We went to the police station today and had Scout's Britax Marathon car seat installed in our car. We had it in the car when she was a newborn and decided to replace it with an infant seat for a while because the straps on the Marathon just swallowed her up and she didn't seem very comfortable in it. Now that she is much bigger, she fits nicely in it. I feel like it is a much safer seat, so I was anxious to get it installed as soon as possible. The infant seat definitely served its purpose for a while, but we never unsnap it from its base anymore (unless it is just so we can bring it in to keep it cool). That's the one thing I will miss about having a seat that comes off of the base. But I have a solution to that: I'm going to bring a big ice pack with us whenever we run errands and lay it on the seat and the buckles while we are shopping. Even if the ice pack totally melts while we are in there, at least the seat and buckles won't be scorching hot.

It has been miserably hot here. Last Friday I went grocery shopping while Scout rode contentedly in the Ergo carrier on the front of me the whole time. After we were done, I started the car and cranked the air so it would cool off a little while I loaded the groceries in the trunk. Scout was still attached to me in the Ergo. A lady came up to me and graciously offered to help me put my bags in the trunk. I only had a few left, so I politely declined and thanked her for offering and told her I thought it was so sweet of her to ask. Then she said, "I just thought I'd offer because it is just too hot to have a baby out today." I think it was her disapproving motherly tone that bugged me more than what she said.

Can anyone say "passive aggressive"?? Sheesh. Here, I thought it was just a stranger being nice but it was actually just a cranky old lady who can't keep her advice to herself. Offering to help just gave her the perfect opportunity to come over and gripe at me for having my baby out in the heat.

I couldn't think fast enough to reply with anything clever. I just thanked her and she walked on. If I would've thought faster, I would've told her that it was a billion times hotter inside the car and much safer for her to be out in the sun for 2 minutes with me while we waited for the car to cool off. But I think by her phrasing, she must've meant that it was much too hot to have a baby out of the house in general. Yeah - it's SOOOOO dangerous to carry a baby around in an air conditioned store for an hour and then spend 2 minutes in the parking lot (I even had her head shaded)and put her into an air conditioned car. I'm a neglectful mother.

Okay. Sorry. Got derailed from my original story. Anyway, after we got the car seat installed, we went to the local LLL meeting. I always look forward to that every month. It's nice to hang out with some like-minded mommas. I weighed Scout at the meeting and she weighed 16 lbs 2.5 oz! What a chunk!

That reminds me, I made an appointment for Scout to see a pediatrician for a check-up on September 17th. We haven't taken her to any well baby visits since her 1 week appointment. I know, I know...don't throw tomatoes at my head. I just really didn't care for the place we took her for her 1 week appointment and I've put off finding another pediatrician. Part of my laziness in finding another one stems from the fact that I'm dreading the confrontation about vaccinations. I've heard stories from some of my other friends who don't vaccinate their children (or vaccinate on a delayed schedule) about docs who tell you that you are a bad parent and are stupid for questioning the safety of vaccines. Supposedly, this other doctor we are going to try is open to discussing it in a friendly manner and doesn't think a parent deserves to be turned in to CPS for refusing/delaying vaccinations for their children.

**ETA**
Ha ha .... I just read what I wrote in the last paragraph and the way it is worded makes it sound as if the first pediatrician she saw wanted to turn us in to CPS or something. LOL No, not at all. We didn't even get into a discussion about vaccinations with him. Just from what I've *heard* about the physicians at that particular clinic, they are not very open to discussing more natural ways of preventing and curing diseases. Plus, the staff just wasn't very friendly AT ALL. Just wanted to clear that up. I was just being dramatic.

Labels: baby gear, babywearing, general complaining, health, safety, tough parenting decisions

It's my birthday today. I'm 27. Woot! DH got me a cake and we went ahead and ate it last night instead of waiting 'til today. Organic carrot cake from our local health food store.....it's so yummy. He also picked up some blackberry icecream and some vanilla goat milk icecream to try. It was really good. I had cake for breakfast this morning. But we are out of milk. So sad.

Scout is big enoug to ride upright in the Ergo carrier now. I think she digs it. She likes facing forward in the sling, but I think she gets tired of having her legs folded up inside when I carry her that way. With the Ergo, they dangle down and she can stretch them out...but she can't face forward. (well she kinda can if she rides on my back....which I haven't tried yet)




Hee hee hee...like how I scrambled my name? (most of you know it anyway:)

My sis sent me this birthday "card". Cracks me up!

Labels: babywearing, birthdays

Whew. Just mowed our huge yard w/ a pushmower. I would love to just get pizza instead of making dinner because I am worn out. I know I must be ready to have a baby because every mundane everyday task, every t.v. show, everything in my house brings the fact that we'll (hopefully) be parents within a year to my mind.

While I was mowing, I thought about how I would go about doing it when I have a small infant. I imagined myself with a little baby riding on my back in a sling or carrier of sorts while I do the yardwork, cook dinner on the grill, and take a walk to the post office.



I have a pattern to make a sling like this one:



Seems like it would be very handy indeed.
Something like this would be very useful, but it's a little pricey at 90-something dollars or so:


The Ergo Baby Carrier

Everything I do on a daily basis will change forever, and I'm ready for that.

I just started babysitting a 1 year old little boy last week. He is challenging yet so precious and loving. The challenging part is that he constantly wants to be held and he is HEAVY. I probably need to go ahead and make that sling so I can tote him around the house with me. He screamed incessantly this afternoon....even when I would hold him. His momma still breastfeeds him, so I know that's what he was wanting. Sorry, bud...can't help you out there. Poor little guy. I know he was just exhausted.

I'm under the impression that his momma hold him all the time and doesn't let him cry. Which, I'm not saying there is or isn't anything wrong with that, but without momma's boob to comfort him he can be pretty hard to deal with.

I have mixed feelings about letting a child "cry it out"....meaning, to let the child cry him/herself to sleep in a room by themselves rather than picking them up and rocking and comforting them. Many childcare experts from the 50's until the present have been proponents of this philosophy. But there are others, called "Attachment Parents" that believe it is never okay to let a baby "cry it out". These parents adopt the use of a sling or carrier and constantly hold their infants. I'm very confused about which would be better, but I suppose it would just depend on the child.

Today I let the little guy cry in his playpen for a little while because he was impossible to soothe. I tried everything and I knew that he just needed a nap. I felt so horrible after hearing him scream and cry for about 5-10 minutes, I broke down and held him. It felt strange and wrong to let him scream.

Labels: babysitting, babywearing, controversial topics