This time around, I’m back to my usual procrastinating self. (Kelly has been asking for an update, so she’s probably nodding as she reads the word “procrastinate”.) I know I should be getting things in order or at the very least, started. I did buy new crib bedding. We just need to paint the room, put the crib back together, decorate for a GIRL, buy some girly clothes and make a decision about her real name. Slick has already named her Cookie. So, for blog purposes, her name is Cookie. A blog name - that’s one thing I can cross off the To Do list.

Surely I can’t be the only second-time-around (or third, fourth…) Mom with such a laid back attitude. I’d love to hear that I’m not the only one!

My baby’s first day of daycare was a completely different experience the second time around. For my first born, PP, she had family care for her, an in-home nanny, then finally daycare. By the time we started PP in daycare, she was 10 months old and at the peak of her separation anxiety. Needless to say, her first day of day care was not a good one. PP sobbed when I dropped her off (I did too) then I had to hear that she really didn’t sleep much.

Fast forward almost 3 years, little sister, Pinkie Pie, just had her first day of daycare. This time, my husband has been awarded the privilege of morning drop off (which not only adds an additional 20 minutes to his morning but also much complexity to get two little girls up & out at 6:45 AM). We had already met Pinkie Pie’s teachers so my husband was comfortable with what he had to do & bring. The teachers were great & took care of everything and my husband left a smiling 4 month old (no tears this time!).

I did my mommy check in call around lunch time & spoke with Pinkie Pie’s teacher who reported that I had a very good baby who took “short” naps (45 minutes) and a very good eater (boy, don’t I know that). She also said that she was currently playing & smiling at everyone.

When I picked up both of my girls, I got PP first so she could be Mommy’s little helper & get all of Pinkie Pie’s stuff from the infant room. When we got to the infant room, the teacher was holding Pinkie Pie and I was greeted by a big gummy smile. The teacher said that Pinkie Pie had a wonderful first day of school (according to her status report, Pinkie Pie practiced yoga & learned the Spanish word for explorers too–that’s a big first day accomplishment!). What a relief to have had a better experience this time around!

Every Wednesday we’ll be sharing a photo showing off a little bit of wonder in the lives of our extended Graco family of customers, employees and friends.

(Bear pictured here with her best buddy/cousin in their matching STEWART T-Shirts)

Everything you read about parenting says encourage kids to be creative and use their imaginations. My question is; when has it gone too far? Here is the reason for asking. Bear (now 3 ½ years old) has two imaginary friends Stewart and Dunkin. Anyone who knows Bear knows who I’m talking about. Stewart and Dunkin are imaginary donkeys (pink donkeys to be specific). And they have been in our family for almost 2 years. It sounds weird I’m sure…Stewart came into our family first after a ride to church and we passed a farm with four of the cutest little donkeys. That sealed the deal, Stewart was born. Dunkin arrived a little later as we were telling bedtime stories and needed to create an imaginary friend for Bear’s Best Friend, D.

I would say that we have fed into this Imaginary Donkey thing – for example, we drop them off for play dates at the little farm on our way to church. We have been known to set a place setting for Stewart. Even I laughed when my husband pulled the car over on the side of the road, opened his door and yelled; “Come on Stewart, hustle and get in the car.”

A recent story about Stewart that made us all stop and chuckle was during our second move-in day in Atlanta. We had just spent our first night in our new Georgia home, we were surrounded by boxes, working feverishly to unpack and get settled. Early the next morning as the unpacking ritual was underway – Bear announces, “Guys, today is a really special day – It’s STEWART’S BIRTHDAY!!” We all stopped and looked at her. “Really?” Stewart has been in our family for two years, has never celebrated a birthday – and today (of all days) is Stewart’s birthday. Well…Fabulous! That means tonight we will have cake, because no Lefko Birthday should go un-celebrated. Bear was tickled by the fact that we celebrated his birthday. So, as any 3-year-old would do – the next morning she announced; “And TODAY is a special day, It’s Dunkin’s Birthday!” Sorry, only leftovers for Dunkin.

We love the imagination and we encourage it. On many occasions we will remind Bear that Stewart isn’t real and we can’t see him, but it’s fun to make-believe. (For example we really don’t need a plane ticket for Stewart, nor do we have to tell the ticketing agent about him.) Sure, it can be a little awkward when Bear tells strangers, friends or even her teachers about Stewart – and they give a questioning look at her - then us. Our entire extended family knows Stewart, and even on occasions will call and ask Bear how Stewart is adjusting to the South? Oh well, she’s three and she confidently talks about her imaginary friends.

So when will it end or when should it end? I was having a long conversation with Ali (our dreamer and believer) about it. She is majoring in Psychology (and the Lefkos are her thesis – I’m guessing) and she knows Bear and Stewart all too well. Her opinion is a good one, she believes Stewart will disappear when Bear gets embarrassed by the peculiar looks or laughs when she talks about these make-believe donkeys to her friends. We all believe that won’t be happening anytime soon given Bear’s confidence and love for Stewart.

Have we taken it too far? I’m going to answer my own question with…we all love to believe in Santa Claus and the Easter Bunny – why not a pink donkey named Stewart?

How does one go about finding someone who fits the bill?  You tell me because I surely DO NOT know!  As a child of a single working parent and a working mother myself, I have seen some doosies and have sometimes gotten lucky too.  

The names have been changed to protect the innocent, as well as the guilty, but here are a couple horror nannies from my childhood.

Miss Johnson - My mom first went down the live-in housekeeper/babysitter route.  When this woman appeared at our door – no kidding – she was dressed in full uniform  - pressed and starched - apron, cap and all.  Before she would sit anywhere in our house, she would set a towel down for fear that she would pick up germs from our miniature schnauzer.   I remember her as stern and strict and as old as dirt.  She would make us pick lint off of the carpets so that she wouldn’t have to vacuum.  Then, within a week or two, she disappeared in the middle of the night with all my mom’s silver. I’m completely serious.

Belinda – This woman was the direct opposite of Miss Johnson.  Not only was she not strict, she did not lift a finger in the house.  Her idea of entertaining us was to take us for a ride in the car. Then we would sit and wait for her while she visited her boyfriend.  She would make a big pot of watered down soup from which she would feed us all week.  We called her “Chicken Belinda Soup.” I shudder as I can still see her hovering over the stove with a cigarette hanging out of her mouth.  Needless to say she didn’t last long.

Another charmer was Mrs. Jacobs who (if she did come) was always late.  Then she would engage my mom in conversation, making her further late for work. After mom would leave, she would talk on the phone and watch television all day. We were instructed to either play outside or stay in our room.  One day the police returned my 3-year old brother and his tricycle after finding him on the other side of town. Her reply: “I thought I told you to stay in your room!”

Thankfully, it was a little easier for me as a mom trying to find reliable care.  I was not limited to finding individual babysitters due to the higher prevalence of day care programs.  I did also go through plenty of in-home babysitters, especially after my kids were in school.  Every summer re-presented the same challenge.  One of our most dear babysitters was AnnieLou who became like a member of our family.  We all loved her and she loved us. It’s priceless to know you are leaving your kids with a trusted person who wants to be with them and loves them.  I will always look back on those days with AnnieLou with a smile. 

What are some of your babysitter stories?

Not my grandpa though. We’d go over to his house on every Friday the 13th when we were little and would always exclaim, “Grandpa! Be careful today! It’s Friday the 13th!” And he’d always reply, “Are you kidding!? Today’s my lucky day!” We’d always burst into a fit of giggles just like little kids usually do at that sort of thing, but now that I’m older, I think he was on to something. He never won the lottery on the 13th, or had anything especially earthshattering happen, but then again, nothing bad ever happened either. He spent the 13th with a big smile on his face (and often with giggling grandkids by his side). I honestly think he believes the day will be lucky if he decides it will be so. And in some respects - it must be true.

So if you have babies born today, a big event tonight, a first date you’re sure is going to be jinxed - have no fear. Just think like my gramps and today will be your lucky day :)

Should my child be able to open the chest clip?

The chest clip (harness tie) needs to be both easy for a caregiver to open quickly in an emergency and complex enough for a child to not easily open it. For instance, Graco’s chest clips have 2 buttons which take both knowledge and dexterity to be opened – and while the vast majority of children cannot open the chest clip, there are some children who figure it out. There are also some adults who find it hard to open. We’ve tried to design our harness tie to fall somewhere in the middle of these competing objectives.

My child has figured it out – how do I get him to stop!?

The best way to discourage your child from opening their chest clip is refusing to drive anywhere without them properly strapped in. It takes consistency and some discipline to help them understand that the chest clip needs to stay closed.

Here are some additional tips:

- Has your child been in the car too long? Allow for frequent stops and make sure they have had plenty of exercise before a long trip.

- Set a good example by always buckling yourself in when you get in the car.

- Keep soft toys and cloth books in the car – nothing heavy or with sharp edges that could injure someone in a crash – that can keep a child busy.

- Sing songs together or play music your child enjoys.

- Let your child buckle in a baby doll in a toy car seat (available in the doll section of big toy stores) to help get them involved.

- Finally, do NOT adapt or modify the chest clip in anyway to make it more difficult for the child to open, as the chest clip does need to be easy enough to quickly open in case of an emergency.

If you notice that your child has opened their chest clip while driving, we recommend that you calmly pull over as soon as possible to a safe location, close the chest clip and emphasize to your child the importance of keeping the chest clip closed. While an opened chest clip is important to close as soon as possible, it is perhaps even more critical that the harness straps are in the proper slots and snugly adjusted around your child.

Why kids need to remain strapped in at all times:

First and foremost, it’s extremely important that your child be snugly strapped into their harness at all times. A snug but comfortable harness is important for good protection in case of a crash. If there is a lot of slack in the harness at the time of a crash, the child first moves forward unrestrained but is then abruptly stopped by the loose straps. This can cause greater injury than if the straps were already snugly against the child’s body.

However, the harness should not be too tight either – it shouldn’t press on the child’s flesh or push the child’s body into an unnatural position. A common way to check that the harness is snug enough is the pinch test. After adjusting the harness so it is snug but comfortable, try to pinch the harness webbing along its length (not its width). If you can grab some of the webbing, it is too loose.

Need more information?

Carseat.org offers these and other helpful tips for parents.  You are also welcome to get in touch with us on Facebook, Twitter, here on the blog and by e-mail if you have additional questions or concerns about your chest clip. If you have any concern that the clip might be too tight or too loose, always get in touch with Graco to check.

Can you spot Kim Lefko’s daughter, Love Bug in the crowd? We wish Love Bug many more happy birthdays to come! 

Every Wednesday we’ll be sharing a photo showing off a little bit of wonder in the lives of our extended Graco family of customers, employees and friends.

This past weekend was such a fun one for me…I had the pleasure of experiencing my first baby shower as an expectant mom. Of course I have hosted countless baby showers myself, but it is all so different when the spotlight is on me and the little bundle of joy in my belly.

Several girlfriends that I grew up with along with their moms hosted a wonderful brunch on Saturday morning, and not only did I get some amazing gifts for Itsy Bitsy Parker, but I was able to see and visit friends and family that I hadn’t seen in quite a while. Isn’t it amazing how these milestones in our lives bring people together…I absolutely love it!

I have to say that my favorite part about the shower was the “baby’s library” theme. Along with the invitation, came an insert that read:

“Help us start Itsy Bitsy Parker’s baby library by bringing a book instead of a card signed with love.”

I absolutely love this idea and all of the wonderful books I received because of it. Even the tables were decorated with some great classics that also served as conversation pieces, like Amelia Bedelia—I loved those books growing up.

I think it is especially a great idea for those of us that don’t already know the baby’s gender. This way, gift-givers get to give a personalized gift that is absolutely gender-neutral and is also a learning tool for baby, not just a cute outfit for him or her to wear. I truly look forward to reading everyone’s signed notes to IBP each time we read the book, that way they get to learn about all of the special people in our lives.

So, keep this great idea in mind next time you are hosting a baby shower, or just trying to decide on a great gift for a kid’s birthday—reading is good for both parent and baby!!!

But, as soon as Big Sis, PP, comes home, I get to spend time with both of my girls, which has been so much fun. I absolutely love seeing my little princesses interact and entertain each other. When Pinkie Pie cries, PP, jumps in & tells her not to cry and pats her on the back (she has become a mini mommy). PP sometimes does a better job at soothing Pinkie Pie than I do! And, she has become a great helper–running & getting a bottle off of the counter, grabbing a pacifier, and finding a bib. PP is all grown up!

The other thing I loved about having more time at home is planning fun activities for PP. I fell in love with Hobby Lobby and got some great seasonal projects for PP, like painting wooden signs & making snowglobes. We even started a new hobby–jewelry making! PP loves to make bracelets and necklaces for her friends and family & I get to make a new necklace for my outfits–win, win.

I get different experiences with my girls: I love my snuggle time with Pinkie Pie and my arts & crafts time with PP. Now that I am back at work at Graco & don’t have as much time anymore during the week, I look forward to my QT with my little ladies on the weekends & the more moments we will have together.