So anyone else craptastic at CPS when you have a family emergency?

I haven't seen S and J since Sunday for more than 20 minutes. They've been shipped around from place to place. And they go from one sitter to another with no intervention from us

Which means I have ZERO control over their seats.

So my craptastic CPS this week? J rode FFing and S is in a booster.

J was at my MILs and I asked DH to leave his seat but his mom said she wouldn't take him anywhere so she didn't need one. So he didn't leave one. Well then my SIL offered to take him (both live 1hr10m from us, and 3 miles from eachother) as he was too much for my MIL. I knew none of this. DH told me later that SIL's DH picked up J and brought him to their house and installed a seat my MIL had for him. Except my MIL only has expired Generation 40s that have been in her freezing cold garage for 2 years. Excellent. I tried not to think about it and thankfully I didn't know until it was over.

Tomorrow they are going to a friends and someone from church is picking up S from there to entertain her for the day and take her to lunch duty at E's school. All I have is the frontier. I knew that chances are she isn't going to install it right. So I'm leaving a booster. S's booster training consisted of putting her in one this morning on the 10 minute drive to the sitter and threatening swift punishment if she moved. She did fine. Thankfully she is at least 4 (umm last week)

I don't even have time to worry which is the saddest part. I left his seat with the sitter today with a little sign that says "Please face me backwards. I don't work forwards" LOL.

So that's that.

Anyone else have to do this during emergencies and feel like mother of the year?

When ds2 was born we met my mom at a Pizza Hut on the way to the hospital to give her our older two. She forgot to bring the car with her car seats in it so dh had to quickly install our two GN in her car. By the time the kids came home, she had decided to take the seats out a few times and reinstall them a few times (I have no idea why). Luckily I didn't see the seats, but dh said that they were horribly loose and one was installed with a top tether only

I'm sure you did they best you could at the time

We've actually been creating a plan for emergencies like this. DS will be 4 next month and I bought a Cybex for him for emergencies only. We'll do some booster training with him before he needs it. My Mom cannot install the seats (she uses them fine, but has arthritis) and I'm worried about a situation where DS would need to go with her and his Nauti wouldn't already be in her car and we wouldn't be able to put it in. (picking him up from school in an emergency, etc.)

DD is harder because ideally she would be rear facing, but I think a forward facing seat would be easier to install, but I'm trying to come up with what it should be. . .


You're doing the best you can, and probably better than a lot of people ever do. Hopefully everyone will be home and healthy soon!

When it's an emergency or family crisis, you do what you have to do to get through it.

Pixels said:

When it's an emergency or family crisis, you do what you have to do to get through it.

Click to expand...

This is soooo true. Please let yourself off the hook right now. And then remind dh to always leave seats, just in case.

henrietta

Well this isn't even an emergency, but for about 8 months I had my older kid's in GN's installed in the 3rd row of my Pacifica with LATCH. There is no latch back there. I thought the bars I felt were anchors, but they were just part of the seat. That's what I get for not reading the vehicle manual. I felt horrible for a long time after figuring that out.

remember that this is what really is an emergency... you have done the best you can. You're doing even better because you are remeding the situation for J, which isn't always doable in these emergencies.

and a properly used booster truly is safer than an improperly installed and used harnessed seat... with so much shuffling, I'd have just sent a booster knowing it's easier not to mess up when having to be put in so often.

big virtual hugs for you and the two kids being brave while their big sister is in the hospital... and lots of prayers for E.

*hugs* Wish one of us were closer so you could be more confident of the car seat use!

For that matter, wish I had the magic "make it go away" wand too! I know you'd rather be the one home with your kids.

You have had so much going on this week. All you get are ((hugs)) and a pass. No criticism.

I know the feeling That is why I bought the Vivo for my four year old because it is pretty easy to use.... well, easier then having to install a harnessed seat
He only uses it in an emergency when I am in the hospital with his sister and someone besides dh has to pick him up from school. He has used it a few times in dh's truck just so he knows what is expected when he is in a "big boy" seat.

I hate it when he has to go with someone else but at times I just do not have a choice since we are in the hospital so much with his little sister

You do what you have to do- you are a great momma !!!

***hugs*** You do what you have to do in an emergency. You're doing what you can and that's all you can do.

I took DD4 to the doctor last year and she ended up being admitted. A friend of mine picked DD5 up and took her to DH (he didn't have time to come to the hospital and get her first because it was time to pick the big girls up from school and the people at the hospital were freaking out about the H1N1 visitor restrictions and DD5 being there...ugh!) Anyway, I didn't even think to ask about car seats. I know better. I should have asked. But no, I didn't...and DD5 rode in a booster at 2.5 years old I wish DH hadn't told me... Now I've taught DD1 how to install seats correctly and she knows who can and cannot ride in which seats. DH is pretty good about installing seats and using the correctly as well.

I started booster training C the day after his 4th birthday. I didn't know who was going to be available when I went in to labor with M and there are only a couple people I can trust to install seats correctly or even thread the RSTV correctly. C could at least check that the belt on his turbo was "in the red". (FTR, he was well over 40 pounds by his 4th birthday.) But yeah, you have to do what you have to do to get by. It is hard when you don't have control of the handoff of the kiddos.

Pixels said:

When it's an emergency or family crisis, you do what you have to do to get through it.

Click to expand...

They lived. At least you aren't using this "luck on the road" to weigh your future decisions..

We all have those moments that things happen and we just can't help it. Don't be hard on yourself. I almost had to send ds home with MIL in an expired OHS when I let my friend leave with his rfing xtsl because "MIL had a seat" and I took other peoples' word on its "newness". I got lucky and called in a favor, but I was there and so were people I knew. It wasn't until later that dh tossed out that he would have been fine and it wasn't his first time in that seat, he'd been out in it several times while visiting MIL with dh without me... All because he wouldn't move the TFP ds rode down there in..