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Rear facing car seats, I’m all for them.

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When I heard about these, while pregnant with Kiddiewink 3, I knew I would have to seriously consider getting one! I am a real worrier; faced with facts, I knew a ERF seat (extended rear facing seat) was the way forward.

Ten facts taken from securatot.co.uk

  • Rear facing is five times safer than forward facing.
  • The British Medical Journal published a report on 11th June 2009 stating that rear facing seats are safer than forward facing seats for children under 4yrs.
  • Two thirds of child fatalities in the under–four age group occur in cars (the AA).
  • The British Medical Journal have published an alert on their website advising parents to keep young children in rear facing seats for as long as possible.
  • A US study involving 870 children aged under 2yrs concluded that rear facing seats were more effective than forward facing seats in protecting children aged 0-23 months for all crash types.
  • In Sweden between July 2006 and November 2007 not one child under the age of six was killed in a car crash. Children in Sweden sit rear facing until the age of four.
  • 205 children under 5 are seriously injured in the UK every year and a further 21 are killed, while in cars (the AA).
  • Frontal and frontal offset car-to-car crashes are by far the most common sort of accident. They are also the most dangerous.
  • A child’s neck only needs to stretch more than a quarter of an inch before snapping.
  • There are no reported incidents of rear facing children hurting their legs.

We used a maxi cosi forward facing with Kiddiewink 1 &2; we had been really happy with it! My hubby and friends thought I was bonkers for considering spending more money on car seats. But the facts and wider reading left me feeling I had to get one! Although day to day, we don’t do too much driving, we holiday in France- with long drives.

Won’t they get bored?
Is it fair?
Won’t their legs be squashed?

These were some different questions I was asked with regard to my choice?
In answer to them…

The chances are they won’t get bored, the seats sit much higher in the car, meaning they have a brilliant view out of the window!
Kiddiewinks know no difference , they won’t be thinking how mean you are facing backwards- besides even if they were, safety first !
My child has loads of legroom and will do for sometime! All seats have varied amounts of legroom.

Once I had decided it was a no brainer for us, I began my research. We needed to fit three seats in the back, for my above average size kiddiewinks (hubby 6ft 7). A friend offered lots of advice and the internet came in handy too…
www.securatot.co.uk
www.rearfacing.co.uk
We narrowed it down to about four,,,
Hauck varioguard, be safe iZi combi isofix, britax two way elite and another few (I forget which). I then searched for the best price and stuck it on the credit card; couldn’t really afford it, but knew that for me, peace of mind was a small price to pay! A forward facing was fine when I knew no difference, but faced with the facts, if something happened I would never forgive myself…
After lots of umming and ahing I decided on the Besafe as I found it on offer at babybirds.
My hubby and mum remained skeptical…
When it arrived, I fitted it myself (so hubby couldn’t moan) and we were all thrilled with the results! Legroom isn’t a problem and Kiddiewink three seems happy as larry in her new seat! Even mum and hubby are convinced with my decision : )

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My Sunday Photo

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Another from the shoot with Starwinkle photography. I love the emotions and moods captured in this one. Kiddiewink 2 had had enough, but got a second wind after this photo. Kiddiewink 3 rarely cries, but she was tired as a result of the clocks going back. One of my favourites!

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Where do all the tupperwares go?

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It is driving me insane! Every time I batch cook for Kiddiewink 3, I never have enough pots or lids to store it. All I can find is mismatch pots which doesn’t work! I buy them, we lose them! Two weeks ago I bought 12 small pots, granted some are currently in use, but even so, where the hell are they? I am sure the dishwasher eats them; a bit like the washing machine eats socks.
So on continues the search, while the broccoli and cauliflower cheese sits without a home on the hob.

Do they tell you if I have been fighting…

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Kiddiewink 2 has always been ridiculously honest! Telling us what he is about to do, before doing it or telling us not to look…
The other day he was helping me make the bed when he dropped this little bombshell!
“Do they tell u if I have been fighting”
“Why have you been fighting?”
“Yep but only once it was with the Lego. W and I made guns and were shooting everyone but then the teacher saw us and said ‘No guns allowed’ and then she took the guns of us
And that is the end of the story! Now cuddle!”

It really tickled me an the voice he put on to illustrate what the pre school member of staff had said was hilarious!

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The joys of a six year old in a bad mood

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All the way home I was dying to see my kiddiewinks, I am then greeted with one very stroppy six year old. It is now bedtime and even she recognises she is in a bad mood, the littlest thing triggering a new batch of tears. I was in trouble for being the last mummy (out if her friends) to collect her from after school club! Typical, as while on maternity leave I was often in trouble for getting there too early!
On collecting her brother and sister from the childminder, she had a strop again when the childminder told me KW2 had had a cake with it being his birthday week.
She then cried about swimming lessons saying “I am going to not try because I don’t want to go up to stage five”. By this point she was just plain irritating me, so I pointed out how much I had been looking forward to seeing her…. Cue more tears about how she didn’t want to be in a bad mood.

On arrival home, Hubby decided he would take over as it was clearly my mood too. Quickly he changed his mind however, after several more tears outbursts… Her mood continued until asleep, with her sitting in the bath crying, on the nursery floor crying while I fed Kiddiewink 3.

Luckily she is not like this often but when she is…..

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Reflections on the eve of my return to being a working mummy…

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The day has finally come for my return to work and although I know this is the way it has to be; this is what ultimately works for my family at the moment,  I will miss my babies so much! I will miss doing the things I always envisaged I would do when I became a mummy. The school runs, the after school activities, the play dates (for mummy and Kiddiewinks), walks to the park, homework and dinner before 6.30pm at night!
I want to be the one getting the smiles when The youngest wakes from a nap, the little conversations we have, the kisses and the cuddles. Not to mention the fact, I am still breastfeeding Kiddiewink 3 and she is not keen to take a bottle or cup of formula…
All of this has become a much cherished part of my life for 9 months and tomorrow it ends.

My heart aches when I think of leaving behind this new life. But I guess what I have to remember is, we are merely entering a new chapter of our family life, new exciting challenges…

Loving my job makes this next chapter a whole lot easier; not to mention the fact I am very happy with the childcare my kiddiewinks will get in my absence ( a combination of much loved Granny, after school clubs and or wonderful childminder.) They will flourish and that all makes the transitions easier. Domestic Goddess I am definitely not, cleaning is not something I do as often as I should and I am pretty good at productive avoidance tactics- this blog, the book being two of them. Now I get to sit and do school work on the sofa in the evening, while my brilliant husband cleans- win win on this score!
The main thing that will keep me going during the day is that I get to spend my day with 30 awesome kiddiewinks all with their own special personality. Encouraging their inquisitive minds and fostering a life long love of learning is such a cool thing to be doing and I love getting to know every single child in my school. My day will be a whirlwind of teaching, marking, little chats with children, displays, meetings, duties, clubs… I love the craziness and I actually think the craziness loves me too. I do think my job makes me a better person and ultimately a better mummy.

Every moment I have with them becomes special, I look forward to bed and bath time for a whole different reason. That becomes our quality time, it isn’t much during the week but it becomes our special time of giggles, cuddles, tickles, stories… It is no longer the ‘thank goodness I can get these monkeys in bed ‘ time.

So tomorrow morning, instead of doing the school run and getting stressed with parking, I will be tearful at leaving my babies during an inevitably chaotic morning(how ever organised I think I am). The kids will also inevitably not want to get up, having been up before seven all half term.
Maternity leave you have been amazing and now the juggling begins!

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I need ‘windowscreen wipers’

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Kiddiewink 2 has decided today he needs windscreen wipers on his glasses. He hates his glasses getting wet in the rain, it’s one thing about glasses which really infuriates him. Clearly window screen wipers will solve it.

Dragons den here he comes…

Little does he know, his idea is a tad flawed, I have found some haha, although granted not quite what he had in mind. Oh to be early four again…

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Returning to work

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The day is looming on the horizon and the past nine months has gone far quicker than I would like! The last month I have found myself getting maudlin about what I am about to give up! I have loved being a ‘real mum’ and collecting my bigger kiddiewinks from school and preschool; the last month I have even helped in my eldest a class once a week! Lovely lazy mornings are about to come to an end, daytime naps with my baby(although, granted it didn’t happen much with number three), play dates, after school activities, all gone in the blink of an eye! Soon it will be chaotic rushed mornings with me out of the house by 7.30am and Granny taking over the school run and pick ups. My baby girl will no longer so dependent on me as the main adult in her life! That makes me sad! Not returning to work is not an option so 4 days a week it is.

A big hurdle we have to face is feeding. For the last month Kiddiewink 3 has refused a bottle, given she still has a morning and afternoon feed, my return to work may leave a hungry baby and a mummy with balloons for boobs at work!
I also didn’t realise for children under one, childminders ask you to provide all the babies food, cue a mega cookathon this week!

When Kiddiewink 3 is napping and I am putting off doing jobs in the house, I really think returning to work is for the best and I get quite excited at the thought, but when she is awake I look into her beautiful eyes and think how much I’ll miss her! Not to mention I am not sure how I will have time to work, so much child vision related stuff I want to finish, this will all be completed but may now take years, given my evenings will now be taken up with planning and marking!

But looking at the positives…
A) all the time I have with my kiddiewinks will become quality time.
B) I will have money again
C) I get to spend my days with 200+ other gorgeous kiddiewinks
D)less cleaning ( domestic goddess I am not)

Who am I kidding…. I am gutted my maternity leave is over but I know soon enough we will all have adapted and settled into our new routine!

Another two week wait…

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Rushed to the opticians after school with the three children to get Poppy’s drop test. Unfortunately as the optometrist had been on holiday ad didn’t know poppy was booked in, they had no baby strength drops. I am really upset it has had to be delayed, irrationally so really. Not upset with them it’s not their fault, just upset we have to wait. All it means is delaying everything two weeks but I just wanted to get cracking. I am back at work in three weeks and had really hoped I would be the one who helped her adjust to them. I also wanted to be able to help her see clearly sooner rather than later. I know it’s only two weeks which is nothing in the grand scheme of things but right now it seems an eternity away!