http://www.cpsafety.com/ I like this site because it has good basic info, and photo galleries that show correct use, it also has a active forum so you can get your questions answered.
http://www.car-seat.org/ another great active forum
http://www.carseatsite.com/ this page has good info and alot of good links
http://www.safekids.org/in-your-area/car-seat-check-up-events/ find a child passenger safety tech. in your area to check your seats.
there are also a lot or youtube videos on correct car set installation and use and also some with cute pics and awesome facts two of my favorites are
Saturday, July 17, 2010
Friday, July 16, 2010
Couldn't have said it better myself: birth and LDS faith
Heather is a doula and wile I was randomly looking at "birthy blogs" and doula websites I stumbled upon her doula service web page, I noticed she was originally from Idaho falls, so I looked to see if she had any other blogs and she had an awesome woman in the scriptures blog where i found this post and alot of other AWSOME posts but this one and one on fertility were my faves. three things in common From IF, LDS, and LOVE OF BIRTH!
Women in the Scriptures: The Importance of Birth
http://womeninthescriptures.blogspot.com/2008/12/importance-of-birth.html
"This is Eve's gift to us... "
Women in the Scriptures: The Importance of Birth
http://womeninthescriptures.blogspot.com/2008/12/importance-of-birth.html
"This is Eve's gift to us... "
Thursday, July 15, 2010
About me and my passions
I am making this one of my pages and it will be something that I add to and maybe take away from in the future
I'm Katie, I am a Christian,
a wife,
an auntie,
And a wanna be mommy,
doula,
and Child passenger safety tech
(I am on my way)
there are a lot of things I am passionate about and I am working hard to "walk my talk" and be more authentic. You will find that that most of these things are centered around family, babies, mothers, and birth. If you don't agree with what I believe then I hope we can agree to disagree and still be friends. the world would be a boring place if everyone was the same.
This is an ever changing list of things I am really passionate about and as I write blog posts about them I will add links I am not a writer and a lot of the time my thoughts are jumbled and random so bare with me :)
I Am for (in no specific order)
Car seat safety is my big one. I think it's absolutely inexcusable when a parent can't use a carseat properly or refuses to take the time to learn how to use it properly. It's the ONE thing a parent can do to ensure their kid's safety. I just can't understand why it's not a big deal to everyone... Don't get me started on it, I could go on for HOURS.
true informed choice/consent/refusal
baby-wearing
breastfeeding
expectant management of birth
midwifes
cloth diapers
basic human and animal rights
attachment parenting
Birth choice
Cruelty free living ...
I Am against (also in no specific order)
routine infant circumcision (both male and female)
crazy food additives
spanking
abortion in most cases
child abuse (but I think that falls under pro human rights)
racism
ageism
sexism
ok pretty much all the isms
abuse of power and brutality ...
what are you passionate about are any of my "fors" your "againsts" or vice verse?
I'm Katie, I am a Christian,
a wife,
an auntie,
And a wanna be mommy,
doula,
and Child passenger safety tech
(I am on my way)
there are a lot of things I am passionate about and I am working hard to "walk my talk" and be more authentic. You will find that that most of these things are centered around family, babies, mothers, and birth. If you don't agree with what I believe then I hope we can agree to disagree and still be friends. the world would be a boring place if everyone was the same.
This is an ever changing list of things I am really passionate about and as I write blog posts about them I will add links I am not a writer and a lot of the time my thoughts are jumbled and random so bare with me :)
I Am for (in no specific order)
Car seat safety is my big one. I think it's absolutely inexcusable when a parent can't use a carseat properly or refuses to take the time to learn how to use it properly. It's the ONE thing a parent can do to ensure their kid's safety. I just can't understand why it's not a big deal to everyone... Don't get me started on it, I could go on for HOURS.
true informed choice/consent/refusal
baby-wearing
breastfeeding
expectant management of birth
midwifes
cloth diapers
basic human and animal rights
attachment parenting
Birth choice
Cruelty free living ...
I Am against (also in no specific order)
routine infant circumcision (both male and female)
crazy food additives
spanking
abortion in most cases
child abuse (but I think that falls under pro human rights)
racism
ageism
sexism
ok pretty much all the isms
abuse of power and brutality ...
what are you passionate about are any of my "fors" your "againsts" or vice verse?
Monday, July 5, 2010
amber and babylegs from INSPIREDBYFINN.COM
This promotion is only for:
THE PURCHASE OF YOUTH AMBER NECKLACES size 11” TO 16”, THE BALTIC AMBER NECKLACE ALTERNATIVE, LEG WARMERS or TIGHTS. All other items (including hazelwood jewelry and adult amber are not eligible).
BEFORE YOU ARE ABLE TO USE THE DISCOUNT CODE we need your help advertising this sale! We need you to post about this sale somewhere online and post a link back to this page. You can post your link on any online board(s) where you are active. Once you have posted link(s) to help us advertise our sale, post to this thread with links to the posts you’ve created. The more places you post, the greater discount you earn!
Here is the discount code to use once you’ve done this. If you create:
ONE link online to advertise our sale, the code for you to save 20% is: onelink
TWO links online to advertise our sale, the code for you to save 30% is: 2links
THREE links online to advertise our sale, the code for you to save 40% is: 3links
This code can be entered during the checkout process.
This offer is good through July 7. Our round-bead styles are our best-stocked items.
Be our guest to share this post with friends and family who might like participate.
Our youth jewelry is at @http://hyenacart.com/inspi
Legwarmers @ http://hyenacart.com/inspi
Tights @http://hyenacart.com/inspi
Footless Tights @http://hyenacart.com/inspi
Thanks!
THE PURCHASE OF YOUTH AMBER NECKLACES size 11” TO 16”, THE BALTIC AMBER NECKLACE ALTERNATIVE, LEG WARMERS or TIGHTS. All other items (including hazelwood jewelry and adult amber are not eligible).
BEFORE YOU ARE ABLE TO USE THE DISCOUNT CODE we need your help advertising this sale! We need you to post about this sale somewhere online and post a link back to this page. You can post your link on any online board(s) where you are active. Once you have posted link(s) to help us advertise our sale, post to this thread with links to the posts you’ve created. The more places you post, the greater discount you earn!
Here is the discount code to use once you’ve done this. If you create:
ONE link online to advertise our sale, the code for you to save 20% is: onelink
TWO links online to advertise our sale, the code for you to save 30% is: 2links
THREE links online to advertise our sale, the code for you to save 40% is: 3links
This code can be entered during the checkout process.
This offer is good through July 7. Our round-bead styles are our best-stocked items.
Be our guest to share this post with friends and family who might like participate.
Our youth jewelry is at @http://hyenacart.com/inspi
Legwarmers @ http://hyenacart.com/inspi
Tights @http://hyenacart.com/inspi
Footless Tights @http://hyenacart.com/inspi
Thanks!
Wednesday, April 7, 2010
MOM SUIT
I have been thinking about this post for a wile... wondering whether I should post it, much less write it. I don't know if it will make seance to anyone but since its my blog i guess it doesn't really matter. This post helped my bring some of my feelings to words in this post she said
"I feel like wearing this mother suit is getting less uncomfortable and foreign everyday. It slowly but surely doesn’t feel like I’m trying to wear pants as a shirt anymore."
OK now to try to explain how I feel... I guess I feel like I am already wearing a "mom suit" I feel like a mother that doesn't have children yet. not like a mother who has lost a child or had a miscarriage, because I haven't, and I don't ever want to experience that kind of pain.
I feel like all I was ever meant to be is a mom, But to be a mom you have to have a child first. I feel like i am whereing the "mom suit" to the wrong party or something like that
like a person who always wants to were a Halloween costume but there are in church.(weird comparison I know, but thats the best I could think of)
I feel Like someone who is window shopping. I see the beautiful "suit" and I can look at it, imagine myself in it, I can even try it on from time to time (with the help of nieces and nephews and other children) but I always have to take it off and give the "mom suit" back to its owner. I can wait until I can start to sew my own mom suit.
"I feel like wearing this mother suit is getting less uncomfortable and foreign everyday. It slowly but surely doesn’t feel like I’m trying to wear pants as a shirt anymore."
OK now to try to explain how I feel... I guess I feel like I am already wearing a "mom suit" I feel like a mother that doesn't have children yet. not like a mother who has lost a child or had a miscarriage, because I haven't, and I don't ever want to experience that kind of pain.
I feel like all I was ever meant to be is a mom, But to be a mom you have to have a child first. I feel like i am whereing the "mom suit" to the wrong party or something like that
like a person who always wants to were a Halloween costume but there are in church.(weird comparison I know, but thats the best I could think of)
I feel Like someone who is window shopping. I see the beautiful "suit" and I can look at it, imagine myself in it, I can even try it on from time to time (with the help of nieces and nephews and other children) but I always have to take it off and give the "mom suit" back to its owner. I can wait until I can start to sew my own mom suit.
Tuesday, April 21, 2009
car seat safety
this is what one of my favorite bloggers (also a Child Passenger Safety Technician ) El from http://www.profoundlyseth.com/2009/04/finally.html .
Wednesday, April 1, 2009
FINALLY!
UPDATE: I forgot to include this link. If you want to get your carseat inspected, go here and fill in your city, state, etc. A list of certified technicians will pop up. Another option would be to call your local fire station or police station and ask if they have a Child Passenger Safety Technician on staff.
It seems a carseat blog is in order. Or, you know, another one.
First off, I am so excited! The American Academy of Pediatrics just revised their stance on rear facing! This has been a long time coming and I am so thrilled. The LAW is that infants must rear face until one year of age AND 20 pounds. However, that is just the law, and as many laws do, it falls short and is outdated. It is MUCH safer (we call it Best Practice) to keep your baby rear facing until the age of two AND the limits of their carseat...five times safer, in fact. The AAP has finally put it in writing here.
Now, now. I know what you're going to say. If their feet touch the backseat, won't their legs be broken? What if they're not comfortable? But they want to face forward like a big kid!
None of those things are true, I promise. Number one, there has NEVER been a documented case of a baby or child's legs being broken because they were rear facing. Not one. Even if it was a concern, I would choose a broken leg over a broken neck any day. Two, they're comfortable, no matter how big they are. My older kids are off the charts (above the hundredth percentile) for height and weight, and they both stayed rearfacing until the limits of their seats. Jace until he was two, Ava until she was two and a half. They both had long legs and were perfectly comfortable rear facing. Jace usually sat criss cross applesauce. Third, they don't want to be forward facing. They don't know what forward facing is. I find a lot of times as parents, we project our feelings on to our kids...we want to see them forward facing like a big kids. We wouldn't be comfortable facing backwards all scrunched up, so they must not be either. It's important to remember that kids are not little adults and that they don't act like adults.
So...point one. Keep your baby rear facing. It's worth all the hassle, I promise. After they outgrow their infant seat, they should go into a rear facing convertible seat until they reach at least 2 years of age. They are so much safer it's not even funny. Here is a comparison of crash forces rear facing versus forward facing...it's definitely worth taking a look.
Now let's move on. After you child turns forward facing, they should stay in a five point harness until a minimum of four years of age AND 40 pounds. Again, that's a minimum. My children, at 3.5 and 4.5 are still in 5 point harnesses (in a Britax Frontier and Graco Nautilus, for trivia fans), and they'll stay in them until about age 6, when I think kids begin to be more capable of self control in the car.
The thing about booster seats is that they simply boost the child up to make the seatbelt fit them correctly. I like to say that putting a kid in a booster is like putting them in charge of their own safety in the car, whereas in a 5 point harness, you are still responsible for them. If they unbuckle, wiggle, lean, or fidget, they're probably not ready for a booster, or at the very least, they need booster training.
So how to do you keep your child harnessed until they're around 6? With a seat that is extended harnessing friendly. You want to get a seat that has a high weight limit (50-80 lbs...don't waste money on a 40 lb seat unless you have someone to pass it down to), and tall top slots.
The bottom line is, who want's to parent by the minimums? If you were told that you could either do the bare minimum and your child would get by in school, or you could follow best practice and help them excel, what would you choose? I know I want to be a Best Practice Parent. in every area.
The great thing is that every day, more and more cost effective car seat choices are coming out! Brands are not the most important part, but longevity and ease of use is. I try very hard to counsel my parents on how to spend their money wisely and buy the right seats that will get them through their child(rens) carseat years. In many cases, when there are multiple children involved, we try and make sure that a current purchase will be a suitable hand me down seat later.
As a disclaimer, seats are only safe to hand down if you know their history, they are not expired, and if you have all the pieces and the manual. Most seats expire after six years from the date of manufacture, not purchase, although there are some that are good for less or more time. There will be a date on a sticker or stamped into your seat that will tell you either when your seat was manufactured or when it expires.
That being said, I do have some favorites. For an infant seat (seats that are rear facing only), the Chicco Keyfit and the Graco Snugride 32 are great choices, although Seth rides in an Orbit Infant Seat because I fell in love with it and got it as a shower gift.
Convertible seats (seats that convert from rear facing to forward facing) I enjoy are the Britax Boulevard or Marathon , the First Years True Fit, and my very favorite, the Sunshine Kids Radian . The Radian does an amazing job fitting kids all the way from their first trip home from the hospital until they're ready for a booster.
Combo seats (Seats that forward face then turn into a booster) I like are the Graco Nautilus and the Britax Frontier .
My favorite dedicated boosters are the Sunshine Kids Monterey , the now discontinued Britax Parkway, or the Recaro Vivo .
Again, the most important thing is that your seat fits your child (they are under the weight limit and their shoulders are below the top slots forward facing), your car (less than an inch of movement side to side when installed), and your budget, and that you buckle them properly each and every time. This means no slack in the harness. =)
I hope this was helpful! Please feel free to ask any questions.
It seems a carseat blog is in order. Or, you know, another one.
First off, I am so excited! The American Academy of Pediatrics just revised their stance on rear facing! This has been a long time coming and I am so thrilled. The LAW is that infants must rear face until one year of age AND 20 pounds. However, that is just the law, and as many laws do, it falls short and is outdated. It is MUCH safer (we call it Best Practice) to keep your baby rear facing until the age of two AND the limits of their carseat...five times safer, in fact. The AAP has finally put it in writing here.
Now, now. I know what you're going to say. If their feet touch the backseat, won't their legs be broken? What if they're not comfortable? But they want to face forward like a big kid!
None of those things are true, I promise. Number one, there has NEVER been a documented case of a baby or child's legs being broken because they were rear facing. Not one. Even if it was a concern, I would choose a broken leg over a broken neck any day. Two, they're comfortable, no matter how big they are. My older kids are off the charts (above the hundredth percentile) for height and weight, and they both stayed rearfacing until the limits of their seats. Jace until he was two, Ava until she was two and a half. They both had long legs and were perfectly comfortable rear facing. Jace usually sat criss cross applesauce. Third, they don't want to be forward facing. They don't know what forward facing is. I find a lot of times as parents, we project our feelings on to our kids...we want to see them forward facing like a big kids. We wouldn't be comfortable facing backwards all scrunched up, so they must not be either. It's important to remember that kids are not little adults and that they don't act like adults.
So...point one. Keep your baby rear facing. It's worth all the hassle, I promise. After they outgrow their infant seat, they should go into a rear facing convertible seat until they reach at least 2 years of age. They are so much safer it's not even funny. Here is a comparison of crash forces rear facing versus forward facing...it's definitely worth taking a look.
Now let's move on. After you child turns forward facing, they should stay in a five point harness until a minimum of four years of age AND 40 pounds. Again, that's a minimum. My children, at 3.5 and 4.5 are still in 5 point harnesses (in a Britax Frontier and Graco Nautilus, for trivia fans), and they'll stay in them until about age 6, when I think kids begin to be more capable of self control in the car.
The thing about booster seats is that they simply boost the child up to make the seatbelt fit them correctly. I like to say that putting a kid in a booster is like putting them in charge of their own safety in the car, whereas in a 5 point harness, you are still responsible for them. If they unbuckle, wiggle, lean, or fidget, they're probably not ready for a booster, or at the very least, they need booster training.
So how to do you keep your child harnessed until they're around 6? With a seat that is extended harnessing friendly. You want to get a seat that has a high weight limit (50-80 lbs...don't waste money on a 40 lb seat unless you have someone to pass it down to), and tall top slots.
The bottom line is, who want's to parent by the minimums? If you were told that you could either do the bare minimum and your child would get by in school, or you could follow best practice and help them excel, what would you choose? I know I want to be a Best Practice Parent. in every area.
The great thing is that every day, more and more cost effective car seat choices are coming out! Brands are not the most important part, but longevity and ease of use is. I try very hard to counsel my parents on how to spend their money wisely and buy the right seats that will get them through their child(rens) carseat years. In many cases, when there are multiple children involved, we try and make sure that a current purchase will be a suitable hand me down seat later.
As a disclaimer, seats are only safe to hand down if you know their history, they are not expired, and if you have all the pieces and the manual. Most seats expire after six years from the date of manufacture, not purchase, although there are some that are good for less or more time. There will be a date on a sticker or stamped into your seat that will tell you either when your seat was manufactured or when it expires.
What seats do I like? Well, I'm glad you asked. I love any seat that fits your budget, your car, and your child and is installed and used correctly every single time. =)
That being said, I do have some favorites. For an infant seat (seats that are rear facing only), the Chicco Keyfit and the Graco Snugride 32 are great choices, although Seth rides in an Orbit Infant Seat because I fell in love with it and got it as a shower gift.
Convertible seats (seats that convert from rear facing to forward facing) I enjoy are the Britax Boulevard or Marathon , the First Years True Fit, and my very favorite, the Sunshine Kids Radian . The Radian does an amazing job fitting kids all the way from their first trip home from the hospital until they're ready for a booster.
Combo seats (Seats that forward face then turn into a booster) I like are the Graco Nautilus and the Britax Frontier .
My favorite dedicated boosters are the Sunshine Kids Monterey , the now discontinued Britax Parkway, or the Recaro Vivo .
Again, the most important thing is that your seat fits your child (they are under the weight limit and their shoulders are below the top slots forward facing), your car (less than an inch of movement side to side when installed), and your budget, and that you buckle them properly each and every time. This means no slack in the harness. =)
I hope this was helpful! Please feel free to ask any questions.
Friday, April 17, 2009
How to Hug a Porcupine
"Is it possible to hug a porcupine and not become a pin cushion?" How to Hug a Porcupine: Dealing With Toxic and Difficult to Love Personalities ©
By Dr. John Lewis Lund
I think I'm a porcupine! I often find myself wondering how my husband (and other family members) can love me, much less put up with me, when I'm so cranky and critical all the time. I have no clue why I get like this.
ok
so Maybe do,
I think its because I get scared that i wont be able to handle the next problem that pops up...
that's my best guess..
I definitely have a love hate relationship with the whole grown up thing. Life was easer when all you had to worry about was what to where to school and how you were going to convince your parents to let you out of the house like "that"
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