20 Minute Car Seat Cover

On a recent family vacation we made the decision to get a car seat from the rental company instead of lugging our giant car seat with us. Most companies will charge you $10-$15 per day to use the car seat, and they usually have infant or toddler (rear or forward facing) available.

I don't consider myself a germaphobe, but there are lots of unsavory things that children do in carseats. I'm 100% positive they don't do a great job cleaning carseats - I've been in too many rental cars to know the level of attention to detail the cleaning crews have (or don't have, as is most often the case). Thinking of the babe eating a dropped snack from the carseat, passing out and smushing his cute cheeks into the seat, his sensitive chunky thighs rubbing against the seat... just gave me the heebie jeebies! 

So... I came up with a solution - a seat cover! I'm sure they sell them, but it took 20 minutes to make and cost less than $15!

STEP 1: Find a fabric you like that will be comfortable and breathable for the babe. I found an athletic blend that was airy and soft in a teal color.  

I purchased 2.5 yards and laid it over the seat to see where to cut.  Be sure to tuck the fabric down into the seat - don't just lay it over. Also, take into account that you'll use about 10 inches on either side for the hem.

STEP 2: While the fabric was draped, I used chalk to mark where the hooks in my carseat were. The rental may be slightly different, but these settings fit the babe, and a 5-point harness is standard.

When I laid my fabric out I realized my chalk lines weren't centered, so I made the black marks to use instead.

STEP 3: I sewed a basic hem in a giant circle around the parameter being careful to not close the corners. This is going to be used for a drawstring to fit the cover better.  Give yourself a few inches or threading the drawstring will be torture!

STEP 4: I selected a beefy zig-zag stitch and went around the buckle hole (I stitched first, and then used scissors to cut a slit for the buckle to fit)

STEP 5: I then sewed a giant 'I' around the upper belt and lower belt connections. If the shape doesn't make sense to you yet, just wait... 

The 'I' pattern after a quick pass with scissors:

STEP 6: I purchased some chord and a toggle at the store and threaded it through the hem:

Voila! A test fit on my own carseat looked great. Notice how the middle of the "I" is so the belts will come through? If you made 4 individual holes you couldn't access the chest buckle. The two sides will just lay on the seat behind the babe.

Here is the carseat cover in action on our rental seat. Notice it is MUCH smaller than our own car seat, but the drawstring keeps it tight around the edges and hides the extra fabric.

As much as I love the cover, I like to stick to my carseat manufacturer recommendation to not use ANY after-market products with our daily seat. They can reduce effectiveness and may void warranties. 

Shopping Smarter

I like to consider myself a smart shopper.  I tend to know when something is a 'good deal' or when it's not worth the price.  However, I do love coupons.  I get flack sometimes from the hubs for buying things just because I have a coupon.  This clipping basically speaks to me:

Well, I had a 20% off coupon burning a hole in my coupon wallet (I organize by expiration month - no crazy binders for this gal).  So, I snatched these up at our local BabiesRus.  I mean, $8 for TWO, and 20% off - that's around $6.40! 

Then I went to Target, and saw these:

**FACEPALM**

To add insult to injury, we have a Target DEBIT Red Card, which gives us 5% cash back.  So these would have been around $4.27.  That's $2.40 less.  **SIGH**

What 'deals' have you regretted springing for?

Spica Cast - Making it work

Hopefully none of you will have to experience the joy of a spica cast first hand. If you do, here are a few tips I picked up from my own experience.

Spica casts (pronounced spike-uh) are used for a variety of reasons, but are most commonly used to immobilize the hips and thighs. The babe got a hairline compression fracture in his femur, and this is what he looked like after getting his cast:

His is considered a 1/2 spica cast, because only one leg goes to the ankle.  I would argue there is nothing HALF about it. For hip issues that involve legs needing to be turned, sometimes a bar is placed between the legs to encourage twisting.

I've never been in a cast myself, but I always hear about people itching. It doesn't help when you begin with bad eczema. Within a few days, the babe was looking like this:

Overusing steroid skin cream can thin the skin and make things worse. Every 3-4 days we would mix lotion and cortozine in a 3-1 ratio and spread it as far down as we could reach. After each sponge bath he would get a light coating of lotion and a cool blow dryer to make sure all the moisture was out of the cast.

There are certain 'rules' for caring for a spica cast: don't get it wet, don't stick anything down it (powder, things to scratch with, etc.), try your best to catch all of their 'mess' out the bottom end, and love your child when they become stinky!!

Well, that wasn't enough for me.  We had weeks left in this thing and my poor baby's skin was literally going to rub off!

So, as they say, necessity was the mother of invention! First thing I did was get duct tape and wrap it as far in the cast as the inside diaper would cover (blue duct tape to blend in). I didn't want his skin rubbing against duct tape, but the smaller inside diaper went up his chest about 5 inches and about 1/2 an inch down his legs. This made a waterproof barrier at the bottom that could be wiped clean during changing.

Then, I took a newly washed dri-fit athletic shirt (one that is made to wick away moisture) and cut it into four large trapezoid shapes (think triangle with the top cut off). I fed the shirt through the cast, pulled it tight, and taped the edges together with duct tape (black/white checker). I was careful to be sure the inside of the shirt was facing his skin so the wicking would work properly.  This did two things: 1) keep the itchy gauze off of his skin 2) give a protective layer I could remove and wash if we had any accidents.

I did the same on the front and back and changed the 'inserts' weekly (or in the event of a mess). The shirt made two sets of inserts, so there was a backup on hand at all times. They went into the laundry with our normal load, except for the set that went through a blow-out... those went straight to the trash.

You can see in the pictures above, the spica requires a double-diaper.  The inner diaper is 1 or 2 sizes smaller than the normal diaper size the baby would wear. We were only 1 size smaller, because our cast had quite a bit of room between his tummy and the cast. Some casts focused on immobilizing the hips may be tighter and won't allow for a diaper to be tucked in so far.

On the outside, you have a 'catcher' diaper that misses anything the inside doesn't catch. It also loosely holds the inside diaper in, so it doesn't fall out. Ours was 2 sizes larger than regular.

The silver lining is that bowels are less active with less motion, so keeping a good diet is key. The last thing we wanted is a constipated baby!!

One of the other things people don't think about is the fact that you cannot bend in half with a torso cast. That means no high chair, no stroller, no car seat... so, the hospital provided a 'car bed' for us to use. With all of the marketing car seats do to inform you of their safety features, I was honestly scared strapping him in this tiny bucket.  It is literally a plastic tub with a liner and two loops to go through the seat belt. He hates not being able to see out the windows, but that's better than not being properly harnessed in his normal seat.

Another life saver was a wagon. It was easy to slip the babe in and wedge a pillow behind him. We went for walks around the neighborhood and even used it inside when I didn't have the energy to tote him around the house while I did chores. 

I also created a desk/command center for the babe when he was on the couch. Since he can't bend, he can't reach things in his lap. So, he was restricted to holding one item at a time. I took a medium sized mailing box and cut out holes for his legs. I also cut off one of the corners. Then, I wrapped it in wrapping paper and coated it in packing tape (essentially waterproofing it).

It allows him to keep food and toys within reach, and has given him the independence to choose what he wants to play with whenever he is ready.

Luckily, babies and children are resilient. Within a week the babe was crab-walking around the coffee table, and within 2 weeks he was pushing his toys around the house. I think spica casts are a test in patience, but once you get it figured out you can develop a routine. 

If you ever have to deal with a spica cast, know that it is only temporary. It is protecting and healing your baby, and that makes any headache/backache/mess worth it!!!

It is important to note that I am not a medical professional, just a mom who made it work for her baby! If you are unsure about anything, please check with your doctor first.

Amazing Skincare Tool

I won't do this often, but I'm so excited that the wait is almost over! Regardless of your skincare regimen, this is an amazing tool! Plus, I can get you $70 off! Email me at RandFderm@gmail.com for details.

Reclaim your skin’s radiant glow in just five minutes with the REDEFINE MACRO Exfoliator™. Used once a week, this hand-held, personal use exfoliation tool sweeps away dead skin cells leaving behind a smoother, healthier-looking and more luminous complexion. The proof is in the filter where you can see the dulling, dead outermost skin cells and debris that have been covering up your best skin.

Happy Accidents

Last week the babe and I were having breakfast in bed.  I bring him a few finger-foods in a bowl, and I eat my morning Noosa yoghurt (AMAZE-balls) find at Target that has tons of protein and natural ingredients - but I digress.

I gave the little one my lid to play with, and this happened:

OHMYGOSH!!!

Yes, Noosa yoghurt lids fit our Oxo bowls **Snoopy dance** It's a good, airtight fit.  

Yes, they came with lids (that barely stuck on), but who knows where those have run off to... 

 The bowls are 12oz Oxo Tot that we got in our 4-piece set and the bowl set in the 'related items' side image:

What happy accidents have you discovered?  Noosa info here - I love the honey and strawberry rhubarb flavors best.