Carry Kiss Connect

This is a great post that might help people when deciding how long to rear face their child in a vehicle.

Pictured was my 5.5yr old safely, and comfortably, rear facing.

Rear-facing car seats are safer for children because they better support a child’s head, neck, and spine in a crash. Here’s why:

1. Protects the Head and Neck:
A child’s head is disproportionately large compared to their body, and their neck muscles are not fully developed. In a forward-facing seat during a crash, the head is thrown forward, putting immense strain on the neck and spinal cord. Rear-facing seats spread crash forces across the entire back of the child, minimizing the risk of severe injuries.

2. Crash Force Distribution:
Rear-facing car seats cradle the child and distribute crash forces evenly across the strongest parts of their body - the back, shoulders, and hips - rather than concentrating those forces on weaker areas like the neck.

3. Spinal Protection:
In a collision, rear-facing seats reduce the risk of spinal cord injuries. The seat absorbs much of the impact, keeping the spine aligned and preventing overextension.

4. Meets Developmental Needs:
Young children have soft, developing bones and a higher ratio of cartilage in their spine. Rear-facing seats provide the best protection while their bodies grow stronger.

It is recommended to keep children rear-facing as long as possible, at least until they outgrow the height or weight limits of their seat.

We need to always keep in mind that kids come in all different shapes and sizes.
A child might max out rearfacing at 2 or 3.
A child might max out rearfacing at 5 or 6.
Maybe you have a petite child and your goal isn't to rearface until 5. And that's also okay.

Always keep in mind the scale of good, better, best.
Good is rearfacing until the minimum of 2 years old.
Best is maxing it out.
Better is anywhere in between!

What we chose can differ based on many factors. One thing is always true; we want to keep our children safe.

Myth busting:
Leg injuries are NOT a worry when positioned like this. Remember that the whole seat bounces down in a collision, and their legs will froggy up.
Statistically, leg injuries are more common when forward facing, because they get thrown into the seat in front.
Your child can position them any way they feel comfortable.

The Winnipeg Belly to Baby Expo is now 21 days away... three weeks!! I cannot wait to see everyone again! We appreciate everyone's shares and comments to all the expecting and new parents in your lives. 💚

Pre-register for the expo and be entered to WIN a $100 credit to any vendor in the expo.

https://www.eventbrite.com/e/winnipeg-belly-to-baby-expo-tickets-387865705767

Some great information on why rear facing in a car seat for as long as possible is a great option. They included a little further info in the comments.

I’m always happy to answer questions

"Our Black Joy"

What a miracle y'all are out there wearing our babies when we literally shouldn't even exist given what has been done to us. Babywearing is something Black people have inherited. We call you to reclaim, rejoice and revolutionize this practice. Make it your own because it already is. My babywearing is yours just as your history is my own. We share these things and we share OUR BLACK JOY!

The tradition of carrying our children was intercepted, broken, banished and prohibited on purpose! None of this was an accident so you can not complete your calling mistakingly. There are no mistakes and the best carrier for your baby is YOU Black babywearer. For our ancestors we pause to pay homage and to give honor for what you had to carry. We wear your legacies and our revolution is carried.

When we wear our babies (and our big kids now) we flashy, we stunning, we stunting. You WEAR that baby, BAAAYBEEE!

2021 is our 4th year of this Black Babywearing Week awareness movement, a grassroots movement to reclaim and rejoin our community with our ancestral practice of backing babies. As a best practice for this initiative during our week of celebration and JOY, do not come for us if you did not come WITH us.

This and every week tell your ancestors, "See me, I am your hope and your dream.....and may you see my joy!!!"

All events and celebrations not originating from this official Black Babywearing Week page are amplified but not endorsed, because as our elder taught us...

"WE DO NOT NEED PERMISSION FROM US TO CELEBRATE US" - Mama Kiddada Green, BMBFA

FRIDAY SALES for November 27th:

**some sales are likely to be today only, or through Monday, or will sell out**

AMAZON:

Britax Emblem ($217) & Allegiance ($208) https://amzn.to/3mcmywl

Britax Boulevard CT $400 https://amzn.to/3fFN52U

Graco Extend2Fit $180 https://amzn.to/3kIT9IE

Graco 4Ever $280 https://amzn.to/2IW0RBQ

Chicco KidFit $110 https://amzn.to/3llC6Nj

Chicco KeyFit $230 https://amzn.to/2JemON9

Evenflo LiteMax $120 https://amzn.to/3l9HLFY

Cosco Light N Comfy $102 https://amzn.to/2Jc9YPm

Safety 1st Crossover $68 https://amzn.to/2V7C8xB

Bily backless booster $15 https://amzn.to/3nHp3Hh

CANADIAN TIRE: Harmony Dreamtime Deluxe $40, Chicco MyFit $330, Evenflo Symphony Sport $160

WALMART: Evenflo Sonus $89, Evenflo EveryKid $180, Graco 4Ever $280, Graco high back Turbo $50, Evenflo Embrace $89, Evenflo Big Kid Amp $50, Graco Extend2Fit $180, Evenflo LiteMax $120, Graco Contender $170, Evenflo Evolve $170, Graco TakeAlong $25, Harmony Youth Booster $12, Chicco KidFit $110, Graco Tranzitions $150, Maxi Cosi Zum $60, Graco SnugRide SnugLock 35 DLX $180

BEST BUY: Graco 4Ever $280, Harmony Defender $120, Graco SnugRide SnugLock 25 $160, Evenflo EveryFit $220, Evenflo EveryStage $250, Graco Contender $200, Chicco KeyFit $240, Cybex Aton 2 $330, Bily booster $15

BABIES R US: Britax Marathon CT $368, Graco 4Ever $280, Britax Allegiance $208, Evenflo LiteMax GOLD $200, Evenflo SecureKid $160, Evenflo Generations (Sonus 65 + backless Amp) $110, Evenflo Titan 65 $100, Evenflo Big Kid Amp $50, Peg Perego Convertible $340, Peg Perego Convertible Kinetic $400, Cybex Aton2 $330, Cybex Eternis $500

BUY BUY BABY: **coupons allowed for online purchases and do not exclude Graco** Graco 4Ever $280, Britax Boulevard CT $400, Peg Perego Convertible $365

CLEK: Liing $400 https://clekinc.ca/sale/

Find reviews, resources, and more at https://vicarseattechs.com/

New car seat on the market in Canada.
Full review and a chance to win one at Car Seats For The Littles

Graco TrioGrow SnugLock Review - Canada - Car Seats For The Littles (Last Updated On: November 9, 2020) The Graco TrioGrow SnugLock multimode car seat is a fan favourite for our readers in the United States, so we were very excited when Graco announced that it would be coming to Canada with an added anti-rebound bar. We were luckily able to get our hands on a couple...

Some good sales on this week.
Check out these Canadian reviews and a list of favourite seats at https://vicarseattechs.com for help choosing a seat. I’m happy to help answer questions anytime.

FRIDAY SALES for October 16th:

AMAZON:

Graco 4Ever $329 https://amzn.to/30tfkLF

Britax Emblem $255 https://amzn.to/2T0VEe0

Cosco High Rise/Top Side $15 https://amzn.to/33J6Thi

CANADIAN TIRE: Clek Fllo $400

WALMART: Evenflo Maestro Sport $90, Evenflo Titan 65 $90, Evenflo Symphony Sport $150, Evenflo Stratos $160, Harmony Youth Booster $12, Evenflo Evolve $170, Diono Solana $40, Diono Cambria 2 $80

BEST BUY: Evenflo EveryFit $240, Harmony Defender $140, Evenflo Sonus $99, Graco SnugRide SnugLock 30 $180, Chicco KidFit $130, Graco Contender $230

BABIES R US: Cosco TopSide $15, Graco TakeAlong $40

BUY BUY BABY: Graco 4Ever $330 plus possibly another 20% off with new newsletter signup

COSTCO: Graco Nautilus SnugLock $280

CLEK: Liing $400 https://clekinc.ca/sale/

Find reviews, resources, and more at https://vicarseattechs.com/

A great deal this week is the Evenflo Titan for $90 at Walmart. The Titan rear faces and forward faces. It can fit large front to back when rear facing but is a long lasting seat forward facing (65lbs, 54”).

FRIDAY SALES for October 9th:

AMAZON:

Graco 4Ever $329 https://amzn.to/30tfkLF

Evenflo LiteMax DLX $200 https://amzn.to/36pWYPx

Cosco High Rise/Top Side $15 https://amzn.to/33J6Thi

CANADIAN TIRE: Evenflo EveryFit $200, Graco SnugRide SnugLock 30 $200

WALMART: Evenflo Titan 65 $90, Chicco GoFit $50, Graco Turbo LX (Affix) $49, Evenflo Evolve $170, Evenflo Stratos $160, Evenflo Symphony Sport $150, Safety 1st Crossover $80, Harmony Dreamtime Elite $40, Graco Nautilus SnugLock $290, Harmony Youth Booster $12

BABIES R US: Cosco TopSide $15

BUY BUY BABY: Graco 4Ever $330 plus possibly 20% off with a new newsletter signup

BEST BUY: Harmony Defender $140, Graco Extend2Fit Platinum $240, Evenflo EveryFit $240, Graco 4Ever $330, Evenflo EveryStage $250

COSTCO: Graco Nautilus SnugLock $280, Graco TakeAlong $37

CLEK: Liing $400 https://clekinc.ca/sale/

Find reviews, resources, and more at https://vicarseattechs.com/

Some really great information from The Leaky B**b.

Have you heard that a baby is “just lazy” if they aren’t feeding well?

Babies are born to feed. It is crucial to their survival and barring any physical causes, they are going to feed well.

Often I hear from parents that they were told their baby is just a “lazy feeder” and that’s why they have a poor latch or aren’t gaining well. We’re talking just a few days or weeks old and this baby already has a character flaw. While there are some babies that really are just very laid back, even the baby with the most laid back temperament is going to want to be fed as their very life depends on it. Unless feeding interferes with another vital function, such as breathing (a baby will always prioritize breathing over feeding) or requires them to expend more energy than they can take in (as may be the case with a heart condition) or causes them pain and fatigue (such as can happen with a tongue tie), a baby is going to feed. Suckling is comforting, feeding is essential for growth and survival, hydration is essential, skin-to-skin is crucial for brain development… no baby is going to just not feed because of their temperament or character trait. https://bit.ly/300FPrL

Besides, they’re a baby, have they even had time to develop a character flaw?

Behavior is communication from day one. A baby that won’t feed is communicating something with that behavior that they lack the ability to communicate in any other way. It could be a number of things from oral tethers such as tongue tie leading to pain and exhaustion, small mouth and large ni**le relationship making them tired, latch difficulties causing fatigue, acid reflux causing them pain and difficulty breathing, high palate making it difficult to maintain suction, low muscle tone causing them to choke, muscle tension limiting mobility, respiratory issues that require them to conserve energy, sensory struggles overwhelming their system, metabolic disorder so they don’t even have the energy to fed well, and others.

Babies aren’t lazy. They’re efficient. A baby that isn’t feeding well is communicating that something else is interfering with feeding. Something that may need to be addressed.

My “lazy nurser” actually had two holes in her heart. Thankfully we caught it early but it was only after I had already been told she was just lazy at the breast, she had pretty serious jaundice, her weight loss was significant, and she was clearly unwell. She wasn’t lazy, she was prioritizing conserving her energy as it took more energy to feed than to sleep. My next “lazy nurser” had muscle tension and tongue and lip tie that required a revision and some body work. She couldn’t get the calories in she needed so she too opted to conserve her energy and sleep. With both of these babies, addressing the underlying issue took time and the support of an experienced professional (or several) for breastfeeding to improve. Neither of them are lazy- as I write this the now 10 year old who was born with 2 holes in her heart is making not one, but two pies, is an excellent student, a dynamic soccer player, and an active big sister. Definitely not lazy. Now that we've addressed the issues that were making feeding difficult for her, the baby is an active participant in her feeding without any indication of being lazy.

Assigning character traits to our babies early on can shape how we see them as they get older. If we believe our babies are “just lazy” or impatient or difficult or angry will we carry that negative impression of their character when they are 4 years old? Ten? Fourteen?

Behavior is communication. Let’s stop calling infants lazy or any other unpleasant trait as though they have a character flaw and instead work to understand what their behavior may be communicating.

Not sure what your nursling’s behavior may be communicating? We’re happy to help troubleshoot! Let us know what is going on if you’d like feedback.

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The Leaky B**b is in danger of shutting down without your help. Join us in sharing information, support, and community around baby feeding, pregnancy, birth, and parenting. Become a TLB patron: https://bit.ly/300FPrL

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Image description:

Simple drawing style of five people featuring different baby feeding options including direct breastfeeding, breastfeeding with an at the breast supplemental system, tube feeding, bottle feeding, and breastmilk pumping.

Around them is the text:
Behavior is Communication
Babies aren’t lazy, they are efficient
Babies that seem to be "lazy feeders" don’t have a character flaw but may have feeding challenges that require them to conserve
their energy or avoid pain. This isn’t lazy, it is efficient.
Low muscle tone
Respiratory difficulties
Tongue tie
Tension
High palate
Sensory
Overload
Cardio issues
Metabolic
Disorder
If a baby doesn’t want to feed, look for a cause, not a character flaw.
Theleakyboob.com
The Leaky B**b

It is Child Passenger Safety Week.
Enter the contest below for a chance to win a car seat :-) You don't have to have social media to enter

How about a birthday + giveaway to finish up the week? Yes? Sound good?

Open from now through Sunday the 27th at 3pm Pacific (that's 7pm Atlantic).

Enter for a chance to win up to $400 towards for you (or for a friend...it's super fun to be the car seat fairy).

**contest now closed, thanks to all who entered! **

An excellent summary of why it is so important to always buckle in baby when they are in their car seat.

In my stories this week I shared some tips for travel with your car seat, but I wanted to mention how important it is to harness your baby properly in their car seat if you’re using it as a stroller or attached to your stroller as well.

Car seat safety isn’t just about using your car seat in your car, but also about other ways you use it to transport your baby. Your baby could be knocked over or bumped into, making the harness important.

Another reminder as well that car seats do not go on top of shopping carts, but if you must, keep them in the basket portion. A baby carrier is one-of the best ways to take baby shopping! 🛒