anZel/Arden

Archive for November, 2005

I felt anZel move!!

We went out for an after-dinner walk today and little anZel must have not been very happy that mommy (beeber) sat down to tie her shoes. He started tapping/knocking!! I felt the movement!! That was a very exciting moment!! I felt some quick poking on the left side of beeber’s stomach. It’s like anZel’s saying, “wassup with the bending!”

In search of car seats: research links

Useful links - must reads.

• How Child Car Seats Work - Probably one of the best articles on how car seats work. Very detailed and lots of pictures
• Consumer Reports - Babies & Kids - A wealth of information on various test ratings.
• ConsumerSearch Family Product Reviews and Reports - A very good collection of articles and comparisons for various children equipment.
• Convertible Car Seats - Very good summary and comparison of convertible car seats.
• Car Seat Strollers - Very good summary and comparison of car seat and stroller combos. Even though I don’t recommend this type of combos, it’s good research material nonetheless.
• Child Car Seats Safety for your Kids - Learn how to choose the right car seat for your child. Great collection of articles
• Carseat Compatibility Database - A good collection of reviews for the various types of car seats.
• Car Safety Seats: A Guide for Families 2005 - Good summary of safety tips
• Car-Safety.Org Vehicle and Carseat Safety Information - Buying Guides and Articles, Car Seat Checkup Events and Fitting Stations, and others useful information
• Berkeley Parents Network Car Seats - Reviews, installation guides, and advices
• How to Buy Baby Car Seats! - A list of eight things you should consider when buying a car seat
• Car Seat Inspector - Are you using your car seat correctly?

Misc links - read these if you feel like you need more info, but the above sites should give you what you need.

• Buying a car seat for a newborn or older infant
• Carseats and Car Safety
• So Many Car Seats, Only One Kid!
• What works series of articles
• car seats for children
• Car seat buying guide
• Top 3 Convertible Car Seats - An ok article, but about.com has a lot of other useful links, so check them out as well.
• Most Children Are Improperly Restrained

In search of car seats: 5 types of car seats

With the 4 phases of car seat information in mind, there appears to be several types of car seats out there:

• Infant car seats
• Convertible car seats
• Combo car seats
• Booster seats
• Do-it-all seats

Infant car seats are rear-facing car seats generally used by child when he’s under twenty pounds. After that, the child can then switch to a forward-facing car seat. However, the child usually outgrow an infant car seat with in 6 months, so it’s really not practical to buy this type of car seats.

Convertible car seats are ones that can convert from rear-facing to forward-facing. Given that is safer to have the child sit rear-facing, a convertible car seat should have a high rear-facing limit. For example, many of the Britax products including the Britax Roundabout have a rear-facing limit of 33 lbs.

Combination car seats combines a forward-facing car seat and a booster seat in one.

Booster seats are single-use car seats that can only be used when the child is in the 3rd phase.

The do-it-all seats combines rear-facing, forward-facing and booster seats all in one. However, these usually are very expensive and not as good as the others.

So, there appears to be a lot of choices. The best choice as I see now is a convertible car seat. However, given that I have to do some research on strollers next, I may change my mind later if I find some car seat-stroller combo or something.

I wonder what other people’s experience has been when researching this. I will post all the links I used to research this topic probably tomorrow.

Stay tuned…

knock knock

11.29.05
@ 15:37 Anzel tapped me for the first time today. He may have done it some other time but it’s the first time I notice it today.

11.28.05
I was doing a little pregnancy reading before lunch. As I was reading about women in their 18th week feeling their baby kicks, I was getting worried. Being the first time mum, I can’t tell gas from Anzel’s foot! I thought I felt something several weeks back but it could be me, hormone, gas or all of the above. So, I felt a little left out and worried. Halloo…is Anzel really in there? Around Noon, Anzel must have read my mind. I felt a gentle little tap one to two inches below my belly button. I was so excited!! Then he did it again after another 10 minutes. I have to admit that I want him to keep me posted every now and then that he is in there, though I am sure I may get a little annoying later.

In search of car seats: 4 phases of car seats

I have been assigned the task of researching car seats, strollers and infant carriers. After going through a bunch of information on the web, I am starting to get a general picture of the various type of products.

According to National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, all children go through 4 car-riding phases.

First, the child sits in a rear-facing car seat. Rear-facing car seats are generally used by children from birth to at least 20 pounds and one year of age. However, many researches have shown that rear-facing is the safest position the child can ride in. So you should try to keep your child in a rear-facing car seat as long as you can. This means you need to find an car seat that has a much higher rear-facing limit.

Next, a child who is at least 20 pounds and one year of age can sit in forward-facing car seats. They can stay in the forward-facing car seat until about 40 pounds and approximately four years of age.

The third phase happens when the child is about 40 pounds. At this time, you should use a belt positioning booster seat until the child can sit with his or her back straight against the vehicle seat back cushion, with knees bent over the vehicle’s seat edge, without slouching (approximately 4′9″).

The last phase a child goes through is when the child sits on the car seat with the belt fitting properly. This is usually when the child reaches about 4′ 9″ in height and is between 8 to 12 years of age.

Additional information about the proper use of these car seats can be found on American Academy of Pediatrics’s Car Safety Seats: A Guide for Families 2005.

Stay tuned….

anZel

anZel is a blog created for our newest (or soon-to-be newest, depending on how you want to look at it) family member: Anzel.

Anzel is currently ~19 weeks into the baking process, though the ultrasound has shown him to be ~20 weeks. He’s currently about 5.5 inches and 6.5-7 ounces.

We hope to share the fun, joy, anxiety, sleepless nights, research, shopping and all kinds of experience with you.

A bit of background of the Zhen Family.

jlz - Father. Chief Technologist of the family. Handles all things technical, including this blog and his own Operational Intelligence blog.

beeber - Mother. Chief Financial Officer, Chief Communications Officer and Chief Creative Officer of the family. Worked ten years in the graphic design field and recently switched over to marketing (which I believe she has huge potential for, if you don’t mind me saying so.) She also freelances for some comapnies’ graphic designing needs.

anZel - Haven’t figured out what his role will be yet other than just being a cute baby.