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I’m a car seat fanatic when we’re in a moving vehicle. I would rather push my hideously unwieldy double car seat stroller up a hill in the Black Forest than risk my kids being in a car without their Graco 32s. However, since we don’t actually own a car (city living folks!), the car seats are constantly being pulled from vehicles into buildings, onto planes clipped into buggies. When we are home, there is usually at least one car seat in the girls’ room. And more often than not, it is the “preferred napping station” for one or the other. Bummer then, the article I found today on US News & World Report.
Apparently more than 40,000 babies were treated for injuries over a 4 year period that occurred when infants were left in car seats that were in the home, rather than out in the minivan, where they apparently belong. Most of the injured were less than 8 months old and most of the injuries were to the head and neck. Basically, if your kid is in the car seat, even if not in the car, you need to fasten their buckles. Babies have gone tumbling from car seats set on tables, twisted themselves out of seats on the floor and gotten stuck anywhere between their chair and the floor. Oops.
The study’s authors conclude that car seats are best left in the car. But we don’t own one. But I do have a storage cupboard. So I suppose we are going to have to start sleeping in out cribs, ladies. Bummer for you. The baby bucket was just so convenient. Either that or Mommy’s got to remember to do up your straps.
Dr. Lara Zibners, Jul 08, 2010
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My husband is a great father and really enjoys his little girls. However, no matter what I do, I cannot get him to stop screaming like a woman every time one of them vomits, urinates or stools on him. I keep telling him that they are babies and it’s not their fault. It’s a given that anything I’m wearing around Zoe will require laundering. But I have to say that she pushed even my buttons this week. Honestly.
We’re all used to the endless stream of vomit that pours from her mouth. She’s a little refluxy. Usually there is a “warning bell” and we’ve all gotten pretty good at avoiding the splatter. Occasionally it’s just a sudden warmth running down your arm that lets you know she’s done it again. I’m not particularly worried about it: she is growing and developing fine and some degree of reflux (food coming back out of the stomach and into the esophagus) is completely normal and even expected in infants. If she were having recurrent pneumonia or failing to gain weight, we’d have a problem. Instead she’s just wet and smelly, as are we.
That said, I was a bit taken aback last night when I looked down at my shorts and realized my entire pocket was full of dried vomit. Particularly pleasant given that she’d had salmon with dill for lunch. I think it was unintentional although sometimes I’m not sure with that child. Wonder if anyone at the grocery noticed.
Dr. Lara Zibners, Jul 06, 2010
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Happy 4th of July! As I watched my child chomp down on her first vanilla cupcake, followed by a bowl of vanilla ice cream, I thought about what I’d like to read if I were you. Don’t you want to know what questions I ask my pediatrician? I’ll tell you. When is my poor child going to get a tooth?
I tried to bargain with our doc. If she’s 1 year and has no teeth, can we get her cosmetic plates? He said no. 18 months. No teeth by 18 months and he’s willing to investigate. No dentures before then. No. I can barely contain myself, running my finger along her gumline, looking for anything that smacks of enamel. Seriously? 8 1/2 months old and nothing? Sometimes I cup my lips over my teeth and grin, in imitation of my deliriously happy, edentulous infant. I’m mean.
So there you go, that is what I took on my “ask list” last week. My kid is gumming chicken wings and croissants. It slightly freaks me out that a child with no teeth eats an entire cupcake. But I’m going to leave the responsibility with our doctor. I’m waiting patiently. At least she can’t bite me, right?
Dr. Lara Zibners, Jul 04, 2010
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My apologies for the silence! We took the girls to Germany for a few days of relaxation and fun. My ladies are expert travelers and we did have a fabulous time. Eva got some well-deserved vanilla ice cream for the first time (big!) and Zoe managed to stay all night in her crib (really big!) In fact, the only glitch was when we found ourselves about a half mile behind a rather serious accident (complete with helicopters and countless rescue vehicles). In Germany there is apparently no urgency to restoring the flow of traffic, to the point where the clean up crews were actually sweeping up the broken glass by the time we drove past the site. What that meant was that we had about an hour of complete standstill, in the heat of summer.
At the point where other drivers started walking around, chatting with each other, we realized we weren’t going anywhere and shut off the engine. Then we opened all the windows, and finally the doors, trying to get some cross-ventilation going. Because when it’s 80 degrees outside, the inside of a car can become insufferable, even fatal. In fact, there have already been 19 children who have died this year from overheating in hot cars. On average about 30 to 40 die a year, some from being intentionally left inside a car, others accidentally forgotten and the rest from climbing inside a parked vehicle to play.
Myself, I can handle just about anything. But two little babies with limited abilities to regulate body heat can’t be sitting in a hot car in the sun. We took them out, walked them around, tried to find some shade. Finally, despite the dirty looks from other stranded motorists, I made Gernot turn on the engine and blast the air conditioning for 15 minutes to give us all a break. Maybe people thought I was crazy, but so what. So let this be my little message to you to make sure you lock up your car when you get home so no curious critter can get inside and for pete’s sake, if you are prone to forgetting your kid in the car (it happens!) try sticking your wallet under his seat so you’ll have an obvious reminder.
Dr. Lara Zibners, Jul 01, 2010
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Now that I’m coming down off the high of a wonderful holiday with one, very manageable, baby (Zoe had an equally wonderful time being Papa’s center of attention at home so no worries there), I have some new insights and tips for traveling with an infant. Starting with: pick a country that is baby-friendly. Good gracious, the Swiss not only have awesome banks, they are the most child-welcoming society I’ve ever encountered. People ran to help us up stairs with our stroller, nobody blinked an eye when a sleeping baby accompanied us on our dinner reservation and the hotel actually sent up baby towels and a stuffed animal with the crib. I was in heaven. Of course, not everyone in the world is Swiss.
Maybe I was just spoiled by the experience, but something happened on the plane home that truly gave me pause. Eva and I were sitting next to a woman traveling alone. Just before take-off, the flight attendant came to tell her that there was an empty row a few seats back and if she’d like, she could move after departure, so “the baby can have some room.” I am fully aware that what she really meant was, “so you can have some peace and quiet,” but I’m okay with that. Whatever gets the job done. Anyway, imagine my surprise when my neighbor said no. She’s settled in her seat, thank you, and doesn’t want to move any further back in the plane. Then she looks at me and asks if I mind her being there, in a tone that almost suggested I had orchestrated the entire exchange. Of course I said absolutely not. And then proceeded to hand my infant a very flaky croissant that she tore to bits and pitched around herself. I mean, would moving back 3 rows really be so burdensome? Naturally I apologized profusely when my baby kicked my tray table, sending mustard and diet Coke all over our seats. But inside I was so proud. My Eva is no dummy. She handled the situation well, I’d say.
Dr. Lara Zibners, Jun 22, 2010
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