety technician, and she has rubbed off on me!
As for forgetting to eat.....happens all the time. I don't get tired though, I get GROUCHY. And a grouchy mama is no good....
Hi again Anne!
ReplyDeleteI think that it's awesome that you have such a wealth of knowledge about car seats! I did lots of research when my sister told me about the new recommendations and came to a lot of the same conclusions you are describing.
I am planning to get a convertible car seat when Melody outgrows this one, but we are hanging onto the forward facing one for now. It seats children up to 100 lbs! Also it keeps them in the 5 point harness for a long time and after that it acts as a booster (so it will be the last car seat she needs). I am also able to use it now with the kids I babysit for, so I no longer have to take other car seats in and out of my car a couple of times a week.
I also think it's awesome that you knew to keep your kids rear facing longer even before that was the recommendation! Go Anne! :)
Thanks for all the great info.
Love, Rachel
Oh my gosh! Melody is so stinking cute! I just want to fly over there right now and play with her! But, I'd be there mainly to see you of course haha!
ReplyDeleteYou are welcome to fly over anytime. I agree that she is super adorable! And I love you! :)
ReplyDeleteMake sure you check out this post: http://commontomoms.blogspot.com/2011/07/sneaky-chef.html
There are pics from this summer :)
My carseat (the Evenflo Titan Elite Convertible) allows for rear facing until 35 pounds, but I will still probably change it to forward facing when my child is a year old.
ReplyDeleteI know I'm out on my own here, but I think the carseat recommendations are too stringent. The recommendations are mostly influenced by industry lobbyists and not scientific evidence. We would all be safer in a 5-point harness system (like a race car driver) but it is overkill for average situations. I will say though, that we drive very little, less than the average family.