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And Yet, Here I Am

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lapoissonne

"And yet, here I am, healthy and perfectly normal."

I might argue with that one

The latest talk with one of my girl friends is the risk of SIDS and the use of organic mattresses and crib pads. How far can we take it?! I paid $12.99 for a crib pad at Target yesterday and then she sends me a link for "inexpensive" organic wool crib pads for $49! What did I do wrong?! The wheels turn in my head and I feel like a horrible mother!

NO More SIDS

Green Home Environmental Products



Organic Mattress Pad



Here I feel I did something good by getting a trampoline for my kids to jump on. And they do! They will jump on it literally an hour straight so we get almost two solid hours of jumping every day. My alternative, probably some television at this point in my pregnancy. I can sit on the patio chair beside the trampoline, relax and interact with them. It's been great. I felt good that they were getting outside and exercise and then my mother, the one who had me in the hatchback of her car my entire baby and toddler hood, asks, is that safe for their joints?! I thought that trampolines for little kids was bad?! OMG! More things to worry about! Is the form of exercise and their pure enjoyment (they BEG to JUMP) hurting them?!

My 2007 mini van. My top parents choice mini van, doesn't have latch across the third row. Only the middle seat. I will have to tow four car seats after the baby comes when I help carpool with my GF's little girl. I will have to put one of my children and her child in the backseat in their car seats ...gasp...safety belts! That keeps me up at night! I only have a tether for the middle too. I can only safety belt those two kids and the thought of that gets my stomach acid flowing.

Oh, thank God for momtinis...in about four and a half weeks and only in total moderation or if at all since I'll be nursing...

Lynni

I hear you Sarah. Last week we went to dinner with my parents. Bubbs wanted to leave with my Dad. No big deal, except, Poppie didn't have his car seat. So, I make him take mine. Only to have Bubbs say "No, I don't need one for Pop's truck. I didn't have one when we went to get donuts." He busted my dad. The thing was, my dad really didn't think he "needed" a car seat. He figured that he is over 4, over 40 lbs and that I was just being "cautious". My dad certainly didn't mean any harm, but my heart sank when I heard this. What really threw me is that my parents both have car seats, so why didn't he have one? Well, Dad doesn't have one in his pick-up (which he drives on the weekends only) Bubbs thinks trucks are the best thing ever and he was only trying to please is grandson. My poor dad felt terrible. I just made him promise to never do it again, until I say it is ok.

I used to work with a guy who was in his early 40's. He had children in their late teens and early 20's. He had remarried a woman at least 10 years younger and they were expecting their first child together. I was also pregnant at the time. He came to me about asked me about a "travel system." Of course, I knew all about it and could days on which ones were the best and why. He looked at me quizzically and said "Do you know what my "travel system" was as a kid? It was my father driving 3 sheets to the wind. No one wore a seat belt. My brothers wrestling in the back seat. Me, sitting in the middle hump in the front with parents. My mother had one arm around me while she has a cigarette in the other. That was the travel system I grew up with, and turned out just fine."

I recalled that story when Bubbs' outed my dad. Of course, we all want what is best for our kids. I just try not to freak out and keeps things in perspective. I'm not always good about it, but I try. I think that is the best we can do.

baseballmama

My mom pulls that one on me all the time. Irritates the hell out of me. I like one of our friend's response - "when you know better, you do better."

Lynni, my grandparents drove with Spencer unbuckled twice! They couldn't figure out how to work the carseat. They had the shoulder straps buckled but couldn't buckle the one between his legs. I didn't want to be mad at them because they were doing the best they could, but the child has to be buckled into his carseat

lapoissonne

The kids love riding in my dad's pickup because it doesn't have air bags in the front passenger so he lets them ride up front. Drives me mad! I remember sitting between my brother and sister, on the floor of the car, in the rear window pretending to be a puppy...all while my mom lit up her cigarette and cracked the window an inch. I also remember waiting in the car while she ran into the grocery store "real quick." Oh how times have changed.

I worry that I am feeding my kids right or not frying their brain with the television. Hello, I was a Mac and Cheese kid and set my alarm so I could get up in time for the Snorks and Smurfs! I had easily done four hours of cartoons and a couple bowls of Cocoa Puffs before my parents even woke up!

Mcheer

See the whole thing about my MIL wanting to get her own car seat came up AGAIN... but this time in front of Jay and he flat out told her "NO- our friends lives are forever changed because of a car accident so we are not putting our girls in any other vehicle but our own".... she is the WORST driver ever and she has the oldest rustiest car on top of it... so I am so glad he stood up to her and said Dream on Sophie!

Lynni

Yay to Jay!!!!

baseballmama

Way to go Jay! I love it when our men do something to make us proud