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!!!!
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