Lesser Of Two Evils

Which is worse: 1) driving in crappy, snowy weather with a 6-month-old on the front seat of a truck with no car seat OR 2) leaving said 6-month-old at home alone in her crib for 10-15 minutes?

"Let me splain"*

Last night was Kayden's Baby Dedication at church. Proof that God has a sense of humor, it had been snowing since the night before (that's right... SNOW on the first day of Spring!)

After the Dedication, the whole family (minus my husband, who was working one job then heading to another) went out to eat. It was still snowing but the roads weren't too bad. After dinner, however, they were horrid...

On our way home, we got stuck. There is a really bad hill on our street that is next to impossible to get up in crappy weather unless you have 4-wheel-drive or chains. And you can't even get a running start at it because there is another hill followed by a curve right before it. So about half way up, my car stopped, then began to slide backwards. I tried to back down the hill but I kept sliding toward the ditch on the side of the road. Only by the GRACE OF GOD did I manage to back it into a driveway at the bottom of the hill.

So there we sat. I called my husband who, also by the Grace of God, happened to be home (because he wasn't supposed to be) and he came to get us. Now, I figured we would hop in the truck and I would just hold Kayden on my lap for the 200-300 yard trip home. The house where my car sat is a summer/weekender so I knew no one was home and I could just walk down and get it the next day when the snow had melted a bit and the roads were cleared.

But my husband insisted we try to get my car out of that driveway and home and he was in a hurry because he STILL HAD TO WORK after he got us home. I told him I wanted to take Kayden home first... I did not want her riding in the truck (with OR without a car seat as the case was) any more than absolutely necessary. So we took her home... he was in such a hurry, he told me to just LEAVE HER IN THE CRIB and we would be back within 15 minutes. He waited in the truck while I ran her inside and I bought time to frantically call a neighbor by changing into snow boots... the neighbor said he was on his way so I got back in the truck where my husband was impatiently waiting and we went back to get my car...

So in reality, she was only alone in the house for about 5 minutes... but I should never have left her at all... the alternatives, to me however, were MUCH worse... I didn't want her riding in the truck AT ALL let alone without a car seat and I sure as hell wasn't gonna let her ride in my car as my impatient husband tried to get it home.

So call DCFS if you must... I did what I felt I had to at the time... but if I am put in that situation again, I will probably tell my husband to kiss off...

*Indigo from The Princess Bride

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I was pleased to learn of Bailey's behavior through all this when I got home...

The neighbor, who knew Bailey, said when he walked in the door, Bailey barked at him like she was gonna kill him, then ran into the nursery. The neighbor just sat down on the couch and waited... Bailey came out a few minutes later and sniffed him and loved on him... then he was able to check on Kayden...

So her first instinct was to protect... anyone who didn't know her would have been scared enough to leave right then... but after she calmed down and realized she recognized the neighbor's smell, she turned back into her old cuddly self and soaked up the attention :-)

Dog Park Adventure

As I mentioned in the previous post, we took our first trip to the dog park... but our adventure did not end at finally fitting into the car.. oh no...

When we got to the park, Bailey was so excited she could barely contain herself... the last time we were there was July or August of last year... Then I went on modified bed rest, had a baby, and had to recover... by the time I was well enough to go, it was too cold for Kayden to go and my husband's schedule did not allow him to either take Bailey or watch Kayden while I went.

Once I got Kayden in the stroller and covered with a blanket, I got Bailey on the leash and we headed to the gate. Now, as a safety measure, you have to go through 2 gates... it keeps dogs from escaping if they try to slip out when someone else is entering or exiting. A great idea for the dogs... not so much for a jogging stroller... but after a bit of maneuvering, we made it in.

Unfortunately, the way the park is set up, it is almost always a wind tunnel. Even on the warmest days with no wind, there is a cool breeze... which is GREAT for the dogs, not so much for mom and a baby... I forgot about this little quirk and although it was a warm day, it was probably 5-10 degrees cooler at the park... a bit too cool for Kayden. Needless to say, we only stayed about 15 minutes.

Although it was a bit cool, Kayden had a blast! She loved watching the dogs play and thought it was the funniest thing in the world when they came to smell her... The owners seemed mortified that their dogs were smelling her, though... I mean, really... I wouldn't have brought Kayden in a stroller if I was worried about that...

When we left, we had an even harder time getting back into the car. I had to put Bailey in first so she wouldn't escape or pull on her leash while I was getting Kayden in the car. Once I got them both in, I had to get the stroller in... but Bailey had taken back over her spot in the backseat... It was a mess trying to get her in the front seat long enough for me to toss the stroller in the backseat...

So went our first trip to the dog park... I have decided that I will probably just wear Kayden in the Moby Wrap next time we go... it will be easier than wrestling with the stroller, which I don't think is technically allowed anyway...

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6 months old today!!! Although she is still not rolling over, she is almost sitting up and, although she HATES tummy time, I have a feeling crawling is not far behind...

And 19lbs... holy crap she's big!!!!

Auto Tetris

We took our first trip to the dog park since Kayden was born. It was a beautiful day and I wanted Bailey and I both to get some exercise.

As I mentioned in the previous post, my car is just a bit too small for us to go anywhere as a family. In order for us to hit the dog park, I had to figure out how to fit Kayden, Bailey, the stroller and myself into the car.

I was driving... Kayden was gonna be in her seat... but where to put Bailey and the stroller????

I tried putting the stroller in my trunk... it just wouldn't go... I tried many approaches from many angles but it just wouldn't fit. I then tried the front seat thinking maybe if I got it in just right it would fit... no-go... so the only place left was the backseat... so there it went...

Now, as sweet as Bailey is, I don't think she would have taken to kindly to being put in the trunk so the only other option was to put her in the front passenger seat... you know, the one that is pushed all the way forward to accommodate Kayden's car seat... the one no one fits in...

Poor Bailey had no idea what was happening. She couldn't lay down (without knocking the car into neutral) or turn around to put her head out the window... her head was up over the dash and almost into the windshield... if we had wrecked, she would have either flown out of the car or been crushed by the airbag...

But we made it... there and back... and in one piece....

Kayden In The Car

My husband wants to get me a bigger car. Part of me is excited but the other part is sad...

The way it is now, if both Kayden and I look over our right shoulders, we can see each other... the passenger seat is pushed as far forward as it goes in order to fit her convertible car seat in at the appropriate angle. I can reach her to see if she's breathing after a particularly bag choking fit (because shoving our fingers down our throat is our latest fun thing to do in the car and Mommy can't tell if it's my hand or something else I am choking on) or hold her hand if she is starting to fuss.

But the way it is now, we can't really go anywhere as an entire family. There is only room for a driver, Kayden in the car seat, and either another person or Bailey in the back seat. On Thanksgiving and Christmas, I had to smoosh myself into the passenger seat and I had to wedge myself between the dash and the seat in order to close the door...

And forget taking the stroller anywhere... my husband can get it into my trunk but I can barely get it out and I haven't figured out how to get it back in... I really want to take Kayden for jogs around the dog park when it gets warmer but it doesn't seem like a possibility...

He found a Jeep for me... I haven't seen it yet... I am both excited and sad...

I'll be keeping my car since I drive so far for work and the Jeep will be for more local errands, weekends, and next winter when the 4 wheel drive will come in handy...

So the next decision is this:

Do I invest in a second convertible car seat?

Do I buy seats according to what she needs at the time, like a forward facing and booster when the time comes?

Or do I move the current convertible from car to Jeep to car even if it means I may be doing it twice a day sometimes?

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I am not sure if I told this story already and I am too lazy to go back and search to see if I did... so humor me:

Kayden took her first joy ride when she was 3 1/2 months old.

We had just got home at the end of the day and I carefully got out of the car because we had almost a solid sheet of ice on the driveway. I got out and closed the door. Then, with my infant still in the backseat, the car started to move.

Now I drove a stick for 11 years... so although I've had my current automatic for almost 5 years, there are still times I'll turn it off, forgetting to put it in park first.... but I always pull the emergency break...

I was confused at first because I knew the emergency break was on and I couldn't figure out why the back tires were rolling...

As I quickly opened the driver's door, I noticed the front tires were NOT rolling... and as I jumped back into the driver's seat, I realized there was nothing I could do but helplessly sit there... the tires were sliding down the driveway, not rolling, so the breaks were worthless.... and we were heading straight toward the tree that sits in the ditch that runs along our driveway...

Only by the grace of God did we slide to a stop at the bottom of the driveway just a few feet from the tree... we hadn't built up enough speed to get us all the way to the ditch....

I haven't parked on that part of the driveway since... I probably won't even this summer....

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At first, Kayden hated the car... she would cry whenever we put her in the car. It was so bad at first that I thought I had pinched her or that something was really hurting her... then I figured out she just hated the car... she would scream and cry until we got to where we were going... rarely did she fall asleep...

I think she was bored. She couldn't really see out the windows or entertain herself yet and it was worse at night when she couldn't see ANYthing.

Then around 12-14 weeks of age, it began to get better. She didn't cry every time anymore and she seemed to be happier longer before she started to fuss.

Now, she likes it... but only if the car is moving and/or the radio is on... she still rarely sleeps but she does sing along to the radio, which, I must say, is about the sweetest thing I've ever heard!!!!

First Word

I woke up to Kayden talking this morning... not unusual...

Then, she said "da da" clear as day... VERY unusual....

Already a daddy's girl.... I guess I'm just the cow...

The Thing About Bailey....

The bad thing about Bailey is that, if I don't catch it in time, she licks Kayden's face when she spits up...

The good thing about Bailey is that when Kayden spits up on the floor, I never have to clean it up.

The bad thing about Bailey is that when she sees or hears anything outside, be it near our house or the neighbors', she whines and paces until I let her out...

The good thing about Bailey is that I always know when there is someONE or someTHING ANYWHERE near the house.

The bad thing about Bailey is that whenever I let her outside, she runs the perimeter of the yard barking maniacally, no matter the time of day or night, whether there is anyone or thing to bark at or not...

The good thing about Bailey is that if anyone was really casing our house, they'd be a fool to actually break in.

The bad thing about Bailey is that she plops down as close to us as possible, even if that means she plops down right on top of Kayden...

The good thing about Bailey is that when she DOES plop down on her, Kayden laughs and immediately grabs Bailey by the face, mouth, eye, and/or ear and Bailey just lets her.

The bad thing about Bailey is that she is always RIGHT THERE and she is so big that I can't step over her or around her and I am at her mercy until she chooses to move out of my way...

The good thing about Bailey is that she is ALWAYS right there... to greet me, to cuddle, to love me, and to show me how important I am even when I don't feel that way.

We are so blessed to have her in our lives....

Just Keep Swimming...

Spring is coming....

Spring is coming....

Just keep swimming....

Just keep swimming....

Offended

"...Anybody offended by breastfeeding is staring too hard." David Allen

Roads

The potholes are now so bad that I am actually looking forward to orange barrel season....

I wonder, can you bill the city for repairs for damages caused by potholes?