Child Seat Belt for Airplanes!!!!!!!!!!

So I was at the doctors office today to get my IUD (that will come in another post) and decided to read the Parenting magazine to see if they had any fun summer ideas for me to do with Aiden.  There is a page in there where they have a bunch of different ads for products that Mommy’s would love and I came across something that DEFINITELY caught my eye!!!

Aiden will be 2 on the 29th of August and we will be taking his last flight before I have to buy him a plane ticket the weekend of his birthday. When I researched what will be the protocol after he turns 2 the airline website listed that I will have to bring a car seat on board. WHAT!!! I mean I did purchase the Sunshine Kids Radian 65 that IS FAA approved but I don’t want to lug that sucker thru the airport in addition to Aiden, probably Noah and all the goodies that keep our flight friendly for the res of the passengers. I have NEVER seen a child with a car seat on the plane so I assume that this is not a policy that has a strict enforcement. Then I thought, well the seat belt on the airplane can NOT be safe for children…I mean seriously.

So next month I will be purchasing…drum roll please…a CARES (Child Aviation Restraint System) for Aiden!!! It is a belt buckle device specially designed for children 22-44lbs!!!! And it is the ONLY harness type child aviation safety restraint ever certified by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).

             

              

I can’t tell you how excited I am to find something like this. It will make flying with both boys a MUCH easier process. I mean Aiden is normally ALL OVER the place so I know he is NOT going to sit in his own seat if he can unhook the regular seat belt…which has been able to do since he was 17 months old.  But with this he won’t be able to get loose!!!! It is essentially a car seat without the big ole car seat!!!! Here is some exact wording from their web site:

Each year more and more young children fly. But until CARES came along, what was missing was a convenient, hassle-free way to keep young flyers safe. Here’s what makes CARES such an invaluable travel solution: 

• CARES is the first and only harness type Aviation Child Safety Device to be certified by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) as an alternative to a car seat.
• CARES is an elegantly designed belt-and-buckle device that works in conjunction with the regular airplane seat belt and provides young travelers the same level of safety as a car seat.
• CARES weighs just one pound and fits into a 6" stuff sack! It is easily portable, simple to install, adjustable to every size airplane seat, and usable on any seat in the airplane, except in the emergency exit rows.
• Need your car seat on the other end of the trip? Just check it through as luggage – and carry CARES on board in your pocket!

CARES is manufactured exclusively by AmSafe Aviation, the foremost manufacturer of aviation seatbelts and pilot restraints in the world. (Turn over your airplane seat belt buckle. Chances are it says AmSafe.) CARES is made of the same industrial-strength webbing as your own seat belt and is engineered to the highest aviation-safety standards.

I mean how cool is that!!!! It does cost a little bit more than I would like ($74.95) but it will be well worth it!!!! It even comes with a little bag to carry it in that will fit easily into your diaper bag so not toting a big car seat anymore!!!! (Insert Happy Mommy Dance!!!!!)

Happy Flying!!!

DEALS!!!! (***Updated***)

I have been meaning to do a post about places online that I love for deals on baby and kids stuff!!! Of course I am a SERIOUS fan of Old Navy and BabyGap and get emails regularly about their sales...I suggest all Mommy's out there to sign up for e-mail alerts to their favorite places to shop for their little ones. You get heads up on deals before everyone else!!!! You can also go in the store and ask them when they put new items on sale so you can get that cute outfit you have had your eye on!!!

So there are two web sites that have daily deals. And they have some GREAT deals. Just a couple days ago one site had 6 pair (3 for boys and 3 for girls) of See Kai Run Shoes on sale for 55% off!!!! They have sales on everything from cloth diapers to diaper bags to stainless steel water bottles to clothing!!!

So visit Baby Half Off and Baby Steals. If you are on FB or Twitter be sure to follow them so you get the item of the day first!!!!

UPDATE!!!!

I have also added Kid Steals and Baby Cheap Skate to my list of Mommy faves!!!! Kid Steals are deals for toddler and kids. And Baby Cheap Skate is coupons, coupon codes and special deals for babies, toddlers and kids!!!!

Noah's Newborn Shoot

As I posted a few weeks ago we did a newborn shoot with the wonderful Paul Wendl at his studio. Paul and I have been waiting to be able to see the wonderful pics and we FINALLY got the proofs last week. And needless to say we were MORE than satisfied!!!! You can visit Noah's blog to see the pictures. But I thought that I would share with you the first and only (so far) family picture of ours.

Hot Chicks, Hot Food Picks!!!

LET THE MOVEMENT BEGIN!!!!! I am an AVID FB poster...and normally my posts have something to do about food. I have a Line Sister that lives in Chicago that shares my love of all things YUMMY!! People tell us all the time that we should have a show on my FAVORITE channel...The Food Network. And we have decided that we agree!!!! So we have created a page on Facebook. You can link to it on the left of my blog...feel free to click the like bottom at the top of the Hot Chicks page. You will get regular food reviews (on spots that we go to in our home cities as well as when we travel), recipes, restaurant deals, videos of spots we visit, etc. You can even post your own reviews or recommend places for us to visit!!!!

We are super excited. You can also follow us on twitter @ChiLantaFoodies!!! Tell your friends...and tell your friends to tell their friends. Maybe if we get enough followers on FB and twitter The Food Network will take our tape seriously once we send it in...lol.

You can visit Cherish's blog at http://therealcherish.blogspot.com/ where she talks about fashion, food, traveling, among other things!!!

Breastfeeding!!!!!!

Let me begin by saying that being a Mommy of two is HARD WORK!!! lol...but I am loving every minute.

In August of 1999 I had a breast reduction...that was much needed. And at that time children and breast feeding were VERY far off of my radar. So when I got pregnant with Aiden I knew that being able to breast feed was something that was up in the air and I would not know if I was able to do so until after he was born. While I was pregnant I did TONS of research about breastfeeding after a breast reduction and basically everything told me what I already knew...it was going to be a crap shoot.

Most of the research said that if the reduction was done more than 5 years before the birth of the child then you had a greater risk of being able to. And that if you pump or attempt to breast feed with your first child then you will more than likely have more milk for the children that follow.

Well with Aiden I had milk...but not much of it, and Aiden was greedy so when he latched on and it was not shooting out he was not having that!!! So I pumped for about a month and then my little bit of milk went bye bye. Even with pumping I only got 4oz out of one breast ONCE...and I was too excited. Most commonly I was getting about 1.5oz out of each breast. So he was at least getting a little bit. It was really hard to be pumping every time I fed Aiden. I mean I would pump for 30 minutes right after I fed Aiden...then it felt like by the time I was done it was time to feed him again!!!!! I was exhausted!!! But I did what I had to do.

And I am glad that I did because with Noah I CAN BREASTFEED!!! YAY!!!! Noah is much more patient than Aiden. Noah latched on in the hospital and has worked with me from day one...lol. I felt my milk coming in the day I was being discharged so I pumped a little bit, but by the time I got home I was FULLY engorged and in agonizing pain. Poor Noah tried to help Mommy out but my breasts were so hard that he could not latch on. I felt so much better when my mommy brought the pump and I relieved that pressure.

I knew that I would not be able to exclusively breast feed but Noah has gotten quite a bit of breast milk. There was even an instance where I was naked and my milk was shooting out of one of my breasts...I was SOOOOOO excited...lol. He normally gets breast milk all through the night and formula during the day. Which works for me and him. But I think he is getting lazy and not wanting to latch...either way I am MORE than happy that I have been able to give him SOME breast milk for the past 9 weeks!!!

So for all you mommy's out there that have had some type of breast surgery dont be discouraged. Pump pump pump and it will give you a better chance of producing more the second time around. And if you are going to have some surgery done and have yet to have any children express your interest in being able to breast feed in the future. That way they can be cautious around your milk ducks.

If you want more information go to Breast Feeding After Breast and Nipple Surgeries and if you want information on increasing your milk supply go to Low Milk Supply.

Knowledge is Power with stuff like this!!!