Thursday, July 24, 2008

A Moment of Praise

As a mother of two young'ns I spend a lot of time in prayer asking our Heavenly Father or the Blessed Mother for help, BUT today I am here to offer a praise!

This morning, as I lugged a heavy six month old in an infant seat out to the car, my 3.75-yr-old greeted me with a huge smile from the back seat of the Subaru. She had fully strapped herself into her 5-point car seat harness. All you mothers out there know what a life-changer this is! Can I get an Amen?

12 comments:

Juris Mater said...

Amen.

Why are both of my kids so much more interested in learning how to release the 5 point harness than they are in learning how to buckle it?

AWOL, did you teach her and practice it or did she figure it out?

Right Said Red said...

Amen.

We had already moved Gianna to a booster seat when she learned this skill. Congrats! It makes life much easier.

texas mommy said...

So excited for you, AWOL! I love hearing about all these little tiny things that help mom out when kids get a bit older.

B-Mama said...

Okay, so should I start encouraging this skill? How do the kids do it when the belt is tight? I feel like I'm always struggling to get it latched because of it being so snug--and yet I want to keep it that way for their safety.

Anonymous said...

Such a simple thing - but oh what a difference for moms! Just wait until you child is in a booster seat -- and can open and close the door and do it all him/herself!

It's hard to imagine now, but that day will come, I promise!

I can tell you that once they can also pour their own milk or juice safely and clear their places brings praise as well!

Kat said...

I will second Elizabeth's praise of the booster seat - C can pull and buckle the seatbelt on his own (when he feels like it!), and it's much easier to install and move from one car to another!

Here's a question for the builders: How do I get my picture to show up next to my comments?

Texas Mommy and B-Mama, are your babies showing any signs of exiting the womb anytime soon?

Kat said...

Never mind, I think I figured it out...Here goes! :)

Anonymous said...

Not to rain on the booster seat parade, but have you other mothers seen this video? It convinced me to hold off on the booster seat for as long as possible:

http://youtube.com/watch?v=azgBhZfcqaQ&feature=related

AWOL Mommy said...

Holy Cow, Anon., thank you for linking to that.

Serious food for thought. God bless that family for channeling their grief in such a constructive way.

H. Lillian said...

Wow, another thanks for the link about booster seats. I'm so glad we registered for and received the Radian80 car seat. (http://www.toysrus.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2602046) I thought it was nuts that our state REQUIRES a car seat or booster until the child is 8 years old AND 80 lbs (my husband's skinny cousin was in one until about age 11!), because we all rode in the car without any special seats at all by age 3 or 4, right? But I dutifully planned ahead by getting a car seat that will work up to 80 lbs. So glad I did!

(Note we're not actually using it yet with our infant, so I can't tell you how I like it. But as soon as she grows out of the infant rear-facing seat we'll use the Radian80.)

Kat said...

Boy, that sure is scary...C does keep his seat-belt over his shoulder and chest the correct way, but I'm sure that one of these days he'll figure it out and put it under his armpit like lots of kids do. I'm wondering if we should invest in the 5-point harness booster...

Anonymous said...

Congrats on the accomplishment, just be sure you are checking that it is buckle properly and snug enough, each time!

I love our Radian 80's--yes, we have 2 because fitting 6 kids in booster and car seats into a suburban is a challenge. The Radians are narrow enough that I can get two of them plus a booster in one row. We have one rear facing for the baby (used it the whole time--I personally don't like infant seats) and one forward facing for our 3 year old. They are very comfy for the kids and very sturdy! I can't recommend them enough.