i'm gonna be honest (i hate "words" like "gonna," "sorta," "kinda," but oh well). our car time together is rough. like painful for myself and anyone else in or near the vehicle. really just one of my kiddos is in hate with the car ride but i'm not naming names. no one wants that label. even at one. i've tried everything. "kiddie" music which i swore to the donnas i would never do, every toy imaginable, rear mirrors (the kind that go in the backseat of the car, not mirrors so you can see your rear. that would be the worst invention of all time), snacks, books, objects that are otherwise not approved for toddler usage like plastic spoons and packs of tissues (bad idea. don't try it.). i have fantasized about turning them forward-facing as officially the united states government recommended safety practices agency (just made that up) says it's okay. they're over a year. they're over 20 lbs. but then i started doing research on flipping the seats. apparantly I should still be rear-facing when in a vehicle. it's safer for me. i might climb into their carseats just to see how it feels. the rear-facing vs. front-facing debate is about as heated as the breast-feed vs. bottle-feed debate. it's controversial. it's passionate. i didn't know. but now i know. and now i can't flip. at least until they're older. i don't know how old. not like my current age old. not like i'm dropping them off at their first middle school dance and they're rear-facing, fixing their hair in the rear mirror. but i'm trying to hold out for a little longer. plus i have no guarantees that this is an easy fix to the passenger stress. what if they hate the front-facing more? it is possible. i pull out all the try to evoke happiness stops when in the car. today i was afraid of myself when i heard myself say out loud (out of body experience) in my sweet mommy voice "you better watch out or the rhythm is gonna (used it again but this time i'm quoting) get you." i was trying mainstream radio. it was gloria estefan (and the miami sound machine, don't forget them). one of the worst songs of all time. O A O A. O A O A. O A O O AH. (sorry i just did that to you. now the rhythm has gotten you and it's all my fault). horrible. and it was the best i could do to soothe my precious angel in the back seat? no wonder he was mad. perhaps i should be talking to him about this song: here in my car, i feel safest of all, i can lock all my doors, it's the only way to live, in cars. i mean, that's motivation. that's inspiration. that's a one-hit-wonder, gary numan (had to look it up).
ok. i wrote this post. and then i reflected. and then i acted.
here's the update. ladies and gentlemen. we have reintroduced DWP (driving while pacified). with pacifiers. yep. i did it. i gave them pacifiers in the vehicle. we usually only have pacifiers in the cribs. you're in the crib. you get one. you wake up. you find your treasured pacifier. you go back to sleep. you're out. pacifier out. it's glorious. now, we have pacifier peace in the car. it's blissfulmonious (just made that up). do i know i'm creating drama for myself when they're 3 and cannot function without one? yes. here's my justification. pacifiers while rear-facing. when they get the turnaround. pacifiers be gone. wish me luck. and if you doubt my success, sorry, our success. keep it to yourself. no haters.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
4 comments:
I have already discovered the joys of Pacifiers in the Car. My motto currently is: Whatever works.
I had no idea there was a car seat debate. And now I am afraid. Don't tell me about it, and I am NOT going to Google it, because I want to turn my babies around in two weeks! They cannot stretch their legs all the way out because they are so crammed. I think I will go with whatever my pediatrician recommends. AGH! There is too much information out there!!
Well - we turned ours around a month ago. I was expecting a huge happy fan-fare. Nope. They could no longer see or interact with their older brother who is in the 3rd row seat. They CAN see me. And they want things. If they drop a toy, they both proceed to exclaim "Uh oh! Uh oh!" After a while, this will turn into a whine. And then into a full-fledged scream. My daughter's the whine-maker. She has a 10 minute car limit.
It does get better - around the age they can talk (about 2 1/2.)
iggee: this is my fear! i already do a steady food/toy feed from the front seat as it is. great. i'll forward face them and then have to do the pacifier again and they'll have pacifiers at their middle school dance instead of rear mirrors.
I went through a car fuss phase with L about a month ago. She thinks pacifiers are just a prop for her comedy act, so that wouldn't work. Food would work, but couldn't adminster easily. Due to parenting class, I just kept saying "I know. I know." It seemed to stop.
Now the whiny crying is a diaper time and while pointing at any food they may want. Its degenerated to them just pointing at the pantry and crying.
Post a Comment