Rant: Car Seat Safety

Recently as I was driving, a billboard caught my attention: "3 Out Of 4 Children Are Not As Secure As They Could Be." The caption was accompanied by an image of 4 car seats, 3 of them empty, one of them with a child properly secured. Apparently, the NHTSA conducted a study that showed that 75% of our children are either riding in improperly installed car seats, or improperly secured in those car seats.

Shocked? I wasn't.

Lately, I have been seeing a rash of my mommy friends posting images of their sweet babies riding in car seats - with glaringly huge, unsafe mistakes that makes my eyes want to pop out of their sockets. Considering motor vehicle crashes are the leading cause of death for children aged 3-14, seeing all these pint-sized cuties riding around unsafely really irks me.

Here is what you should know about car seat safety:

• The NHTSA's new Car Seat Recommendations for Children state that ANY CHILD (without specifying a height or weight) under the age of one year needs to remain in a rear facing seat. Further, beyond one year of age, they recommend that you still keep your child rear-facing for as long as possible, only turning them around once they have met the maximum weight or height requirement for that seat. Most convertible car seats rear-face to 35 or 40 lbs. The Sunshine Kids Radian80SL and RadianXTSL both rear face to a weight of 45 lbs (the RadianXTSL is the seat we personally own for our daughter, who is currently rear facing, in the middle back seat, at 21 months and 22 lbs.) To translate, most seats will rear face a child easily for 3 or 4 year, and the NHTSA endorses this practice, calling it "the best way to keep him or her safe."
• Once a child outgrows the rear-facing limits on his or her car seat, he or she is ready to ride forward facing in a five point harness. Again, the child should continue riding in a forward facing car seat until he or she outgrows the maximum height/weight limit for that car seat. There is a wider range on forward facing weight limits, from what I can tell, but will forward face to at least 40 lbs, most to 65 and the Radian80SL and XTSL both forward face to 80 lbs.
• After a child outgrows the forward-facing capacity of their car seat, they can then move on to a booster, in the back seat, where they should continue to ride until they reach the age of nine of a height of 4' 9". Beyond that, children should remain in the back seat until at least twelve years of age.
  
• Although the above outlines the recommendations across the board, all 50 states have laws regarding child safety restraints, some more specific and/or stringent than others. In Texas, the law states that a child restraint is required for all children age seven and under, and under 57" (4' 9").
  
• When a car seat is correctly installed, you will not be able to move the base more than 1". If it moves more than the acceptable amount, it should be tightened or re-installed.
• When securing a child into a 5-point harness, the straps should NEVER be twisted for any reason, they should lay flat against the body of the child. A twisted strap will reduce the area that restrains the child in an accident, and may result in burns or more severe injuries. Make sure the straps are tightened enough that you can not pinch any part of it between your fingers. I've found this to be tighter than I would have imagined. The chest clip should be at ARMPIT level, not any lower.
  

I hope that this information can help friends, family, and even strangers to ensure their loved ones are riding as safely as possible. I firmly believe that rear-facing in the back seat is absolutely the safest position (as long as the car seat specifications allow for it). And what parent doesn't want to keep their child as safe as possible?! Get educated and be aware!

My Non-Oily Evidence!

I understand there could be some skepticism after my last blog. How could your hair possibly look equally as good (if not better!) if you stop cleaning it? Here, I provide you with photographic proof, that yes, it's true.

My washing schedule goes like this each week.
Saturday; shampoo, followed with a condition.
Sunday; condition only, rinse well.
Monday; condition only, rinse well.
Tuesday; condition only, rinse well.
Wednesday; shampoo, followed with a condition.
Thursday; condition only, rinse well.
Friday; condition only, rinse well.
Rinse and repeat. (ha.)

Really, though, judging by my shampooing schedule, common sense would tell you that my hair should look the most dirty on Monday, Friday, and definitely Tuesday... right?

Not really...



This was taken Saturday, about an hour after my shower, where I had both shampooed and conditioned my hair.



This one as well. So far, it looks pretty normal.

The following photos are a bit misleading, because I clearly have no idea what day of the week it is. I took them this morning (it's MONDAY). So although it SAYS Tuesday, that's a total lie.







And that is what my hair looks like after two days without a wash (eewwww!)
Go ahead and say it, my hair looks awful.....ly good! Feels great too. I can guarantee, that between today and tomorrow, my hair won't suddenly become gross. It looks great on Tuesdays, too!

Ready to try...?!

A Shampoo-Free World

For as far back as I can remember, I've hated my hair. Everybody else has loved it, it's so soft or it's so blonde or I'm jealous of your natural highlights! But I, yes, I hated it. While it is very soft, I'll admit, it's only because it's fine like a baby, has been dyed only once, bleached once to get that color out, and low-lighted once. When I was younger, I had quite a few "permanents," but those never seemed to affect the quality of my hair, and they stopped before I ever got out of elementary school. In my entire 22.83 years of existence, my hair has been tampered with only a handful of times, leaving it practically unmolested. So yes, it is very soft, but I've never been able to do anything with it!

Growing my hair long was like begging to look like a hobo, as my hair produces so much oil it's disgusting. I could shampoo it in the morning, and by mid-day I looked like your household dog (the one that needs a bath). I would cut it short, and while it looked very, very cute that way, styling it was practically out of the question, as was simply wearing it in a ponytail.

Not too long ago, a friend of mine started mentioning (via Facebook) that she was going to stop using shampoo. She claimed to have a friend who exclusively conditioned her hair and it looked amazing. I have to admit, I was heavily skeptical, even though the concept made a little bit of sense to me. I had always heard that you shouldn't shampoo everyday, but a simple rinse just never did it for me. You don't understand, my hair was so. so. oily. But this time, I decided I would try this amazing no-shampoo-method and see it through. She did admit, that it would be quite dirty for the first 2-4 weeks, because it takes a while for your body to realize you aren't stripping all of it's oils and adjust production accordingly.

So, for 2 weeks I banished my shampoo, and I wore my hair pulled back. I spent extra time thoroughly massaging the conditioner into my hair and scalp, loosening up the dirt and oil so it could rinse away. I can not lie and say my hair immediately looked like I had stepped out of a Pantene commercial. It didn't. It looked absolutely the opposite - like I had literally just stepped in off the street. I was committed, however, and today I can say I am SO GLAD!!!!

My hair looks GREAT! I give it only two shampoos a week (on Wednesdays and Saturdays) and a thorough condition every other day. It does EXACTLY what I want it to do when I blowdry and flatiron it. I bet I could get it to do anything else my length permits. It's never oily looking, or "stringy." It isn't particularly flat, and looks FAR more thick than it ever did (and feels like it too!).

As an added bonus, I use the same amount of conditioner I used to, and the same amount of shampoo on the days I shampoo, making a single bottle of shampoo last me 3.5 times longer than it used to, saving me money AND waste! If I go through 3 bottles of shampoo a year, that's 7.5 plastic bottles I never used!

Now, I can finally say, I love my hair. Not some days, not on the weekends, not only when I spend 4 hours working with it. My hair looks great all the time (even when I wake up)! I'll never do a daily-shampoo again...

Cooking at Home #1

One thing I can say about becoming a mother that I didn't expect, is that it has made me very passionate about cooking. It's suddenly a major priority of mine to make sure Aria develops GOOD eating habits, and that I keep processed foods and any sort of produce or meat riddled with chemicals out of her tiny, perfect body. I try to cook most nights, filling in the nights that I don't cook with leftovers of dinners past, and the occasional dinner out.

I've decided to share at least one recipe every week. It will be something we tried, we loved, and will make again, complete with photos of the process!
This weeks dinner is going to be Pan-Roasted Chicken with Spinach and Smashed Potatoes. We ate it for dinner just last night and it was incredible! I always purchase organic ingredients when available, and try to use natural or organic meat as well. The recipe calls for the following:

1 1/2 lbs Yukon Gold potatoes

4 bone-in, skin-on chicken breasts

1 lb spinach

4 large shallots

2 garlic cloves

2 tsp fresh thyme leaves

1 tbsp lemon zest

olive oil

course salt

ground pepper

fresh lemon juice

1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees. In a medium saucepan, bring 1 1/2 lbs Yukon Gold potatoes, cut into 1-inch pieces, to a boil in salted water and cook until potatoes are tender when pierced with a knife, 15 minutes.




2. Meanwhile, season 4 bone-in, skin-on chicken breasts (6 to 8 ounces each) with course salt, ground pepper, and 2 tsp fresh thyme leaves. In a large ovenproof skillet, heat 1 tsp olive oil over medium-high. Cook chicken, skin side down, until golden and crisp, 5 minutes. Flip, then add 4 large shallots, quartered; cook until chicken is browned, 5 minutes. Flip shallots, then transfer skillet to oven. Roast until chicken is cooked through, 15 minutes.





3. Reserve 3/4 cup cooking water from potatoes. Drain potatoes and return to pan. Add 2 tsp olive oil, 1 tbsp grated lemon zest, and reserved cooking water; season with salt and pepper and roughly mash.



4. Transfer chicken and shallots to a platter and heat skillet over medium. Add 1 tsp olive oil and 2 garlic cloves, thinly sliced, and stir until fragrant, 30 seconds. Gradually add 1 lb spinach, trimmed and washed, and toss until wilted, 3 to 5 minutes. Season to taste with salt, pepper, and fresh lemon juice. Serve chicken with shallots, potatoes, and spinach.



Serves 4.
Per Serving: 441 cal; 12.4 g fat (2.8 g sat fat); 38 g protein; 52.3 g carb; 9.4 g fiber

In Introduction to the Author

Good Morning Wednesday, here I am.

I started this blog a couple months ago, signed up, designed it, made it just the way I wanted it. I even came up with a semi-creative name for it. And then... nothing. I never made a blog! So, well, a friend of mine (her name is Raven) is probably going to be following this page soon. So *sigh* I should start writing in it.

I can't promise to take this in any straight direction in general. I DO promise to write about more than homebirth, breastfeeding, being a mama, and how much more crunchy I get everyday. I think. Ok, maybe not, but I'll try.

You may be wondering, who the heck is she anyway?! Or, if you came from Facebook, then probably not. Let me tell you anyway. Besides, if we just "knew each other" years ago, then it's safe to say we don't know each other anymore.

My name is Kayla. I'm 22 [almost 23]. Just a little over two years ago, I made the mistake of sleeping with a good friend of mine. Well, thankfully, that was not a mistake after all, as I soon discovered he was in fact my best friend and soul-mate, and little did I know then that soon my life would be more rich and amazing than I could ever imagine.

Just under a year into our relationship [a wonderful relationship, mind you!] we found out we were going to have a baby! I'll just skip all the part about I-don't-knows and what-do-we-dos and jump in about four months into the pregnancy - we were excited!!! And, exactly nine months and eight days ago I experienced real life for the first time - life as a mother. That day, September 1, 2009, was not simply the birth of our daughter, Aria, but the rebirth of me as well. And no, I haven't been nearly the same since.

To keep the rest of it short, I am a:
Homebirthing, co-sleeping, breastfeeding, cloth-diapering, non-vaccinating, organic-eating, home-cooking, green-cleaning, coffee-drinking, youtube-vlogging, stay-at-home mama of one beautiful, perfect little 9-month-old wonder.

My incredible better half and our amazing baby girl.