City Mama forwarded me this link for a "Mom-ito Mocktail," a non-alcoholic concoction for mothers-to-be.
All I could think was, "Thank God those days are over!"
Which is funny, as I had to shop for a baby shower last week and spent too much money at Target because I could not resist buying just one more set of onesies and blankies and Winnie the Pooh items.
When my niece and nephew were in elementary school, my sister would sigh that she missed their baby stage. Then she had a third child and I never heard that from her again.
In the meantime, I had my one daughter, and every stage of her development has been a revelation. But now that she is entering the snotty teen years (and I'm not saying she's snotty now, just that she has her moments!), I understand where my sister was coming from.
So it's nice to be reminded of those months when I could not drink alcohol or caffeine (come to think of it, after the big weight loss diet, that's pretty recent... but you know what I mean).
There are lots of things I don't miss:
- I don't miss diaper bags (or diapers, or wipes)
- I don't miss having to watch her every single second
- I don't miss Blue's Clues or Teletubbies (although I enjoyed watching them with her more than I should have. I'm just grateful she never liked Barney)
- And I really don't miss having to deal with bulky car seats...
I remember registering for our own baby shower, oh so many years ago. There were so many products to choose from; all appearing to be similar, but touting different benefits. I selected an infant seat due to one major feature: It snapped into a base that could remain in the back seat so I would never have to be the person responsible for strapping it back in. I am kind of a klutz and didn't believe I would be able to strap it in correctly.
If anything, I think car seats have become more complicated over the years, as have the vehicle manufacturers' attempts to make it "simpler." That's why I was pleased to hear that Safe Kids USA holds free car seat inspections throughout the country.
I found out about the Safe Kids organization at the infamous Baby Camp event I attended a couple of months ago, courtesy of Johnson & Johnson, which co-sponsors its US safety awareness campaigns along with the Children's National Medical Center, General Motors, and Federal Express. The organization is actually a global coalition active in 16 countries and is dedicated to keeping children safe through family education.
The car seat inspections are part of a larger "Buckle Up" initiative, designed to teach parents and children about motor vehicle safety. Other Safe Kids programs include "Walk This Way," promoting pedestrian safety (I would like to send a lot of the parents who drop their kids off at my daughter's school to this one!), and Child Passenger Safety Technician certification, which trains the professionals who do the car seat checks.
Safe Kids will be inspecting its one-millionth car seat this Thursday at the Los Angeles Sports Arena, where150 families from the Los Angeles Urban League Head Start and State preschool have been invited to attend, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Spokeswoman Heather Walsh says that there will be some limited space for walk-ins... but if you don't want to take your chances (or you are not in the area), you can find a full listing of this summer's events on the Safe Kids website here.
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