Recently in my Baby Category

It's that time of year when we are reminded about the dangers of leaving a baby or young child in a hot car. The risk is real, and with all the news about and regulation of leaving children in cars- I wanted to look at the question "What is the actual risk of a child under 5 dying in an overheated car in the US of A?" I'm not a risk, safety or health expert- I'm just looking at numbers and doing some very simple math. I am including web addresses of the websites were got my information.

On average (since 1998) overheating in a car is the cause of death for 38 children aged 0-14 a year in the USA- with most of them happening ages 0-6 years. Last year it was 44 children. Let's keep the math simple. Knowing that we will inflate the risk, let's assume that all these deaths occur to children under the age of 5. In reality, 5% of these deaths happen to kids ages 6-14. I'm doing this with the numbers because we have data that estimates that there are 23.7 million children ages 0-5 in the USA. I don't have numbers for how many kiddos are 0-6 years old in the USA.

So that's less than 2 out of every million children die from overheating in a car- though for last year it was almost exactly 2 out of each million. That risk is very low. It is significantly less than 1% of children ages 0-5, and is really close to the number zero.
30% of these deaths are from children playing in unattended cars- and I suspect that that represents most of the deaths of the children who are 3 years & older. 27% of these deaths are children age 3-14. 73% are children 0-2 years old. 70% of children who die left in warm cars are forgotten or intentionally left in cars.

53% of the deaths are a result of children being forgotten- usually when a parent goes off routine and forgets that their child is in the car with them. 18% of these deaths occur when children are intentionally left in the car.

One smart kiddo came up with a way to remind the driver that there is an infant or toddler in the back of the car. His cheap, simple, and smart idea could save the lives of 26 - 30 children in the USA a year. This number could probably safely be doubled, since I haven't discussed deaths from hypothermia at all.

http://www.ezbabysaver.com

Assuming that the 18% that are intentionally left in the car are done so in order to run a quick errand rather than with the intention of killing the child- on average, 7 children in the USA die while parents leave the kids in the car to run an errand. Again, the number would presumably be larger if we include children who are left in cars and die from the cold. I have had trouble finding a good source for those numbers.

http://www.childstats.gov/americaschildren/tables/pop1.asp

http://www.ggweather.com/heat

Last year I shrank an entire inch. How does that happen to a 33 year old you wonder? Well, I was (probably) born with a fracture in my vertebrae.
I guess the stress of pregnancy and childbirth dislodged scar tissue that was basically stabilizing my spine.

But, no longer. Hence the shrinking. And frankly, a lot of pain and nerve damage .
I am reminded of Alice in Wonderland and the bottle that says "drink me" on it. I admit that it feels like I went down the rabbit hole and found myself in an unreliable, chaotic reality, so the image is apt.

I'm having back surgery. Spinal fusion. In July. They will remove a disc, insert titanium, and encourage (make?) bone growth happen. And hopefully I'll feel better after I presumably feel a lot worse for a month or so. And then my daughter will have a new narrative. One in which she won't feel compelled to ask me "Is your back not sore?" when, on rare occasion, I carry her down the stairs. Just writing this brings tears to my eyes. I hate that this is her narrative. The idea that a woman's body image can be based on what her body can do rather than what it looks like came at exactly the wrong time for me. And I can't help but wonder what impact it has on other women who have bodies that fail them in one way or another.

I'm ready for change. Both reluctant and impatient for surgery.

And now that the internet knows I'm having surgery- it must be true.

Sincerely,
Mama Rae

When I first started Dressing Abby I found that the sizing varies greatly from brand to brand. I often found that when Abby was ready for the next size up, there were clothes that she had already outgrown or was really close to outgrowing. I've put together a quick list to show how different brands are sized relative to one another. I hope this is helpful to some one.

Brands & sizing
Carters: I have a lot of Carters clothing and so it is my standard.
Carters Just One You: just slightly larger than standard carters items
Circo: tends to be smaller than Carters, these should be worn about a month before baby fits in the same size in Carters.
Geranimals: A bit larger than Carters Just One You.
Gerber: is WAY smaller than the rest. I found their 18 month to be about the size of most 6-9 mo clothes. Their 6-9 mo onesies were basically newborn size.

Boppy vs My Brest Friend*

I initially refused to even look at the 'My Brest Friend' because the name is SO ridiculous! I find that the Boppy is easier to remove, wash & replace the cover. However, the My Brest Friend pillow is much better in many ways. First, it provides an elevated surface so that Baby's head is raised while eating. This essentially allows you to feed hands free. It also supports your back while nursing. I was gifted the Friend pillow when I complained of sore wrists from holding my heavy baby while nursing & it has been helpful in alleviating that pain. It also has a pocket. It is too bad the pocket has such strong velcro- it wakes a sleeping baby & distracts an older baby. Another downside is that you buckle yourself in- which can make quick transitions a little tricky. The Boppy can be used as a pillow for babies to sit in or lean over as they get older, I find that my babe is not interested in that at all.

*The reality is that in most cases, a normal pillow slid under your elbow/babe's head will do just fine. Also, a rocking glider with arm rests & padding is ideal for nursing. My Pediatricians have one in their office & it provides nice arm support & makes standing up with babes in arms easier than a standard couch or lazyboy. It is also a very cozy chair that enables Mom to rest during those early months when Baby wants to feed often during the night. These rocker gliders are SO comfortable.