Tuesday, September 7, 2010

Rylan's First Day of Pre-School!

She woke up in the morning feeling like P-Diddy.
Ate her breakfast at the counter, Carla did her hair all pretty.
Brushed her teeth in the bathroom with her kidde toothpaste.
This way when she left out the door her breath didn't smell like waste.

Talkin' funky dunky polish on her toes, toes.
Night before laid out her clothes, clothes.
Boys better not be using phones, phones... yet.
Radio playing all our favourite songs.
Pullin' up to the pre-school,
Mom got a little bit weepy.

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Today, Tuesday September 7th, 2010, was a big day in the McFarlane/Blay household.
Our baby girl started pre-school.

She did amazingly well. We got there a little early and had to wait for her designated drop off time of 9:05am. She looked so cute with her little french braid pig tails and mini backpack.
Obviously I brought my camera!

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When 9:05 finally arrived Rylan rang the door bell and away we went!
All of us (Tony, Tatum, Rylan and I) walked down the steps to the entrance of the school.
Mrs. C was there to greet us, so we all gave Rylan a big kiss and off she went to find her very own hook and to meet her classmates.

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Tony headed to work, and Tatum and I headed out with no agenda. As we pulled away, I felt some chest tightness and my eyes well up. It felt like a dream. There is no way my little Christmas baby was old enough to start pre-school!

Tatum and I stopped a Chapter's. I love Chapter's. I had a Chai tea from Starbucks to try to sooth myself and Tatum and I hung out in the newly renovated children's area for a while. It felt really weird to have only one kid with me. I forgot how easy it was!!

11:15 came quickly. (We were told to pick them up early on the first day as not to give them a sense of abandonment.) Tony met us at the school to pick her up too and we all went out for lunch to celebrate.
Rylan had a great first day. She met her friends and her teacher. She played in the sand and coloured with markers with Julianna. Wonder what tomorrow will bring?

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Thursday, September 2, 2010

To extend rear facing... or not?

It's official... Tatum is 1! Since she has turned one, she can now face forward in her car seat in the car. Facing forward is SO convenient. It takes up way less space in the car, she can ride in the direction we're going for the first time ever, and she can peek over at her sister, who is also facing forward.

Lately I've been on a big car seat safety kick. I have done so much research and time after time I've read that 80-90% of children aren't restrained in the car properly. Is it really possible that only 10% of kids 80lbs and under are in their seats properly? What's the point of using a car seat if that many of us aren't installing them correctly?

We just bought 2 more Safety 1st Alpha Omega 3-in-1 car seats this week. PS: They're on sale at Walmart for $127! Anyway, it had been a while since I had last taken a brand new car seat out of the box to install. We used to move the 2 seats we did have from car to car, but I figured with that much seat moving, we're just asking for trouble. I thought it would increase our chances of installing them incorrectly. I pulled out the directions to the new seats, removed all of the plastic rapping and began the install. I read the entire booklet, and the sections that pertained to me, multiple times. I'm still not sure if I understand 100%. This is my 2nd year and 8th month using a car seat, I read the directions thoroughly, I'm extremely concerned about the safety of my children, and I'm still not sure if they're in right! Now I get why the majority of us can't get a seat/child in right.

I have signed up to take a car seat technician course. It's absolutely ridiculous that this many people aren't getting their seats in properly... I don't blame them, the instructions might as well be in another language! I figure that if we can get this stat reduced drastically then perhaps I won't ever come across a kid injured in an accident because his/her seat wasn't in right.

Today was Tatum's 1 year check up and I asked her pediatrician about extended rear facing. He told me that he believes that if a child's seat is in properly, forward or backwards, it won't make a difference. The key being that the seat is in as it should be. He said that if there's an accident bad enough to injure a child, that child will be injured whether they're facing forward or backward.

Now, I'm not sure if I agree with him completely. I have read so much information on extended rear facing and I was a determined to keep Tatum rear facing until she was 2.
In Sweden, they recommend keeping their children rear facing until age 4 or 5. From 1992 through June of 1997, only 9 properly restrained rear-facing children died in Sweden. The car seats approved for Canada won't accommodate a rear facing 4 or 5 year old, but will accommodate a child who is less than 30 or 35 lbs depending on the manufacturer.

Rear facing is said to be safer than forward facing in front or side impact collisions. 96% of accidents in the USA are either front or side impact. Seems like an easy decision.
When it comes to the installation of a 3-in-1 seat as a rear facing seat, the seat doesn't seem as secure in the car as it does forward facing. The tether at the back of the seat makes a big difference when it's forward facing. I feel completely torn!

I think I have over thought this whole thing a bit too much... what are your thoughts?