Do I Have A Fake Ergo Carrier?!

So today I saw something online (and for the life of me I can't remember where this rabbit hole began) that mentioned there are counterfeit Ergo baby carriers being sold at discount prices.  Supposedly even if you bought from a reputable online site, there is a chance your carrier can be a big fat fake.

Here is one article and then there are dozens more that I found that talk about how angry these women are about their fake carriers.  I took my adorable carrier out and compared it to the "real" vs "fake" versions on that site and saw that it has two red flag items that might mean it is a fake - the warning label is similar to the fake one, and the buckles say "warrior" instead of "stealth".  But in all other respects, my carrier seems well-made, safe, and looks identical to the "real" photos - the stitching, safety elastic, and everything else on my carrier is perfect.  I am not concerned at all about the safety of my carrier, and if I was I wouldn't use it at all - real or fake!

Now according to the comment section of the articles I was reading, supposedly there are Ergos made in other places, and really the only way to know if yours is a fake is to contact Ergo with serial numbers and registration info.  Ergo has sent mixed messages - one woman says she got an email saying any variation at all indicates a fake, another said when she contacted them with pictures of her "fake" label that she was assured it was not counterfeit at all.

Maybe I have a fake, maybe I don't.  Unfortunately, I don't have the box anymore to compare and/or ship back if it is indeed a fake.  In the future though, I will do some serious research before buying a carrier anywhere but through Ergo or Babies R Us - if only for the peace of mind it would give me to know I will not unintentionally be buying something that might be of lower quality than the price I am paying for it.  I have no problem buying well made but cheaper items (see; shoe collection, sweaters, etc...) but if I am buying a "designer baby carrier" that I am probably wearing more often than I carry my designer purse?!?!  That thing better be 100% next time, with nothing to give me pause or ask questions.

Why I Don't Gamble With Baby Vegas

Over the last few months, I've had to make a ton of decisions on how to raise Baby Vegas.  And believe it or not, just because I've done it once before with Little Man doesn't mean I will make the same choices for my second son. Not only do I not remember everything I did with Little Man, things have already changed since my firstborn was a baby.  Yes, in five years, things have changed. So not only do I have to defend my decisions to my (well-meaning but wrong) older generation of moms/grandmas I have around me, but I have to defend them to myself!  Just because I did it once doesn't mean it is still the best or safest way to parent!

Between my BabyBump iPhone app and my Facebook newsfeed, there are so many questions and then opinions about baby rearing.  Breast-feeding or formula?  Attachment parenting or crying-it-out?  Pureed food or baby led weaning?  These debates can get incredibly heated, but I generally avoid them and am not too concerned.  While these choices are obviously very important to you and yours, your decision in them does not affect me or the life of your child.  Your breastfed baby is just as safe as my formula fed one.  Kids who start on purees will eventually eat table food.  There are no studies that identify whether serial killers were carried in Baby Bjorns instead of a tye-dyed ring sling.  Maybe your kid will end up "better" than my kid, or maybe they won't.  These kind of choices are innocent parenting choices that always just prompt me to say - and only when asked for my opinion - "Here is what I do, but really, do what you think is best."

But then there are the debates that have me slamming down my phone in disgust or typing away long-winded answers in frustration.  Baby carriers rested on the tops of shopping carts.  Guidelines on how long to keep your child in a car seat and/or rear facing.  Crib bumpers and the "back to sleep" initiative.  These questions make me angry because there is in fact just one answer to all of these - do what is safest despite what is convenient!  That's it.  No, you don't hear about thousands of babies dying from any one of these things.  But there are plenty of injuries, and there have been deaths.  So why would you risk being that unlucky parent for a little bit of convenience?  Yeah, I've been there.  I hate having to wake up a sleeping baby to transfer them to a wearable carrier or one of the carriers that is pre-attached to your shopping cart.  I have beautiful crib bumpers gifted to me for my first son from before the state of Maryland outlawed them for safety reasons. I've watched my son sleeping on his tummy so sweetly and deeply that I was tempted to walk away and get my work done.

Then I think about it again.  I think about those women who knew it would never ever happen to them.  The ones whose child would never fall off a shopping cart as she rolled over a curb, or turned down the aisle too quickly. The mother who walked in to see her child tangled in a crib bumper or smothered under a heavy quilt.  Those few mothers out of those hundreds of mothers who just know it will never happen to them.  And then I don't gamble. It isn't worth the risk  My son's life is worth making the safe bet - which is not betting at all.   Just because your parents did it and "we turned out fine" is not an excuse any more.  Know better, and do better.  Don't be the person that gambles and loses! You can't possibly know what life has in store for you. You might be the car involved in a collision on the Beltway, or you might get home safely with two kids sharing a single seat-belt. No one wakes up in the morning and thinks, "By golly I better be extra-safe today because I have that accident coming my way."  If there are ways to prevent infant and child deaths and you aren't doing them, then that is when I want to shake you and beg you to become informed. Even when doing your very best all the time as a parent, accidents happen.  Every day can't be your lucky day. So please take the extra time to read up on child safety and carry it out.  The one time you realize that you prevented an accident or injury will be worth all the headache and work you swore you didn't need to be doing.  And if you never happen to encounter a situation where your child is saved by one of the safety measures you took - well then, consider yourself lucky, and I'd recommend you play the slots.

So much for posting every day

Today is the 50th day of school in our county, so Little Man's class is celebrating with a 50's dance complete with root beer floats and hot dogs.  It should be fairly hilarious because A) a kindergarten dance?  And B) Little Man hates ice cream and carbonated beverages.  But I dutifully dressed him in his greaser costume and tried to slick back his mop of hair before school... it turned out more flock of seagulls than greaser, but I think I got an A for effort.

To add to my morning craziness, every day for the next two weeks he is supposed to be in a different color outfit for their color unit. This is after I spent all last week dressing him in outfits for "Spirit Week".  Considering he could care less what he wears, it's really a pain in the ass.  But I feel like if I don't do it, then the other moms and teachers will judge me for not caring about this super fun Color Unit.  *Sigh*  So I am organizing a bunch of special outfits for this week and he will be the cutest and most involved kid in his class.  

We all had a great extended Halloween weekend!  Saturday was lunch with my grandmother-in-law and a costume party with some of my favorites. Then yesterday we invited some more friends over to watch scary movies and eat our leftover candy.  Hubs laughed with me later that I never really held Baby Vegas for more than a minute or so all night - he was everyone's favorite party guest.

Last but certainly not least - I finally started my exercise program again!  I am hoping I can keep up with it, and I know that I can as long as I put my mind to it.  I love how great I feel when I'm keeping up with my workouts and eating well, and it is always a nice bonus to see the pounds drop off.  My goal is to lose 15 pounds by January.  All about willpower.

BloPoMoNaNoNa ... Or whatever this month is called...

In November, some bloggers will take the month to challenge themselves to make a post every day - National Blog Posting Month or "NaBloPoMo".  While I doubt I will be able to have a post-a-day with little ones running around and prepping for the Halloween to Holidays Death Spiral, I want to at least try and post a little more so that my updates are a little less "OMG 3 WEEKS OF CRAZY UPDATES JAMMED INTO ONE SENTENCE!"

Not my chart, but its accurate/funny.

Celebrating Halloween on a Thursday is much trickier once you are out of college. The "grown-ups" went to our Halloween party last weekend, and this weekend we are keeping it a little more low-key and having a few friends over. Really though, I am just happy that Hubs and I managed to scrounge together a couples costume to wear, since this holiday always seems to sneak up on us and I have so little try.

Caesar and Cleopatra

Last night was finally Halloween and we enjoyed it as much as you can with two kidlets who give no craps about the holiday!  The houses in our 'hood are pretty spaced out and so we didn't get too many trick or treaters.  Leftover candy may derail my diet plan just a little...

Anyways, the boys wore adorable outfits and Little Man even wore a mask (for thirty two seconds while I held his hands for the photo).  Hubs' parents came over and gave them special Halloween pajamas. Gramma even adapted Little Man's pjs with a hidden hook-and-eye that will hopefully keep them from being removed during the night!

Little Man had some fun themed clothing for school the past few days, but somewhere between the bus ride and getting home he must have lost the cape for yesterday's school costume.  [Because of his hatred of Halloween sensory issues, I had his school "costume" as a shirt with a shiny blue cape attached.  That way he wouldn't have to wear his costume all day.]  I'm kicking myself for not taking a picture with it before he left for school.  But here is the cute outfit he wore Wednesday!

Festive without the itch.

In true Vegas fashion, Baby had a costume change mid-Halloween evening.   He had this gem that I picked up at Target a few months ago...

What. Is. That?

And then his fancy costume.  Spoiled rotten kids.  Although really, the outfits were definitely all for Mommy's amusement.

Pumpkin boy and Captain America!  Photos are deceiving, that mask was not appreciated.

And so we stayed up late watching Ghostbusters and eating pizza, celebrating Halloween in the quiet of our own home.  Maybe we'll go trick-or-treating next year if Baby Vegas is up for it, but for now we are enjoying not having to work too hard at this holiday.  

Although by the look of this sleepy little boy, some of us worked very hard this Halloween...

Had to pry him out of bed this morning

See you tomorrow folks!

2 Month Update - Baby Vegas!

At his two-month checkup last Friday, Baby Vegas was 12 lbs 7oz.  I knew he had filled out quite a bit since his one month visit, so that wasn't much of a surprise.  He hasn't increased at all in length, still at 23 inches and holding - so that weight is all baby fat!

Vegas at his 2 Month Checkup!  Pre-shots which made him angry!
 

1-2 months is so different than "newborn"... he is finally more interesting and interactive.  Call me a terrible mom (try it and watch me laugh), but newborns are fairly boring.  They lay there and sleep (or worse, lay there and DON'T sleep) and eat and poop.  They show little appreciation for the effort you are making to keep them happy and alive.  But by 2 months old... they start to show you the love.  The first smiles just melted my icy cold and sleep deprived little heart.

Daddy snuggles before bed.  That is a canvas of our awesome maternity photo in the background!

Baby Vegas is a serious looking little guy.  Most of his pictures have him staring at you intently with his great big eyes.  I love it.  He saves up all his gummy grins for Mommy and Daddy.  Although now at the end of his 2nd month, he is starting to be a little more of a ham for the camera.

Hanging with my Uncle B

So serious.

He is still eating like a champ - 4 oz every three hours or so.   Just last night we were talking about upping it to see if he would eat more.  He always finishes every drop of formula and doesn't fuss for more, but he needs to eat so often we wonder if he might be not quite full at the end. 

He still sleeps pretty poorly, especially during the day.  He rarely settles down for a long nap unless we've tuckered him out with a bath or we're out running around. He sleeps best very tightly swaddled, and he needs absolute quiet to stay asleep or he'll be up in no time at all.  Right now he is napping but my typing keeps waking him up!  This makes it really hard at night with Daddy snoring or Mommy tossing and turning, so we're all very ready to transition into the nursery instead of the bassinet.  Except emotionally, I guess, because when Mommy mentioned that maybe Vegas would do better sleeping down the hall, Daddy vetoed the idea because he thinks he is still too little.  Awww...

Right now he does a last feed before we all settle down for bed around 10, then he usually wakes up hungry again around 2-3, and is up for the day at 7.  Every third day or so he'll sleep solidly from 10-6 or 7, but I have no idea why or how to make it happen again.  Hahaha!

3 loves of my life.  Hubs is such a fantastic Daddy.

Baby Vegas is a champ with errands though.  He barely makes a peep and usually sleeps the entire time.  I have changed my grocery shopping over to Target now because I use the Cartwheel app to save a ton of money, and because they have the handy baby carriers attached to their shopping carts.  He is still pretty slouchy in them, but with receiving blankets tucked all around him he is very comfy and safer than if I put our own carrier on top of a cart.  I tried wearing him in a wrap or carrier a couple times while shopping, but he is still so little that when I need to bend over to pick up big bags of dog food or something on a low shelf I feel like his head doesn't have enough support.  Whether that is true or just my paranoid mom-brain I can't tell ya, but for now it isn't my favorite way to shop.

I still love my baby carriers - my Moby and my new Ergo are my favorite baby "toys"... they settle him down easily and are great for walking out to the bus stop and waiting for Little Man.  As for Vegas, his favorite "toys" right now are his play gym, swing, and his Boppy pillow (not to be confused with a boppy nursing pillow, this one is more of a baby lounger).  I am not really a fan of bathtime right now because I can't find a way to be comfortable while I bathe him in his tub chair, and he is very slippery for "on-the-counter in the sink" bathing.  I am looking forward to him being a little more stable with his head so baths are easier.

Shopping for groceries with Momma!

I really want to start taking pictures with a camera instead of my phone.  As much as I love having the convenience of a "camera" at my fingertips, I love a good quality photo and these just don't cut it.  On the other hand, I love having the ability to just capture a quick moment in my day with the kids and not having to work too hard to do it. 

And now we're off to run our errands - meal planning is going well and this month's goal is to buy no meat at all and use up some of our frozen stockpile.  We will hopefully save a bit of money that can then go towards Christmas shopping!   Don't forget that once Halloween is over, the crazy holiday busy-ness begins...

2 Months old - what a difference a month makes!

 

My Little Hero

Little Man has been in school now for a month - and it has been pretty much the best thing ever.  I spend lots of quality time with Baby Vegas during the day, and Little Man is loving school.  I think.  He comes home every day exhausted but calm - and eager to get back in front of his tv with an afternoon snack.  But no tears or tantrums at school or on the bus, so that counts as a win in my book!

His Parent/Teacher conference was this Monday, and his teacher had nothing but positive things to say about his transition into school.  He loves books and has a couple favorite reading spots in the room where he goes to stim and "read" with them - similar to what he does at home.  His therapists say that when he grabs a book it usually means he is done with sitting still and needs to unwind from the lesson.  He is getting better with doing tasks (putting blocks in a container, taking them out) for longer bursts of time too.  There is a smartboard in his class that he really likes, so they are thinking that they want to work with him on the iPad as his communication tool in the classroom. 

His private therapy lessons have continued at home too - he gets PT and OT once a week before school.  It makes Wednesday and Thursday mornings very intense for me, because I am trying to juggle getting the therapist anything she needs, taking care of Vegas, and getting Little Man's school bag ready.  Sometimes I have to drag Little Man out of bed if he's been up all morning and fallen back to sleep.  Or I have to rush him into a quick shower if he peed through his diaper or (ughhh) took it off during the night.  Then later I usually have to remind the therapist that we need to book it out of the door for him to catch the bus.  Today was the first day we were nearly late - as we walked out the door with the therapist to our "bus stop" (the end of the driveway) I saw the bus making its way down our road.  Despite the hectic mornings though I think his private therapy is too valuable for him to stop, and with him not getting home until 4:30 in the afternoon it has to be mornings.

Getting ready to leave for school!  Shoes off for the car ride (this was pre-bus)

 

His private OT and PT are using the mornings to work on basic tasks like getting into his car-seat on his own, walking up and down the hill and bus stairs, or dressing and feeding himself breakfast.  OT is also pushing to start a therapeutic listening program because the noise getting on the bus is still very overwhelming to him.  At $900 to start that though, we aren't sure when or if that will happen.  Not to mention the very basic problem that with his sensory issues Little Man refuses to wear headphones unless you are holding onto both of his hands.  That would make for a painful 30 minutes for Momma.

Hubs and Little Man walking home from the "bus stop"
 



If I am being totally honest though, my favorite part of Little Man starting school is seeing him mature into a "big boy".  I thought that would be the hardest part for me, with his special needs he has always been my baby, even as I watched him mature physically.  But now every morning instead of staying in his special jammies, I get to pick out a "big kid" outfit.  He takes his Ninja Turtle backpack to the end of the driveway where he waits like a big kid for the bus.  And then he climbs the stairs holding the rails and his para's hand, and walks confidently onto the bus - he doesn't even look back anymore. 

Alright.  It might be my favorite part, but writing that made me tear up a little.  My baby is in there somewhere you know...

Coffee, Cuddles, and a Rant about a Bus

Today is the first day in three weeks that I haven't had to rush around the house, stuff the newborn into his carseat after a hurried bottle, and drag a reluctant kindergartner into the car and off to school.  We finally got transportation worked out and he's taking the school bus like a big boy, which makes Mommy a little misty-eyed.

Of course, nothing ever works out perfectly for Little Man.  Some administrator didn't check off the box on his transportation forms that says he qualifies for a pickup at his front door - so instead we had to walk ten minutes (the kid walks slow) down the road to a "bus stop" in our neighborhood.  Where he is the only one being picked up.  Did I mention the bus passes our house on the way to this bus stop?  And as I'm walking away from the bus stop with my infant in the stroller, the bus whizzes away past our house a full five minutes (I walk faster without the kid) before I drag our sorry butts back there?

Oy.  Hopefully everything works out in the next couple of days.  His afternoon bus driver called and said she realized the stupidity of the bus stop situation and would be dropping him off at our driveway.  But that he wouldn't be dropped off til 4:45, even though school ends at 3:30.  Whaaaaat?!?!   School is 15 minutes from my house if I drive slowly.  That seems insane to me.  I gather that getting 6 or 7 special needs kids onto a bus and off a bus is a feat - but wow.  Hopefully he will be able to make it through such a long day (8:35 - 4:45) without melting down either at school or at home.  We shall see.  Worst case scenario is that I might end up picking him up at the end of the day to prevent the crazy long ride.

But for now, I am enjoying a pumpkin spice coffee and cuddles with my littlest.  I am going to enjoy the less stressful mornings and extra time alone with him while Little Man gets his learning on.