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March 25, 2006

Car Seat Makers = Agents of Satan

My wife and I are now in the last week and a half or so of the pregnancy and preparations are in full swing. We have the baby bag and the labor kit packed, the room is completely set up and today, I installed the car seat docking station. Hospitals don't let you leave with your child until the thing is installed, so I figured it was best to do it now while we were mildly sane. Plus, I don't want to get yelled at by a maternity nurse. For some reason, I have it in my head that all nurses who work on those floors look just like Nurse Ratched.

Having no carseat installed would earn me the disapproval of a Louise Fletcher lookalike, and that really didn't seem like a good way to start parenthood, so today it was.

Oh, how I would love to meet the person who designed our carseat, and the person who wrote the instructions on how to install it. I would cheerfully inflict violence upon them. With the docking station. I first tried to loop the seatbelt through the back of the dock, and then put the locking pin on. After grunting and struggling with both, the seat was in. And it moved a good inch or so from side to side as though it were on an invisible hinge.

"Well, that won't work." I said. My wife agreed.

So I tried again. Same results. Great. Any sudden stops would turn our little carseat into a Mercury capsule - kid strapped in and ready to fly. Everytime we turned, the kid would move from side to side. This was no good.

It was then that I noticed a strap actually attached to the carseat. I removed it, and saw it was supposed to latch onto some anchors in the car itself. Whoa. Modern technology. I looked more carefully at my car and - thank you, Saturn - saw the right anchors. Latch them in, tighten the strap. Bingo.

Well, almost.

To make the experience even more fun for parents-to-be, the carseat designer put an indicator on the front of the dock. It indicates the safest level for the carset to be in, and ours was in the red, which of course equaled baby astronaut during sudden stop.

So after a few buttons were pushed in the back, and some straps tightened, it was in the green, which of course equals a safe and grounded baby.

For those wondering, things are happening that indicate the kid wants out. Maybe not imminent, but soon. I'll keep you posted.

UPDATE - Some minor typos pointed out by a friend and fellow blogger have been corrected. Serves me right for trying to compose my thoughts while wondering whether any mistakes I made will end up with an airborne baby.

Posted by Peter at 03:29 PM | Comments (2)

March 19, 2006

Thank you...

My dear friends Esther and Jessica held a baby shower at our church for us last night. My mom and sister were able to come up for the occasion. The decorating was so sweet and the time put in to the evening was so evident.
It was a lovely group of women including some of my youth group girls and "little women," of the church, which I loved. Baby and I received many lovely things and felt so loved and cared for. What a blessing to have such a church family--an extension of the wonderful biological family God has given me.
I'm so thankful to have a body of believers such as this in which to bring up our son or daughter.
Love and thanks to all who helped and came!

Posted by Shannon at 05:21 PM | Comments (2)

March 01, 2006

The Closet Saga

Peter breathed a sigh of relief this Sunday afternoon. Why you ask? Because it was then that he and my talented carpenter brother finished installing shelves in our baby closet. Those close to us know that the baby's closet has come to represent my nesting instinct, which has lately kicked into overdrive.

It's rather embarassing to admit the hours I've spent and the nights I've laid in bed thinking about the layout of this closet, when it would be finished, and how to maximize the space. I had to discipline myself not to nag my already stressed and overworked husband about its construction, but he likely could read my thoughts anyway (He tells me I'm rather transparent :) ). I have a tendency to want things done yesterday once I think of them, and hormones seem to have exacerbated that.

So they are now complete and beautiful, just as I imagined (and drew out on paper with detailed measurements and instructions :)), ready to be filled with baby gear. Baby can now arrive because of course he cares very much about having a proper closet for his ensemble :) And my poor hubby, who is deserving of sainthood, can rest!
All I can say is, I love the way he loves me...

Posted by Shannon at 10:10 PM | Comments (1)