In the past I have been skeptical about car seats and the mandated use of them. I didn't understand why children past the age of 3 or 4 should be in a car seat. A booster seat, maybe, but the harnesses can be so time consuming and difficult to adjust, close and open and when you have several children to get in and out, especially when it's very cold, well let's just say I've become easily irritated with the whole car seat thing.

Well, with the birth of my last baby I've become much more informed after reading a lot about car seat safety. The following information was compiled by a certified car seat tech, and very trustworthy online friend. If you have children or grandchildren, this is great safety information. If you don't believe proper car seats, or car seat usage to be important, watch some of the videos in the following links, you might change your mind!

Extended rear facing:
http://www.cpsafety.com/articles/StayRearFacing.aspx
This explains very well why rear facing is best. It includes photos, crash test videos, and an album of older kids rear facing.

Study done in December 2007 at Riley Hospital for Children in Indianapolis. Abstract: http://injuryprevention.bmj.com/cgi/content/abstract/13/6/398
Findings:

• Children 0–23 months were less likely to be severely injured when using a rear-facing car seat (RFCS) than a front-facing car seat (FFCS).
• The benefit of an RFCS was particularly great in side crashes.
• Children 12 months to 23 months old are five times less likely to die or suffer serious injuries in a crash when riding in rear-facing car seats than those in forward-facing seats.

http://www.car-safety.org/rearface.html
This one again says why rear facing is safer, with more explanations. It''s a little outdated, but it''s still a good page.

http://www.windsorpeak.com/dc/dcboar...44503&page
This one shows the bones of a one year old and a six year old. Because the one year old’'s bones are still in three pieces the cartilage allows a lot more movement. Combine that with the disproportionately large head a baby has and internal decapitation is a real risk. It's like putting a twizzler through a phone cord. If you pull the kinked phone cord straight while holding the ends of the twizzler in the middle of the cord the twizzler will snap but the phone cord will be fine. Just like a baby. Their head will be attached and their spinal column snapped, resulting at best in permanent paralysis, at worst in death.

http://www.aap.org/family/carseatguide.htm
A good general description of when to move kids and what seats are and what to buy when. It's important to remember that every step up in carseats is a step down in safety. Rear facing is safest, then forward facing in a five point harness, then forward facing in a high back booster, then forward facing in a low back booster, then the least safe is us, those using just a seatbelt.

http://www.aafp.org/afp/20020801/practice.html
Another general guide of what seats are good when.

http://www.findarticles.com/p/articl...66/ai_90137870
Another very similar page.

http://aappolicy.aappublications.org...rics;109/3/550
The actual AAP publication.

http://www.angelfire.com/wa3/isakswings/ratetherrf.html
This shows how to tether a Britax (could also be transcribed for a Radian) rear facing. NOTE: Australian style tethering is no longer allowed, and tethering to the seat the carseat is on is a last resort measure.

http://cpsafety.com/PDFfiles/RearFacingBrochure.pdf
Something to print out to hand out to people who need a shove in the rear direction.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y2DVfqFhseo
The Importance of Rear Facing.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kRP7ynNI8mI
A video someone made for their sister explaining why rear facing is so important.

http://www.cpsafety.com/articles/airplaneRF.aspx
Rear facing on an airplane. YOU ARE ALLOWED TO USE A REAR FACING RESTRAINT ON A PLANE JUST AS YOU WOULD IN A CAR. If an attendant gives you grief, as to see their manual. The manual will prove you right.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/9916868
A mainstream article about extended rear facing.

http://www.motionbox.com/video/player/7494d2b5161bf0/#1
A news video from WABI out of Maine about extended rear facing. It's not just extended harnessing, as the reporter says, it's extended rear facing. The seat is technically a 3 in 1, not a convertible (the Alpha Omega or the Eddie Bauer 3 in 1, they're all the same seat under different names). Caroline is sitting in a Radian and she is demonstrating extended harnessing.

Boosters:
http://www.carseat.org/Boosters/630.htm
Boosters are for big kids. This page has the five step test, which is how you know when your child is big enough for just a seatbelt.

http://www.gm.com/company/gmability/...er_020304.html
This shows pictures and a video of children who are too small being restrained in only an adult belt. There are also other videos about child restraint safety and child safety on the site.

http://www.prnewswire.com/cgi-bin/mi...E=Sep+13,+2005
This article discusses the importance of a booster seat for the four to eight year old range when it comes to side impact protection.

http://www-nrd.nhtsa.dot.gov/pdf/nrd.../05-0330-O.pdf
This discusses vehicular restraint and injuries for children 0-15 in Sweden. They have the lowest mortality in the world of children in regards to vehicular collisions.

http://new.photos.yahoo.com/album?c=...15&.src=ph
Comparing the old and new (B500/505 and B510/515) Compass boosters.

Videos:
http://home.comcast.net/~dcbsr/test/..._old_seat.mpeg
This video shows a properly installed, proper size dummy in a 30 mph frontal collision with a 10 year old Britax (they expire at six years). The harness is ripped from the seat.

http://www.thinkroadsafety.gov.uk/ca...ts/archive.htm
A listing of UK videos showing the importance of wearing your seatbelt, AND making sure everyone else in your vehicle is wearing there (anything not restrained is a projectile. Toys, books, cups, and other people)

http://www.oeamtc.at/netautor/html_s...ecarostart.mpg
Forward facing harness versus a forward facing booster. 30 mph crash test.

http://depts.washington.edu/booster/...54_6yr_lap.mpg
A six year old wearing only the lap portion of a shoulder/lap belt.

http://www.nhtsa.dot.gov/people/inju...les/video.html
A listing of some of the NHTSA''s crash test videos. They each have descriptions.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=azgBhZfcqaQ
The Kyle Miller video, a three year old who was killed while riding in his Turbobooster when the seatbelt failed. The video makes the claim that a Regent is the only safe seat and that it can be used to 80 pounds with LATCH, which is not true. The seat can be used to 48 pounds max, and that's only if your vehicle allows to 48 pounds. Honda, Mercedes, Acura, and Saab have 40 pound LATCH limits. GET TISSUES

http://www.carseatsite.com/videos.ht...20with%20LATCH
Videos showing how to install rear facing seats.

http://www.oeamtc.at/videobox/index....movie_kind=swf
Crash test video, forward facing booster versus rear facing seat. It also has rear facing side impact testing. There are other videos on the site, but unless you speak German you'll just have to click here and there and see what comes up.

http://64.233.179.104/translate_c?hl...ial%26hs%3DgLd
A translated (online, so it's patchy) page of the site above with the videos. It's still a little hard to navigate, but it gives more information.

Airplanes:
http://youtube.com/watch?v=rC4Q3ofz7SI
A video on the Sioux City crash, July 19, 1989, United flight 232 (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_Airlines_flight_232)

CPST Tools:
http://www.iihs.org/news/1997/iihs_news_062797.pdf
An article about why children should ride in the back seat, even if there is no front seat airbag.

http://www-odi.nhtsa.dot.gov/cars/pr.../childseat.cfm
The recall list.

http://www.saferidenews.com/pdfs/LATCHApp_B_pg105.pdf
Quick guide to LATCH limits of different manufacturers

http://www.saferidenews.com/html/LATCH_P8.htm
Using a tether for a child past 40 pounds.

http://www.saferidenews.com/html/LATCH_P49.htm
Different pages in the same manual covering tethering past 40 pounds.

http://www.car-seat.org/showthread.php?t=9443
A list (put together by people on car-seat.org, so not conclusive) of cars that do and do not allow middle seat LATCH use. When in doubt ask or check your manual. I do have a LATCH manual and so can say whether your specific year does or does not allow it.

http://www.thecarseatlady.com/vehicl..._system_9.html
A site about LATCH

http://www.buckleupnc.org/laws_cps_recommended.cfm
A North Carolina site stating the law as well as best practice (they are NOT the same)

Other Photos:
http://members.tripod.com/uccomama-ivil/
Booster comparison photos

http://www.collisionsafety.net/Allpi...pre%20test.JPG
The before picture of a rear facing infant seat in front of an airbag.

http://www.collisionsafety.net/Allpi...ost%20test.JPG
The after picture. It speaks for itself.

http://www.carseatsite.com/pinchtest.jpg
The Pinch test. If you can pinch ANY slack in your child's harness at their shoulder the harness is too loose.

More info on vehicle crashes being the #1 killer of children:

http://www.childdeathreview.org/causesMV.htm

Here is an expired seat video:

http://home.comcast.net/~dcbsr/test/Britax_GMTV_Check_It_Fits_Child_Facing_Forwards_ten_years_old_seat.mpeg

You'll note the the harness rips completely out of the shell.

Sites:
http://www.car-seat.org
http://www.carseat.org
http://www.freewebs.com/sacredjourneys/
http://www.thecarseatlady.com/

The most common mistakes Techs see are:

• Facing forward too soon
• Boosters being used too soon
• Using LATCH for center positions when LATCH is not allowed in the center for that vehicle
• Loose straps (see pinch test in list of links)
• Aftermarket accessories
• Twisted straps (vehicle seat belts, latch straps, and harness straps)
• Using the wrong belt path or not switching the LATCH straps (seats have different belt/LATCH paths for RF and FF)
• Chest clips too low
• Using seats that are outgrown
• Seat belt installs where the seat belt is NOT locked
• Not using top tethers
• Using both LATCH and seat belt
• Expired seats
• Thick coats
• Usage of seats that are recalled
• Children (12 and under) sitting in the front seat
• Not reading the carseat manual
• Not reading the vehicle manual
• Straps not in the right position (above or below shoulders)

I want to thank Maryanne for the above information and invite anyone needing more help to visit the car seat board at http://forums.delphiforums.com/Carseats/start .

I have found it very difficult to move away from family and friends, learn my way around a new area, make new friends and help my children do the same. I had such wonderful friends in VA and I knew that there would be no replacing them, but I assumed that I would find like-minded women in my new town and over time we would grow into solid friends.

As most home schooling, lotsa moms, I don't have a lot of time to spend with girlfriends but it's good for me to have other women for friendship and support in this vocation of marriage and motherhood. This has not been easy for me since we've moved. I've recently had my feelings hurt, and not for the first time, by women I thought were friends and my heart is still aching a bit over it. Another friend sent something to me in my email that I thought I would share because it is very important to remember. Our words can heal or hurt and we should use them carefully.

Here is a picture of our sweet granddaughter. Isn't she a cutie?

At least, I found it hysterical!

My husband went to the store for me on Thursday. I had given him an extensive list and it was not our usual store so he spent a lot of time going back and forth across the store looking for things. He noticed that there was sugar everywhere on the floor, as though someone had an open bag and was just pouring it out through the store. Every aisle he went down seemed to have this stream of sugar. There was sugar caked in the cart's wheels. He just chuckled to himself thinking some poor soul has a broken bag of sugar and doesn't realize it and is getting it all over the store. At one point he passes a young store employee with a tiny broom and dustpan and he again chuckles, thinking the poor kid needs an industrial sized broom to get up that mess and how mad he's going to be when he realizes this trail of sugar spans the entire store!!

My husband gets down to the last thing on his list and can't find it. He travels back and forth across the store yet again looking and finally asks a store employee (not the same kid, he's still sweeping!) for what he wants. She takes him right to it. They are chatting for a minute and my husband puts the item in the cart and realizes that it is HIS bag of sugar (a 10lb bag no less!!) that has been deposited throughout the store from a before unseen hole in the side of the bag! There is maybe an inch left in the bag!! Walking back to the baking section with the store employee, who is now holding the nearly empty bag of sugar, they pass the poor kid, still following the trail of sugar with his little broom. My husband feels terrible and yet can't help but laugh as he gets a new bag of sugar!

Homeschooling
4 loads of laundry, wash, dry, fold, put away
Dust living room
Run vac in living room
Make pizza dough for dinner
Declutter desk
Pack up pile of outgrown baby clothes

Today is another snowy day. We already have about 12 inches on the ground and it's coming down again at a good clip. I imagine the kids will want to sled or play outside later so I need to make sure they have dry snow clothes.

Today's to-do list:

Clean downstairs bath
Sort and put away baby's and my own laundry
Sort kid's laundry and have them put away
Home school
Run vac
4 loads of laundry- wash and fold
Plan meals for rest of week
Make bread for dinner
Dinner- pea soup with ham, rolls, salad

This is the time of year when I really start wishing for summer. Spring is nice and I will certainly be happy to see it come but I can't help but think about summer. Say, mid-July? Hot, sticky, sultry dog days of summer is what I want. I love summer! It's my favorite season. I like the relaxed pace. We relax our schedule, play outside late into the evening and then sleep with the windows open and listen to the trains come through town at night. (Did you know I live in a busy train town?) I love sitting on the porch with my coffee while the sun warms the dew off the grass first thing in the morning. I love that my children will race outside, even before they eat breakfast, to play on the trampoline or in the sandbox. They will stay outside from dawn until dusk and then some.

Thinking of the summer to come seems to get me through just.one.more. cold snowy Ohio winter day. Yes, I will be happy to see spring, but not as happy as I will be to see summer!

And I can't promise to be better at keeping my blog update. Real life is just too busy and fulfilling. I have way more to do than hours in the day but I love reading blogs and keeping up with friends and fellow bloggers when I can.

The big news around here is that we have an incredibly beautiful granddaughter! She is our first grandchild and is completely scrumptious!! She was born on 12/12 after a good birth. Here is a peek:

She is so sweet. Unfortunately we have been passing the sickies around at our house and so I've not been able to spend much time with her. Oh well, hopefully soon.

Anyone who can sew a bit and has a baby may want to try making some mock Babylegs. Here's the link: http://www.flickr.com/photos/babyhopes/sets/72157594274454468/ to an online tutorial on how to make your own from store bought socks. Looks easy! I can't wait to try it!

My son and daughter-in-love are expecting their first baby. Alexis is due to be born in early December. I could not be happier! She and my youngest daughter will be less than a year apart. I think that is wonderful that Maggie will have a close family member. None of my children are close in age, really. My closest spacing was 2 years and 3 months between Hunter and Ginny. None of my boys have had close in age brothers, nor my girls close in age sisters, so this will be the next best thing for Maggie to have a close in age sister.

I am planning a baby shower for the blessed event. I am *so* excited! It's been years since I hosted a shower. Alexis' nursery is done in a bumblebee theme so I am going with that for the shower too! I've found bumblebee decorations, I'm making a diaper cake with Burt's Bees products and a very, very cute bumblebee silky blanky, the cake is a beehive shape of my own design with a chocolate honey glaze instead of frosting. I'm buying fall colored flowers like yellow and orange mums and using balloons in yellow, black and white for decorations. I also found beehive shaped candles for the game prizes. I think it will all come together really well. I can't wait to post some pictures!

Today at church there was an elderly lady in the pew behind us who reminded me of my Grandmother. She was my Mom's Mother and I loved her dearly. Almost all of my fond childhood memories are wrapped up in her and Grandpa's house, the two of them in their homey kitchen with the red and white floor tiles, or sitting out on the "carport" which never, in my memory at least, had a car parked beneath it. Instead it was a home for several large picnic tables, lawn chairs, the grill and a small transistor radio on which Grandpa (or just "Pa" as he was better known) would listen to the ballgames and argue, usually vehemently, with the announcer. In the winter, the carport was only used by the family members who smoked, and by the extra refrigerator. In the summer, however, Grandma and Grandpa would spend many hours out there.

I remember now, a little misty eyed I must admit, the joy and excitement I felt when we were pulling up in the driveway. I knew they would be waiting for us. My Mom told me once that her parents loved my sister and I best because we didn't hesitate, after running through the back door to fall into their arms and shower them with hugs and kisses. She said not all the grandchildren were so affectionate. I could not have restrained myself from loving them though. It never failed that as soon as we arrived, Grandpa would put a finger to his lips while looking out of the corner of his eye at my Mom, and open the cabinet which held the "goodies" to show us what treats he bought especially for us and hid in the kitchen.

I doubt they loved anyone "best" though and it doesn't matter because I always felt loved best. They had many, many grandchildren. I don't know if I can count us all. There were nine children in the family, a big Irish Catholic bunch. I loved the times when they would all gather at Grandma and Grandpa's house for holidays, weddings, baptisms and other occasions. The ladies of the family would always work and chat together in the kitchen, while the guys manned the grill or played poker in the dining room. I remember playing under the huge dining room table with my cousins while the Uncles and Grandpa played poker for hours.

I loved the old fashioned words they used for some things. The "davenport" or just "daven" was the couch. Pants were always "slacks" and jeans "dungarees". A t-shirt was a "jersey" and the living room was the "parlor". I wish I could hear their voices now. The sweet lady at church today sent me back in time and I'm thankful.

None of my children have sucked their thumbs but Maggie loves hers! I have put her on the floor to play and come back to find her fast asleep with her thumb in her mouth! This is completely new for me! LOL!

I've even woken up at night to her slurping her thumb or fingers. I've also found a couple of spots on me where she has sucked my arm or shoulder during the night. She nurses plenty and is about 13&1/2 lbs.

She is the sweetest, dearest baby. She has grown out of that newborn fussiness and just smiles, laughs and plays most of the day. She takes 2-3 hour naps about 3 times a day and sleeps at night really well. She nurses several times at night but neither of us wakes up for it. We all love to try to make her laugh because it's the cutest sound.

Thanks for reading my baby brag!

In other news, my oldest son is getting married to his long-time girlfriend on June 16! It's a whirlwind of an engagement but we are very excited about it!

Today for Good Friday we made hot cross buns, read Easter stories, worked together to clean house and made our Easter meal plans together. There are many recipes for hot cross buns out there, we used the one from the Five in a Row Holiday Book, and they are rising as we speak, they should be done in just enough time for tea! Yummy!

The books we read today are: Miz Fannie Mae's Fine New Easter Hat by Melissa Milich and The Legend of the Easter Egg by Lori Walburg (my all time favorite because it touches on so many Lenten traditions and also tells about the resurrection, it's just wonderful!). Tomorrow we plan to read If Jesus Came To My House by Joan Gale Thomas, The Tale of Three Trees by Angela Ewell Hunt, and A Child's Story of Easter by Etta Wilson. We also made a cute craft from the FIve in a Row book too, here's a picture:

We used the egg shell halves from our buns, colored some cotton balls yellow with markers, used a hole punch and black construction paper for eyes and cut some beaks from orange paper. Glue one cotton ball into the egg shell half, glue another on top and glue on the eyes and beak to make the features on the chick. So easy my 2 year old could do it and very cute all together in a basket. I used this nice Avon ceramic basket my Mom gave me for my birthday one year but any basket will do. It was fun!

Gregg, Hunter and I may watch The Passion tonight. I've never been able to watch it all the way through, it's just so difficult, but I'll try again this year.

Happy Easter to all of you!

I am!! One thing I love about having a new baby is the opportunity to use my favorite baby carriers and maybe try out some new ones. My old stand-by favorite is my Maya wrap sling  or one that I have made myself from Jan's site . I love my Ergo carrier for an older baby and used it for carrying Luke on my back until he was 2. I could have carried him in it longer but after conceiving Maggie I wasn't up to it.

I just started experimenting with a wrap (I made my own using 5 1/2 yards of fabric from the Walmart $1 fabric table) before getting pregnant last time so I'm now enjoying learning how to use it with a newborn. So far I love it as long as I have several minutes to get it on right. It's not as simple to use as the ring sling but it's more comfortable (for me) when carrying for a long time. I am also learning how to use an Asian baby carrier, in this case a Mei-tai. A friend sent me one and a local friend makes beautiful slings and mei-tais. She made a gorgeous pink and cream mei-tai for a baby gift. It is simply beautiful. I prefer the wrap or sling to nurse in because the mt and Ergo are not as easy for that but otherwise they are all fun to use. I love carrying an infant in the store instead of having them in the shopping cart because people seem to love to touch newborns. I'm not a germophobe but I don't like strangers touching my babies without asking.

I also prefer carrying infants to using a stroller, when possible, but sometimes my back can't take it. That's where the wrap and mei-tai come in, they put less strain on me than my ring sling. My babies have all been happier being carried. There are times when the baby is fussy and using a carrier at home makes it possible for me to home school, do laundry, dishes and other chores. Right now Maggie is sound asleep in the wrap after fussing for quite a bit while I held her. There's something about being held tightly against Mama that seems to soothe my babies. I'm sure there are babies that don't like it but so far I haven't had one. LOL! Here we are this morning:

You can just see little Maggie's head at the top and if you look closely under my hands you can see her little feet under the fabric. She loves this carry. I can nurse her in it too by simply loosening the knot at my waist in the back and turing her sideways. She is in a little pocket of fabric under the cross. Directions for this carry are here. There are lots of great ways to use a wrap, ring sling or mei-tai and as she gets older I plan to try them all! Right now we are limited to carries that don't stress her hips (small babies should not hang from the crotch in any carrier, even a commercial one made to carry small babies in that position) and ones that we can nurse in because she nurses a lot.

Editing my post to add some baby wearing links if you're interested! These are some of my favorites!
Wrap Your Baby
The Babywearer
Mama Toto

Today is my birthday. My family has treated me so nicely!! My little girl took me out to lunch at my favorite local Mexican place. My older daughter and my Mother-in-love made a delicious dinner and my son made breakfast! My oldest son called me to wish me a happy birthday and tell me he misses me. It hurts to miss my boy so much, I am looking forward to when he eventually moves here near us. My mother sent me a beautiful card and my best friend a wonderful gift of the Five In A Row Holiday book. My husband is working so hard to put the motor he had to rebuild back into my Suburban so I'm no longer home bound but that is slow going around his work schedule. It will be a wonderful gift to have it back together but I'm getting by without it.

I am enjoying my husband's mother so much. I love having her here. She is teaching my oldest daughter to make a quilt. She has turned us on to "tea time". She brought a set of pretty tea cups and plates to match and a variety of teas that we have enjoyed daily. She is inspiring me to look out for a cream pitcher, some dainty cloth napkins and some other acessories to enhance our afternoon tea. We have had a great time already! We will all miss her so much when she has to leave.