Yesterday Chase and I were in a car accident. We were driving home from Target when a car pulled out of the Walmart parking lot to make a left turn right in front of us. Our little Corolla slammed into the driver-side door of the other car, causing it to go into the other lane, where it got hit again and flipped over. Fortunately everyone involved was okay! My airbag deployed so today my chest is feeling really sore from that, along with all of the muscles in my neck. But the good news is the Chase was in the back seat in a rear facing car seat, so he didn't get whiplashed at all! I have my friends Casey and Natalie to thank for that! I check Natalie's blog often because her daughter Adri was born on the same day as Chase. One day I noticed a comment left by Casey regarding extended rear facing car seats, so I wanted to find out more. On her blog she had a link to http://www.car-seat.org/ and there I learned all about how it's best to keep your toddler facing backwards for as long as possible. Chase had just turned one and like every other parent I know, we turned him to face forward as soon as we could. But after reading about how much safer it is the other way, I turned him back around 2 weeks ago. I am so, SO glad that I did!!! You never know how something that you write will impact someone's life... so this is my thank you to those thoughtful girls! And if anyone reading this has a toddler, please think twice about turning them to face forward. Most car seats will allow you to keep them rear facing for much longer. Hopefully you won't be involved in an accident like we were, but if you are, you'll be glad you did what was best for your kid!
Now we just have to think about buying a new car! My poor little Corolla. I'm already missing it... especially after I had to put gas in the Explorer today instead and it cost over $60! Yikes.
I should also say a big thanks to my friend Andrea, although I'm not sure she reads my blog. She was my hero yesterday! Eric was over an hour away so she came and picked up Chase, loaded all of my groceries in her car (our Target is a SUPER Target!), and then took Chase home while I waited there for the police report! Not sure what I would have done without her!!
6 comments:
Wow! So glad you and Chase are ok! And thank you for telling your story! I always feel like I spend so much time explaining why Avery is still rear facing but that nobody ever really gets it. I'm so glad you took the time to research! Hope you feel 100% soon-both physical and emotional-I can only imagine how scary that accident was!
I am so glad both of you are ok. I have my 16 month rf and people look at me like I am crazy. I wish they would understand. Good luck finding another carseat and car.
How scary for your family, but how wonderful that you had recently learned about the benefits of rear-facing longer than society's mythical "rule" of 1 year and 20 pounds. How wonderful that you are now sharing the gift of knowledge with others, so hopefully their children can be safer from the number one killer of United States children!
I can't believe that we just had this conversation when you were here! So, so, so happy you guys are safe and that no body got hurt!
I was interested to read your blog. As a parent you may be interested in being part of a university study I'm involved with. It’s about how infants and children develop. It wouldn’t take much of your time, and it’s a great way to contribute to knowledge by reporting on your own experiences. For more details go to the following address after copying it into your browser window, www.babyplaystudy.org. Best wishes,Melissa
I just realized that I didn't respond immediately so I forgot to do it. Anyway, thanks so much for posting that. I'm really glad to hear that everything is okay and so glad that he was rear-facing. It's good to have confirmation that it's the best thing!
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