Seriously, Graco?

Almost a month ago Graco had a highchair recall.  This is just another in a long list of recent baby recalls, one of the more recent ones being a baby sling recall.  (I'm not even going to link to the sling recall because I feel that one is dumb.  I hate that children died while the product was being used, but I feel the real issue is parental negligence, not necessarily a bad product.  But I digress.)

Anyhow, back to the highchair recall, this one actually affected us.  The high chair we've used for all three children, the one currently covered in noodles and diced strawberries, is one of the recalled chairs.  While I was checking the serial number on the chair to see if it was part of the recall, I noticed that the screws on the front legs were half way out -- which is one of the main reasons why the recall was instated in the first place.  I tightened the screws and went on to the website to tell Graco we needed a fix kit.  Of course, on their recall notice it states that we must "DISCONTINUE USE IMMEDIATELY!" Note the bold caps.

We didn't.  We continued to use the chair -- horrible parents that we are -- as we waited for the repair kit to arrive.  Really, what did they want us to do?  Go out and buy a replacement highchair while we waited for them to send us a fix for this one?  Or better yet, strap the wiggly baby into a kitchen chair?  Come on.  We figured the safer bet would be to keep an eye on the chair to be sure the screws stayed secure and the leg braces weren't cracking.  The more difficult task was to keep the older two from hanging on it while playing peek-a-boo with the baby.

Well, the repair kit came today.  It's half what I expected.  Sure enough, there are bigger, better, tighter screws.  No surprise there.  But the "What the heck?" moment came when I unfolded the fabric legbrace.  That's right, folks, a fabric square with buckles at the corners that's intended to brace the legs. Umm.  Ok.  In the little installation manual that comes with it is this great big note:

WARNING:
NEVER use highchair without the legbrace installed.  Using highchair without leg brace [sic] can result in the highchair collapsing and injury to your child.

So, what you're saying here, Mr. Graco is that this little nylon scrap of a crumb collector is going to prevent injury?  Huh.  Have you ever met a 3-year-old?  No? Huh.  Let me brief you:

A 3-year-old boy -- at least the one I currently know most intimately -- will see that scrap of nylon as something to stand on and/or sit on.  He will, of course, get no support; his bodyweight will pull that little square to the floor.  But his magnetic attraction to that spot under the chair will eventually cause strain on the stupid little buckled corners.  The question is whether the seams will give way first, or will the buckles break?  I know, this product is for a baby or toddler, not a 3-yr-old to use as a jungle gym, but, Graco, you have to assume families may actually have more than one child.


(Throughout the instructions, they alternate between referring to this as a "legbrace" and a "leg brace"; I guess this was a quick fix, so I won't be too hard on that.  But still, it's an inconsistency.)

A note a few pages later states:

To clean fabric leg brace [sic], wipe clean with damp cloth.  DO NOT machine wash or dry.  DO NOT BLEACH.

And this is what made me laugh.  See, if I was a first-time mom, I probably would have read that, nodded, and thought, "oh, ok."

But I'm not a first time mom!

So I read that and thought, "You're kidding, right?"  Anything that sits under a highchair for any length of time will at some point become so disgusting that it will rival the nastiest of diapers.  We're not there yet with this one, but I know the time is coming.  And just because it's directly under the seat of the chair doesn't mean it will be sheltered from the mashed peas, yogurt, tomato sauce, squash, spilled milk, squashed oxidizing bananas applesauce, mushed cheese -- you name it-- that fall from above. Rather, when the child sits on it and it squeezes, somehow, through the holes in the seat it will fall directly on the pretty little legbrace.  Sure, most can be cleaned off well enough with a damp cloth if attended to immediately.  But clean-up is often NOT the chore that gets attended to "immediately" when a baby is around.  Rather, clean-up happens once the kid is finally napping, after he's had a diaper change, a bath, is dressed in his pj's and nursed to sleep.

I'm irritated. I'm irked.  I'm pissed off that yet another stupid little chore has been added to my to-do list, all in the name of "safety."  Still, I guess I'll install the damned legbrace/leg brace.  At least until I have more than speculation to refer to when writing my pissed-off letter to Graco.

Now to clean up those noodles and diced strawberries and to install the crumbcatcher.

Broken Thought Process Thursday: On being a mom, seeing Mraz, and feeling like a sleepy cow

Thought I'd jump on the bandwagon with Jenn, Ginger, Bree, & whomever else that's a sucker for trend...

I've been away from writing for too long. I have a dozen or so poems rattling around in my head, but I don't know where to start. They're tangled like last year's strands of Christmas lights. And somewhere, a bulb is out. Or more. Probably more.

Life as a mom of 3 boys is off to a good start. For those who haven't heard through other channels, I gave birth to our third little boy over a month ago. He was 5 1/2 weeks early and had to hang out at the hospital for a couple weeks, but really, overall, everything went well. And even given the fact that it was a preterm delivery, I have to say that it was the best labor experience I've had. Though there was some concern because he was early, I was not overcome by it like I was when our second made a surprise arrival (also at 34 1/2 weeks). We knew what to expect: he'd be swept away quickly because his lungs would likely be underdeveloped, he'd likely be jaundiced, he would be slow to learn to nurse, and he'd stay at the hospital for about two weeks. All were true in this case as they had been with our #2.

With the birth of a baby comes the hormonal roller coaster (just ask my husband, sister & mom). Call it "Baby Blues" if you want, but really, that sounds cuter than it is. Sometimes it hits like a blow to the gut and knocks the wind out of a girl. It's as overwhelming as the factors it exaggerates. Does that make any sense? Let me try again: the physical reaction a "Blues Flash" can cause is as stressful in itself as are the stressful factors (from maintaining a household to reworking career plans to finances) that can trigger the "episode" itself.

I feel like my hours and energy are constantly being sucked away from me. The only time I feel like I have time is when I'm at work. That's right, my baby is under 6 weeks old and I've been back to work for 2 weeks now. Granted it's part-time, but still. But I knew that going into this. It's a small company (that isn't ruled by FMLA) and they don't offer short term disability or maternity leave. I'm not holding that against them -- I like the company, the people I work with, and the job I do -- but when I've been there these past 2 weeks, I SO don't want to be there. Time drags. I can't help but think of the gazillion things I have to do here at home.

Since our little angel was born, it's been busy here. The first 2 weeks involved visiting the hospital multiple times a day. The good thing is that we're less than 10 minutes from the hospital. The bad thing is that being so close, a parent feels like s/he should commit to being there at every chance. That's unreasonable. Especially when there are 2 other kids at home who aren't allowed into the NICU. So it was good to get the little guy home. Of course, while he was at the hospital, we were guaranteed uninterrupted sleep at night!

Still, sleep hasn't been so bad. Right around 5 weeks the little man started (sporadically) sleeping through the night. That coincided with him rolling over. That's right, folks. This 1-month-old preemie has rolled over! Granted it was from belly to back (easier than the other) and in a fit of frustration, but he did it. He constantly scoots around if he's on his tummy. We've got to watch out for this one! He's determined to catch up to his big brothers!

Even with all the craziness that comes with a new baby, I managed to go to see Jason Mraz at the end of July.  That was funny.  So, the show was scheduled for an outdoor venue in Charlotte.  The short of it is, it POURED.  I'm talking, this storm was the lovechild of a Katrina & Hugo.  Or not quite, but that's how it seemed.  The tickets stated "rain or shine" no one wanted to leave even though the weather was miserable.

But about 2 hours after the show was to have started, they officially gave up on the original plans.  And lucky for us -- all the soaking wet concert goers -- because the storm knocked out the soundstage system, they offered a do-over.  Not rainchecks, mind you, because they wouldn't refund on behalf of the rain.  We were given the option that night to (A) Leave & get a refund, (B) stick around and TRY to get into the limited audience show in the indoor venue they moved to (try fitting something like 8K into 1.5K space), or (C) use your ticket at a rescheduled show at a later date at the original outdoor venue.  Because I was there alone (another story), and I couldn't be sure if I'd be able to swing the "later date", and I sure wasn't going to give up on seeing Mraz, I stuck around.

The show was great, but by the time it was over after 1 am, my feet were really killing me (as were my engorged boobs).  But I was glad I stayed.  I was even more happy with my decision when musictoday decided to invite those of us who went to the soaking wet show back to the rescheduled show!  So my ticket has turned out to be a 2 for 1 afterall!  And I didn't even have to have a baby at the show! ;)

I've been trying to nurse (see previously mentioned engorged boobs). Well, no, I've been nursing, but the little guy is an inefficient participant. He likes the snuggling aspect of it, but he doesn't eat enough that way. He prefers the "big gulp" of a bottle. So I've been expressing milk. I feel like a cow. Moo. I've had to ask a friend to loan me some freezer space for the excess milk.

Ok, TMI alert. Now I know this one is weird, and some might be grossed out by this: on occasion I've instinctively licked a stray drop or two of my milk off of my hand. This has led me to a surprise realization: my milk tastes a lot like Silk original flavor soy milk. Ok. Like I said, TMI, I'm sure, but it's not like I'm asking anyone to do a taste test. Note, the consistencies are way different.

Also note, not that I've tried or ever wanted to, but apparently it's not possible to make cheese out of breastmilk. Just sayin.

Considering that I really should accomplish something before the boys wake from their naps, I'm wrapping this up now before my lack of filter loses me another reader.

Talk about Ugly part 1: Terms of Life

As I had expected, my previous post struck some nerves, apparently. And also as I had expected, it has raised more questions and debate than it laid to rest. At this point, I intend to elaborate on my previous “Big Ugly” abortion post in three additional posts focusing on specific angles: a primer of terms (this post), misconceptions, and the law of it. Of course, I encourage and welcome discussion. (Just forgive me if I am slow to respond since the next couple days (and weeks) will be pretty busy for me.)


Terms of Life

In order to help minimize arguments based on semantics, I would like to clarify some of the terms generally tossed around relating to the abortion debate.

Abortion – Wikipedia defines abortion as “the termination of a pregnancy by the removal or expulsion of an embryo or fetus from the uterus, resulting in or caused by its death.” Though an abortion can occur naturally due to complications, I will use it solely to refer to induced abortions. Should the subject of a natural or spontaneous abortion arise, I will refer to it as a “miscarriage.”

Pro-Life – Generally used interchangeably with anti-abortion, pro-life traditionally refers specifically to human life. Wikipedia states: “The term describes the political and ethical view which maintains that fetuses and embryos are human beings, and therefore have a right to live.” I have heard arguments that individuals are personally concurrently pro-life and pro-choice; for the sake of clarity, let’s limit “pro-life” to the belief that all human life, from conception to natural death, should be protected by law.

Pro-Choice – According to Wikipedia, pro-choice as the “view that a woman should have complete control over her fertility and the choice to continue or terminate a pregnancy.” As I state above, some people claim to be pro-life and pro-choice concurrently; for the sake of clarity, I will limit “pro-choice” to refer to those who believe a woman’s productive “rights” should be protected over the rights of an unborn child.

Pro-Abortion – In favor of abortion. Generally, this term is used interchangeably with pro-choice. I have found, however, that most pro-choice people are not actually in favor of abortion itself, just the “right” for “someone else” to have one. In the event that it comes up in this or subsequent blogs, it will refer specifically to proponents of abortion. Like maybe this guy.

Types of Abortion

Please note this is by no means comprehensive!

Medical Abortion – Abortion by means of drugs or a combination of drugs.

Surgical Abortion – This is the ending of a pregnancy by surgical means, such as MVA, D&C, Saline Abortion or Partial Birth Abortion.

Late-Term Abortion – As the term suggests, a Late-Term Abortion is an abortion performed late in the pregnancy. Sources differ in what “late” refers to, with some stating “after 12 weeks,” others saying “after 16 weeks,” and the majority stating it refers to “after 20 weeks.” Should the issue come up, I will consider it to mean “after 20 weeks gestation.”

Partial Birth Abortion – Formally known as intact dilation and extraction or IDX, partial birth abortion has been used for late-term abortions.

Saline Abortion – Saline Abortion is a term occasionally used to refer to the broader term “Instillation abortion.” Instillation abortion is a method used during the second and third trimesters, by injecting a chemical (such as saline) solution into the amniotic fluid to cause uterine contractions. The chemical solution burns the baby before causing the mother to expel the child.

Manual Vacuum aspiration (MVA) – Abortion by means of a vacuum used to literally suck the baby from the mother’s womb. This is the most common type of abortion and is generally used in the first 12 weeks of pregnancy.

Dilation and curettage (D&C) – According to Wikipedia, D&C is “the second most common method of abortion, is a standard gynecological procedure performed for a variety of reasons, including examination of the uterine lining for possible malignancy, investigation of abnormal bleeding, and abortion.” This is generally limited to the first trimester or approximately 13 weeks of pregnancy.

Selected Related Law and Legislation

Roe V. Wade – The landmark Supreme Court decision of January 22, 1973, which has shaped debate about abortion in America ever since. Google it for the details if you’re not familiar with it, or click the term for the Wikipedia entry.

Freedom of Choice Act (FOCA) – Wikipedia sums up the FOCA as “a bill in the United States Congress which, if enacted, would abolish all restrictions and limitations on the right of women in the United States to have an abortion, whether at the State or Federal level.” By eliminating all restrictions and limitations, the FOCA would also “nullify the types of abortion laws that the Supreme Court has said are permitted under Roe v. Wade.” (Johnson)

Born Alive Infants Protection Act – An act of Congress to protect infants who were born alive as a result of an induced abortion.

Partial Birth Abortion Ban Act (PBA Ban) - A United States law prohibiting abortion by means of IDX.

Stay tuned for “Talk about Ugly pt. 2: misConceptions.”