Pretty Boid.

Here's gorgeous Luna, our sweet budgie <3

Child Passenger Safety Week

One more post for Child Passenger Safety Week!

There are a lot of good graphics floating around the internet that I think give very simple and straight forward visuals of how to safely and correctly use your carseat.

So here are a few of my favourites. I can only take credit for one, but all are available to be shared.

Safe travels, everyone!

Rowan's Inheritance...

A few years back, my stepdaughter became obsessed with the Little Miss & Mr. Men books. My mum had sent her a couple of Little Miss books from England as a christmas or birthday present, and it was all over :) Within two years, she had accumulated the entire Little Miss collection and about a third of the Mr Men collection.

Of course, she grew out of it, but I kept the books (we have a hard time getting rid of books in this house), and thank goodness we did, because Rowan is now starting to show an interest.

So we've been reading a couple each day.

This morning, I was making him breakfast, and he asked for hot frockit (that's hot chocolate a.k.a warmed up dark chocolate almond milk sssshhhhhh).  I poured it into his usual random coffee mug (which he gets a HUGE kick out of), but after a few minutes, I got a vision of the mug that my mum sent Ashlyn a few years ago.

It belonged to either me or one of my siblings when we were little. Yes, we were also Mr. Men fans when we were small (much like every other child growing up in England since the 70s!) and my parents had saved this mug.

So I went on a hunt for it! Found it pretty quickly (which was a miracle, since we recently moved, and I am still having trouble finding certain things!).

A quick wash, and bam! The mug gets passed on to yet another child in our family.

A silly and insignificant moment, I know, but it makes me smile to see my little boy drinking out of a mug that I drank out of at his age :)

Child Passenger Safety Week

As a former nanny and a long time stepmother, I went into motherhood with an abundance of confidence when it came to carseat use. I'd always kept up to date with the current recommendations, and was extremely experienced in installing seats and buckling children in.

But, as I became a mother, carseat safety went from being necessary knowledge to a passion, not only for keeping my own children safe, but to help spread the word to other parents who may not otherwise be keeping their children as safe as they possibly can. I also found that there was a WHOLE lot more for me to learn. So much for confidence!

A few years ago, the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) updated their recommendations for turning rear facing infants. While the law is still one year AND 20lbs, many parents are choosing to keep their children in rear facing seats to two years. AND BEYOND! The reason for this, is that it offers the best protection of the cervical spine in a crash. That's the area at the back of the neck, just below the skull. Until around 3 years old, children's spines are made of soft bone and cartilage and the spinal column can do a lot of stretching. But the spinal cord itself does not stretch as well and will rupture after only about 1/4 inch. Internal decapitation. Which results in paralysis or death. By choosing to follow the AAP's recommendations,  in the even of a crash, your child's car seat helps to absorb more centrifugal force so that your child does not have to. This helps to keep the spinal cord intact.

For us, it is a NO BRAINER. Rowan will remain rear facing until he maxes out the limits of his most frequently used carseat. Of course, it doesn't matter which seat you use, if you are not using it correctly.

For ALL seats, that means proper installation (find a Child Passenger Safety Technician in your area) and PROPER USAGE.

Read your manual. Follow it's instructions! Every single time, for every single trip.

And:

• place chest clip ON CHEST. At armpit/nipple level. A misplaced chest clip an cause internal bleeding in an accident.
• straps should be snug.
• For rear facing, straps should be at or below child's shoulders. For forward facing, straps should be at or above shoulders.
• No heavy coats or bulky clothing that can compress in the event of an accident and cause the straps to be loose enough for the child to be ejected from the seat!
• No aftermarket products. Strap covers, toys, Bundle Mes, head support, custom car seat covers. None of these things have been crash tested with your seat!

Keep your babies safe, and don't be afraid to offer help to someone who may be unwittingly placing their child in danger! It really COULD be a matter of life and death...

This Boy's Face..

Pictures at sunset. Such a gorgeous boy.

The Project Bond

The Project Bond is an excellent organization. Barbara and Meredith's mission is simple, but important. To promote healthy and connected relationship from birth onwards.

Many of us are recovering and learning how to have healthy relationships with the people that love us. Learning to accept uncondtional love. Learning to accept childhood horrors and move on to a healthy and positive adulthood. And to raise our own children in way that we were not raised.

I recently wrote a guest piece for their blog, about my birth experience with Rowan. For many NICU parents, the bonding process is very different to those of the parents that are able to be with their baby from the moment of birth, without interruption. And, while Rowan was only in the Special Care Unit for less than a week (which is absolutely nothing, compared to the babies who are in the NICU for months), I went through a large range of emotions during that week. And I learned a lot. It is still an experience that I am recovering from, and when I shared a picture with Meredith on Instagram (@claire_e_miller), she asked me to write as a guest for their blog. Talking about that week isn't always the easiest thing to do, but it does get easier with time. And writing out my story over two and half years later was actually relatively easy (which was a big surprise to me). Perhaps because, at this point, I am so far away from those days! As I re-read the story this morning, I realized that now it seems like such a distant, distant memory.

Time is a great healer!

Anyway, if you are interested in reading my story, please do. It can be found here. And while you are there, take some time to read the rest of the website. It will be worth it, I promise you!

Letting Go

I have a lot of fears as a mother. Some irrational. Some not.

I don't think I am alone in this.

Rowan is a pretty tough kid. He wants to climb on the highest play set. He wants to run with the big kids. He wants to jump from the highest walls. And it makes me incredibly nervous. I know that I need to let him do these things. I know that while the chance of injury is there, it's not inevitable. Not that this knowledge makes it any easier to let him go.

The world's most dangerous ladder

When he climbs this ladder on the playset at the park by our house, it makes my stomach lurch. But he will not  allow for me to hold on to him. He shoos my hand away and says "Mummy, get offa me!"  I stand as close as I possibly can, without actually touching him. Thankfully, I have been there to catch him the couple of times he's lost his balance, but mostly he reaches the platform without a problem.

"See? He's fine!" says Logical Me.
"But, OH! Can you imagine the damage a fall from that height would do?!" says Emotional Me.

As I said, I don't think I am alone in this mindset. Some mothers find it easier to let their children go than others. And perhaps it will be easier with my future children. Or perhaps not. But for now, it is something that I try to reign in, to keep in check. For his sake. And mine.

Hopefully my show of confidence in him will continue to pay off...