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04/20/2007 - Safety First

April 21, 2007

Car Safety
Since Justin was close to outgrowing his convertible car seat that he's used since six months old, I was confronted with the decision of whether he was ready to use a booster seat.  To make a long story short, I ended doing some research on the subject, and discovered that not only was he likely not ready for a booster seat, but continuing to use a 5-point harness would be safest in the event of a crash.  As I've written about last year, we had friends who lost a baby in a car crash, so this hits close to home.  The dilemma was finding another (inexpensive) car seat that would fit him longer. 

After further research, I decided the safest option would be the Britax Regent, which was more money than I planned to spend, but would harness him until 80 pounds, or until his shoulders reached the top harness slot.  When Justin was born, I had never imagined I would worry about what kind of car seat he had, as long as he had one.  But the most important thing to me is to keep him as safe as possible.  Saving money is just not worth the risk of losing my son in a crash.  He will use a booster eventually, just not now.  He will probably outgrow the harness on the combo seat in Daddy's truck next year, and then that seat can be used as a booster, but he only rides in it once in a while.

Letter of the Week
We have been working on a different letter each week.  We made a poster with all the letters of the alphabet, and Justin colors the one we are working on that week.  I also tell him what words start with that letter, and we do different activities, depending what we have time for.  It is fun and gives us some built-in time to spend together.

Health Challenge
I have started working on nutrition and exercise again.  Usually about once a year, I start with healthier habits and then give up after a couple of months.  I'm starting very slow this time, working on one meal at a time, one glass of water at a time, and a few minutes a day of exercise.  My health habits were getting so bad (no breakfast, fast food for lunch, gorging on candy at work), that I really need to find a way to change them for the better.

The Big 3-5
My birthday was a couple of weeks ago.  I can't believe I am 35 already.  I really feel younger than that.  It seems like only a few years ago I was in living in my first apartment with my cat and going to college, and now I am married with a 3 ½ year old and three pets!  My birthdays are a bit stressful with a little one, as they have been for the past few years.  Not much time to relax and take time out for me, like I could before he was born.  But it is totally worth it to be a mom.  My husband got me a nice jewelry box and a Barnes & Noble gift card.

Happy Easter!
Easter was nice and we made a ham dinner at home.  Justin wasn't feeling well Sunday morning, so I missed the Easter church service.  That's the first one I've missed since last November!  I made him a little basket with stickers, a Pez dispenser, and a small stuffed bunny, and put a few small things in plastic eggs.  No candy, because he had plenty of that at his school Easter party.  It was really nice this year remembering and teaching Justin what Easter is all about.

Dentist and Doctor Visits
We had his second dentist appointment last week, and that went great. They still didn't do any x-rays, which is fine with me, and they did a fluoride treatment this time. No cavities, and he did really well with the cleaning and exam. I worry a bit about his teeth, because he's always hated brushing so much, but so far so good. He is getting better about brushing, but it's still a struggle sometimes.

He also went to the doctor on Saturday for a 3 1/2 year visit. It wasn't really a regular checkup. All they did was measurements, vision test, and a shot (Hepatitis A). So he is 34 pounds, 38 inches tall, and this was the first time he didn't scream during measurements and got to use the big kid scale. It was also his first vision test; they use a chart with shapes on it for little kids, and he did great with that.