PSA

I have a PSA I would like to announce to hopefully save a few babies lives.

IT IS NOT SAFE TO PUT A CAR SEAT ON TOP OF A SHOPPING CART

I myself have tried this once in the Target parking lot with my mom when Caleb was 7 days old. I felt like the carseat was going to slip off if I turned a corner too fast. I ended up putting the carseat inside the grocery cart and piled my Target goods on top of Caleb's lap. Also not super safe. That was the day I vowed never to take my car seat into a grocery store because of how much of a hassle it was. Now, I wear him into every grocery store or if he is sleeping I will occasionally use my stroller and place my items inside a reusable bag. However, every time I go grocery shopping I see multiple car seats on top of shopping carts. I didn't realize the grave danger that this poses until a few moms posted about the topic in a Facebook group I follow. I started researching this issue more and would love to share how you can be a part of saving babies lives!

Why it is Unsafe to Place A Child in an Car Seat on Top of a Shopping Cart
-Car seat manuals have *WARNING* signs telling parents to never put their cart on top of a shopping cart

-Carts themselves have a warning on them telling parents it is unsafe to put a car seat on top of the cart.

-The carseat may slip off the cart

-Falls can be fatal. A 3 month old died in 2011 from falling off the cart in a parking lot.

-Clipping a car seat onto a cart using a click system can cause the seat to malfunction in a crash and doing this will void the warranty of a car seat.

-The child safety restraints found on a shopping cart are intended to restrain a child who is sitting in the shopping cart, not an infant car seat. 

A picture I took at my local Sprouts. Notice the far right image warning telling parents NOT to place their car seat on the shopping cart

Inside a car seat manual you will find this warning

Think about it:
-Shopping carts bump often in crowded areas. 

-You typically need both hands to push a cart and grab food items, reducing your reaction time to catch a falling cart or car seat


-If a parent turns away for a few seconds to look at an item their eyes are not on their child

-You have 20+ lbs an entire 4 feet off the ground on a slippery surface on wheels. Think back to Physics class for just a moment if this sounds like a stable situation...

-Babies make unpredictable movements and may cause the center of gravity of their carseat to change quickly

-Nothing you’re going to buy at Costco, Target, Trader Joe's or Sprouts is worth risking your child falling off the cart face first.

Does this look safe to you?

Solutions for moms:
 -Wear your baby in an infant carrier that has proper hip positioning. The only outward facing compatible ones I have found are the Ergo 360 and the ones mentioned in this blog post.

-If possible, leave your baby at home with another adult while you go shopping

-Bring another adult to the store with you to watch your children in the car

-Use a stroller that is compatible with your car seat and carry a hand basket or reusable bag to place your items inside. Do NOT place items on top of your baby or on top of their stroller

-Carry your baby in your arms inside the store and ask one of the store associates to help you shop. Inform them that your need them to push a cart or hold your hand basket while you grab your items.

-Use Amazon.com as much as possible!

Auntie hope modeling the best way to get around town

Save a Life: 
-Do NOT place your own child in a shopping cart while they are in their infant carrier

-Forward this blog post to any parent you know who might not be aware of this information

-If you see a parent with their child in the car seat on top of a cart, kindly inform them that it is not a safe way to shop with their infant. A good way to say this would be "You probably have no idea about this, but it is really unsafe to place your child in their car seat on top of the shopping cart. I know you care about the safety of your baby, so let me show you the warning sign on the cart" Flip up your cart to the warning sign and show them. You have no control if they listen to you or not. How would you feel if you witnessed a shopping cart accident and didn't speak up?

-Ask to speak with the store manager of stores you frequent and tell them about how unsafe it is for their customers to place car seats on top of the cart while they shop. Put in a request for the store to have infant compatible shopping carts available to customers. Also put in a request for employees to inform parents about the risks when they see parents who are not complying with their shopping cart warnings.

Further information: 
Video of a lucky baby who someone caught falling
News Report: Shopping Cart Injuries are on the Rise
A recent report states that 66 children are treated daily for shopping cart related injuries 
Video of a Wal-Mart cart and a falling car seat test

How to Fly with a Baby

Over Mother's Day I flew with Caleb to visit my parents! My dad flew with me from San Diego to Oakland and I flew solo with Caleb from Oakland to San Diego. I have a few tips for other moms and dads who desire to fly with their babies! I read a few blog posts, talked to a few friends, and looked up tips from various airlines prior to flying so I could be prepared. Overall it went great and there was an 80% occupancy for both flights so Caleb and I got our own row. Amazing but not typical!

Caleb ready for take off!

Tips: 
Determine what you will check and what you will carry on
I didn't check a single item for our four day/three night journey on our way from Oakland to San Diego. WHAT?? Yes. It is possible with a baby. I had a carry on suitcase with all of our clothing, wipes, and a few diapers. I carried Caleb's diaper bag/backpack as my personal item, wore him in the Ergo, and had an extra hand to either hold his car seat or I put it on my suitcase. I didn't want to risk losing our bag with all of his clothing, I didn't want to bring our stroller, and we don't own a pack-n-play. Simple was how I wanted to do it. On the way home I checked our bag. Consider gate checking your car seat because I have read a few controversies about checked car seats becoming damaged and unsafe because of the way they are handled through the baggage checking process.

I can carry everything independently!

With my car seat on my carry on I have a free hand

Investigate you Airline's Lap Child Policy

We flew Southwest and they have free seating. A lap child needs a ticket that you obtain at the service counter near the gate. I didn't realize this and tried to board with him and no ticket! I also asked the ticket counter how full the flight was. They told me I didn't need to gate check his car seat and I could bring it on the flight! I would recommend asking your airlines service counter how full the flight is and if there is any way you could be reseated next to an empty seat.

Barely enough room to do a lap diaper change. His head was touching the seat in front of us

Make sure you have all important documents
Be prepared with a copy of your child's birth certificate. I had it but they never wanted to see it. However, I am not sure if other airlines are more strict about this. Make sure your license and boarding pass are accessible in either your pants pocket, diaper bag, or pocket in your baby carrier.

Think about how you will walk in the airport
Before you decide to carry on everything like I did, visualize what it will look like for you to carry on all the items you are planning on bringing. Can you put it through the metal detectors easily? Can you carry these items for up to 30 minutes? Do you have way too much stuff for the amount of hands you have? Can you go pee when you have to or do you look like a camel ready for a cross-Sahara adventure? Do you have help when you are traveling? Talk these things through with your travel partner beforehand to minimize stress during your travel day or think about them if you are traveling solo. If you are frazzled in the airport your baby will feel it and be stressed out before you even step on the plane!

A car seat that is gate checked can be slug over a carry-on rolling suitcase!

Consider eliminating bulky baby items
Do you really need the sound machine, the breast pump, the pack-n-play, a stroller, a car seat and its base, 40 diapers, three different baby carriers, and the play mat? Consider minimizing! This will make travel a lot easier. One thing you will need is a car seat, unless your car rental company has car seats you feel comfortable using. There are also car seat rental places all over the nation if yours for some reason gets lost. I had my mom purchase diapers ahead of time for us so I didn't have to pack them and I did not bring Caleb's car seat base. Did you know most car seats can be buckled into a car safely without the base? Educate yourself prior to travel about your particular seat and how to install it without the base. Here is an installation video of mine I watched. I decided to use a white noise app on my phone on airplane mode to replace Caleb's bulky white noise machine. I didn't bring a breast pump and I did have to hand express a few times. I decided not to bring a stroller because my family would help me wear him when we went on outings. If you simplify you will have less things to worry about!

Family Security and Family boarding 
In most instances you can wear your child through security, push the stroller, and get VIP treatment by going through family security. It might be in the first class section of your airlines or in the business select line. If you are wearing your child threw security they will take a hand swab after you go through the metal detector. Family boarding is different for every airlines but it is so nice to know ahead of time where to go!

Think about feeding
Does your infant eat wherever? Awesome! Is your 4 month old a distracted eater like mine? Are you comfortable doing a little NIP (nursing in public)? Do you know how to nurse in your carrier? If you are seated next to a linebacker can you still nurse in your seat? If you want a frame of reference to start practicing, try nursing in a beach chair, a lawn chair, or a desk chair and see how much room you have to maneuver your baby. It might be easier for some moms to bottle feed on a plane or to practice a new nursing position prior to the travel date. Caleb kicks when he eats and if I wasn't in my own row I don't think I would have been prepared for how cramped plane nursing feels with 17lbs of baby.

Make a friend
People love babies. Make friends around your seat who can help you hold your child if you need to pee. People will stare at your baby and ask you questions so be prepared to be friendly! Let your kid interact with them because it will keep them occupied and kill time.

Be aware of popping ears
Some babies are really sensitive to pressure changes. Sucking on something will help relieve pressure. Nursing, using a pacifier, or having your child chomp or suck on your finger will help them during takeoff and landing.

Be prepared 
What if you have three blowouts? What if the plane is delayed 5 hours? What if you miss a connecting flight? What if your child loses their favorite toy on the plane? Be prepared! Bring an empty water bottle through security and drink up! Make sure to pack an extra change of clothes for yourself and your child for those emergencies.

Relax
Enjoy your flight and talk your baby through everything! If you are calm, cool, and collected then you will be able to handle anything your baby might do or what might happen. Traveling with a child can be difficult, or it can be awesome!

4 generations

Caleb and Ruby at the beach

Auntie Hope carrying Caleb in Carmel

First time meeting Uncle David

Play time

You feed your kid Whaaaat?

I have been doing a lot of thinking about what food I want to feed my kid. Thankfully its easy right now. He gets either right boob or left boob. I plan on continuing to breastfeed for as long as possible, especially after we introduce solid foods. And by solids I mean real, true, solid food. We are skipping the baby food and rice cereal and going straight to human food. WHaaaaat? Why? Well let me tell you...

1.  Rice cereal sucks

I am a little worried about my own response to rice. White rice makes my heart race. Seriously my insulin response is so quick and so severe that I cannot eat white rice by itself or more than a few tablespoons with a meal. I sure as heck am not going to give my dear son something that makes me feel like I am quickly developing type 2 diabetes with each spoonful. Just saying. I will not give my child a high-carb,  refined white starch that I tell people who are trying to get healthy to stay away from.  As an advocate for health and wellness I cannot get behind feeding my baby boxed rice that has been so stripped from its nutrients that it has to be fortified. For more info about why I am choosing not to introduce rice cereal read an ABC article here and another bloggers perspective here.

2.  Food before One is Just for Fun

Yes, I am excited to give Caleb his first taste of watermelon and peaches. However I can wait until he is 6 months or older.  It is recommended that parents continue to breastfeed or formula feed while solids are introduced. This is a baby's main source of nutrition, not the solid food parents are giving them. A baby's gut is not fully formed until they are around 6 months old. The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends waiting to start solid food until after the 6 month mark (or later) to prevent damaging the digestive tract. I want to make sure I am taking care of Caleb's little gut the way I take care of my own. I want him to be able to explore food at his own pace and enjoy the new foods he is being exposed to!

3.  Would you eat canned meatloaf and spinach? 

Have you ever played that baby food taste-test guessing game at a baby shower? It is one of the grossest things I have ever experienced! I wouldn't eat that stuff and I don't expect Caleb to desire it either! I will say that I absolutely love the fruit baby foods and used to take jars of bananas and peaches camping with me when I was younger. Obviously I ate them because fruit has a lot of sugar. The meatloaf I will pass on for now, thanks. Now a tasty strawberry, a piece of pulled pork, or a yummy carrot? I would reach for that.

4.  It's what all the cool kids are doing

All the cool kids are doing Baby Led-Weaning (AKA Baby-led FEEDING) instead of baby food these days. The natural, organic, crunchy moms are all aver BLW (the abbreviation I hear is much more cool). I  heard about it from a few friends of mine and I was hooked about learning more! I am so excited to hopefully help normalize giving a child real food from the start of solids. You can check out my friend Renae's blog post on the topic.

5. Its way easier on the Mom 

I barely have time to feed myself, and you want me to shovel a mash of yuck in my child's face for 30 minutes, bathe him because there is goop everywhere, and clean off a high chair, floor, and wall? Nope. I would much rather cut off a slice of the apple I am eating and hand it to Caleb for him to inspect, touch, lick, and eventually much on. I am all about simplicity and making things easy on myself.