The Forward-Facing Child

A recent discussion with an in-law sparked this latest entry.  Actually, it was more of a statement than a discussion, but anyway... Why are some parents so eager to turn their child forward facing in their carseat? 

To be quite honest, I do not care what the reasons are because none of them are good enough to justify.  At one year of age, parents are suddenly exclaiming that their child is "a big boy/girl now" and that they can face forward in the carseat.  Why?! One year of age is the MINIMUM to be forward facing.  I was shocked and slightly horrified to find out that the family member had already had their child forward facing even though the child was not yet even a year old! They claimed is was due to the child's weight, but to me that means they haven't done much research to know that that isn't a reason until the child is more like 45 lbs. 

If a child tends to be heavier, then their carseat should meet that need.  Not all carseats are the same.  They should be tailored to the child.  If a child is taller, then the carseat should be one that is meant for taller babies.  Look into it, parents.  The right car seat for your child, and used properly (ie: rear-facing when they should be rear-facing), could save your child's life.  It is quite possibly the most important purchase you will make for your child.

Some parents are so uninformed.  They think because of their age, social status, or previous parenting experience that their knowledge is superior.  Research, people! Research.  EVERY parent should be doing research on pretty much everything for each child.  Don't trust one doctor to give you the correct information either.  "Oh well the doctor said, so it's fine."  Um, no, actually it isn't.  It's quite possible that you misunderstood the doctor.  And this is the case for more than just car seats.  Again, research.  Seeing as how there are convertible car seats that have a rear-facing weight limit of 45 lbs, no doctor is going to recommend  that you turn your child forward-facing before they are one year old.

Here are the FORWARD-FACING FACTS:
+ child must be at least one year of age
+child must be at least 20 lbs
these are the bare minimums, meaning that absolutely no way should not meeting these two simple requirements be forward-facing.

Here are the AAP RECOMMENDATIONS: (AAP is the American Academy of Pediatrics)
+child should be rear-facing until the age of two (recommendation as of April 2011)
  -exception: child outgrows height/weight requirements before the age of two
again, this is a minimum recommendation. if children haven't outgrown the height/weight limit for rear-facing by age two, then it is preferable to keep them rear-facing until they do


Why is rear-facing best?
In the case of a car accident (which is the whole purpose for car seats), the head and neck take most of the impact of the crash IF the child is forward-facing.  If the child is rear-facing, then the impact is distributed throughout the whole body. Thus, causing less injury to the child and proving that REAR-FACING IS BEST.

You are encouraged to check out this information for yourself.  Let's face it, most people won't accept the facts until they discover them for themself.  Please visit healthychildren.org or aap.org or simply type what you're looking for into google, bing, etc.

Rear-facing for as long as possible will keep your child safer, longer   : )

Itsy Bitsy

It has been far too long since I have written on here.  I'm working on some pieces that I hopefully will be able to get published eventually, so my blog has been put on the back burner.  So much has been happening with my daughter that I would have enough material to write on her at least twice a week, but I just don't have the time!  However, a very exciting moment this morning prompted me to get back on  :)

My daughter knows Itsy Bitsy Spider!  She has seen in on Barney and I've sang along with the motions a few times, but I still didn't think she'd pick it up so fast.  Even when she knows how to do something, she's very selective on when she chooses to actually do it.  This morning she did the "itsy bitsy spider crawled up the water spout" motion during the song!  It was amazing to see and whenever my husband or I would say "Itsy bitsy spider..." she would start doing the motion.  Obviously, seeing as how she's only just a year old, the motion is not exact but it's pretty darn exciting to see  :)  Love our smart baby girl!

Children are capable of so much more than we, as a society, give them credit for.  They understand most of what is said to them and what is going on around them early on, even though they can't tell us in words.

A Week of Firsts

This past week my daughter has had two big firsts: one good and one bad.  The first first that came was the bad one--she got sick.  My husband had a cold, which in turn made my daughter get a cold, and then me.  Unfortunately, a cold for a little one (she's 11 months old now) also results in a fever.  I woke up in the middle of the night to her burning up next to me.  Her temp was 101.7.  It was the first time she has ever been sick.  It wasn't until day four that she really started feeling a bit better.  The first few days consisted of a lot of cuddling, nursing, napping, and Barney.  For whatever reason, my daughter just ADORES Barney & Friends.  Barney was my only saving grace in being able to give her her meds.  About 7 times a day I was trying to get her to take something, between vitamins, tylenol, motrin, and elderberry syrup.

It was so great to finally have my baby back to normal, somewhat.  On the same day she started feeling better, I discovered her first tooth!  That would be the good of the firsts :)  Finally!  I think she's still working on a couple more on the bottom front next to her first tooth, but she definitely was feeling better after the tooth cut through.  The fever could have partially been because of cutting teeth, but who can know for sure.  She did have a bit of a runny nose, and with my husband having had a cold, I still think that the fever was at least part the cold.  It's still so weird to be able to feel her little tooth.  It's just barely there, but it's just crazy.  It feels like we've been waiting forever and it's finally here! lol  I just hope that she doesn't get a fever everytime she's working on a new tooth.  That's mostly why I hope the fever was due to the cold.

Starting the new year off with a bang!

Soothe Her to Sleep

Breastfeeding moms always have one secret weapon to help soothe their babies to sleep:  their breasts.  But it can still be difficult getting a baby to drift off into dreamland, especially for naps or in the middle of the night when they've awaken.  My daughter's habit lately has been waking in the middle of the night and taking about an hour or so to fall back asleep (in bed with us even).  I'm usually too tired to remember my usually tricks.  I just whip out the boobs or a binky, switch her from one side to the other, pat her back, etc.  The best thing I can do to help her fall asleep when she's having a hard time is to sing to her. 

It rarely fails to calm her body and mind and give her that extra bit of comfort she needs.  I've found that "You Are My Sunshine" and "Hush, Little Baby" (mockingbird song) work the best, along with three songs that I have created.  The three that I have created ALWAYS help soothe her.  As soon as I start singing them, I can feel her body relax.  It's like she knows that those are her songs, created with love by me just for her.  One that I have deemed "Angel Baby" used to be the only one that would work like a charm, but now the other two seem to work better.  I think because they have a slower melody.

Creating songs is a fun way to soothe your baby.  I came up with mine while singing my daughter to sleep every night.  Babies don't care if you have a terrible singing voice as long as you use soothing tones and lots of love. Mine personally is terrible, but my daughter still loves it when I sing to her.

Try singing in a whisper voice.  It's quiet, so it doesn't stimulate as much as a louder voice could.  Also, I've found when trying to sing in a regular voice, but quietly, my voice would crack at certain words (tones).  I also found that just whispering comforting phrases in her ear can also be soothing, like "mama dada baby" or "mama dada love baby".  I like to think that it sets her up to drift into sleep thinking good thoughts and thus having good dreams  : )

If you don't sing to your little one, you should try it.  You might be surprised at the power it holds.  Just another way to show your little one how much you care.

Baby's First Christmas

Last night, my daughter husband and I went over to my in-laws for dinner and presents.  She ate a lot (for her) of little pieces of chicken and beef from the mexican platter that has become a Christmas Eve tradition.  It took her a little bit to warm up, but she had woken up from her nap to be thrown into clothes, shoved  in a carseat, and tossed into another environment (or at least that's how I'd imagine it felt).  The ripping of wrapping paper didn't bother her a bit and she babbled and played and walked around having a grand ol' time.

This morning, she woke up with mom and dad and opened her gift from us.  She actually opened it herself.  She ripped the paper off in pieces.  Then I thought she'd play with the wrapping paper, but instead she set it aside and starting pulling at the top of the box.  I helped her open the box and she pulled the top tissue paper out, then the stuffed animal (barely glancing at it), then the bottom tissue paper skipping right over the book (which she usually loves), picked the box up and discarded it, then returned to play  :) 

We then preceded to wake up the rest of the house for present time.  Before we all were done (there were 8 of us this Christmas) she needed to take a nap.  Afterward, baby girl and I finished with our presents (I had napped with her) and got ready for the day.  First stop was at my husband's aunt's house for Christmas dinner with his whole side of the family, then back home for another nap.  After her second nap, we finished my moms Christmas dinner (at home), then off to my dad's for our third Christmas dinner of the night ( technically only two because we skipped the food at the first dinner with the exception of some yummy turkey).  After my dad's it was home to bed! 

My daughter did so amazing throughout it all!  It has been a very busy weekend.  She has gone to bed over an hour later than usual for the last three nights (tonight included) and has been amidst a lot of commotion and people she isn't used to, but she wasn't fussy very much at all.  It was fantastic!  Oh poo, and it just now dawned on me that I forgot to make the clay handprint ornament today.  I wanted it to be done on Christmas day, but oh well.  This will be me trying to go with the flow and forgetting that her handprint was actually from the day after Christmas.

Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night!

Christmas Time

Our christmas tree has slowly changed its appearance.  It now has only the top 2/3 decorated, with the exception of the occasional handmade baby-proof cloth ornament that my daughter has not yet pulled down.  Our tree this year is a fake tree with lights already attached in the branches.  This is great for two reasons 1) no string of lights for her to pull down, but the tree still at least is lit all over even though it isn't decorated all over.  2)  No loose pine needles to have to worry about my daughter snatching up and shoving in her mouth.  I do miss the smell of the traditional real christmas tree, but it is very much worth the lessened hassles.

I'm interested to see how she does Christmas morning with the opening of presents.  Not that long ago she was terrified at the sound of the wrapping paper ripping when I was opening birthday presents.  She shows interest in the wrapped gifts under the tree and she has since begun walking, making her braver, but will she still be frightened at the ripping sound?  We shall see!

Sleep....At Last

My daughter finally slept through the ENTIRE night.  About 7pm to 7am, a full twelve hours maybe plus some change.  She has pretty much slept through the night the last four nights.

Friday the 9th was the first night. Then Saturday night she slept until 5:50am and came into bed with us for the last hour.  Sunday night she slept through the entire night again.  Monday night she slept until 5:40am, came into bed with us, and tried to go back to sleep but never did.  She woke up at about 11pm but just cried a tiny bit and put herself back to sleep.  I'm hoping she keeps this pattern for awhile because it feels so good to finally get sleep in more than one or two hour time chunks.  I'm still tired, obviously, but much more rested than before.

It is a great feeling being able to be so proud of her for taking a new step, and a big one at that.  I think she sleeps better on her own as well because she has had more energy in the morning.  She definitely naps better with me than on her own in her crib, but at night she sleeps better in her crib.  A well-rested mom and baby is a very good thing :)

Create a Sanctuary

Everyone knows the basics for a nursery room-- crib, changing table, dresser, rocking chair, and all the essentials to supply those big items.  But what about special touches?  A nursery should be a happy place for baby and mom.  Create a sanctuary, oasis, special place, or whatever you'd like to call it for you and your little one.

Make the crib inviting.  First and foremost, invest in a good mattress (ie: organic.  I'm not going to get into all the benefits of organic mattresses because that would need to be a whole other blog post, but trust me, go ORGANIC.  We purchased a Naturepedic mattress for our daughter and I highly recommend it, but see what will work with your budget).  Put a couple "friends", like favorite stuffed animals, in the crib and a spare binky. I've found pacifiers can easily fall out of the crib, even with a bumper, so having a spare helps if baby wants to soothe herself back to sleep in the middle of the night.  For awhile, I also had a soft folded blanket (baby size) in there too so that she had something comforting to roll over and put her arm on since she's so used to having me next to her.  Make sure the sheets are soft and that you cant feel the coolness of the surely waterproof crib mattress through them.

Room temperature--too warm will make the room stuffy, but too cold and the baby will wake up sooner and have a harder time going back to sleep because she'll be uncomfortable.  I've found using a small cool-touch (VERY important, don't want baby to be able to burn herself) radiator style stand up heater in the nursery room works wonderfully.

No clocks allowed.  Not having a clock in my daughter's nursery is wonderful.  I can simply enjoy the time spent in there with her, without feeling like I'm on a schedule.  When I relax her for bedtime at night, I love not having a clock staring at me reminding me that I need to make dinner or my favorite TV show will be starting soon or it's taking longer than usual to get her to bed.  It will take as long as it takes and I'll enjoy having that alone time with my baby.  No clock is probably the most important part to making the nursery an oasis for the mom.  It helps keep the nursery a stress-free place.  If you went to Hawaii on vacay, would you bring a clock out on the beach with you?  No.  You'd want to just enjoy the time spent there.  Same should apply for a nursery.

Decorate the room much differently than the rest of the house.  You would think that that would be obvious because it's a baby's room and most people would want baby decor, but I thought it should be reiterated.  If the nursery fits in well with the rest of the house, then it won't be much of an escape to be in there.  I found just painting the walls and having a cute bumper and skirt for the crib did the trick.

Stock the room with a few favorite toys.  My daughter loves crawling into her bedroom from the rest of the house to play with the toys we've put in there.  Don't do any ones that make noise and music because you'll be sorry when you bump into one while trying to get your baby to sleep.

Keep a good supply of books next to the rocker.  My daughter loves being read to and it's a great way to relax her before a nap or bedtime.  Plus, babies should be read to often.  I keep only the books with cardboard pages in there because my daughter likes to turn the pages and touch the books.  I don't want her getting any papercuts from the regular books.

Enjoy!

My daughter's nursery (taken while we were in the process of putting stuff away)