Yesterday afternoon was way more intense than I had planned. Youth conference was the pioneer trek this year, and I had to give a message to the young women. I had thought it was on Friday, but then was corrected, it was on Thursday. Oops. Now my schedule looked like: visiting teaching, travel to trek, trek talk, travel home, visiting teaching - all with baby in tow. Of course, I got out of the house late to go visiting teaching, because it had started to rain hard, and I needed a change of clothes for my daughter in case she got wet, and so now I was going to be late for visiting teaching, and I would need to leave early for my trek experience.
The day before all this, I had noticed that the car seat was starting to tilt again. It slowly gets off center, and then my husband fixes it, and then it slowly starts to tilt again, and repeat. He had forgotten to fix it before he left the house that morning, so I assured him I could fix it - how hard could it be? So, I fiddled with the seat before we left the house (in the rain) and was on my way.
I was no more than 10 minutes down the road when I look in the rear view mirror, and notice that my daughter's chair is at least leaning at a 45 degree angle. I know this would be bad (very bad!) should we get into a car accident, so I find a place to pull over, and try to fix it AGAIN. By this point it is pouring rain, and I am really late, and I do my best to fix the problem, get us situated, and we're off again.
About five minutes later, we go around a curve, and I glance in my rear view mirror again, and this time there is no baby. Yes, her seat had completely tipped over and was lying on its side in the back seat. I cry out in horror, and pull over as soon as is humanly possible. My daughter is fine, still strapped in, although looking a little curious at this new side perspective. I right the car seat, and once again strap things in. I take a little more time, I think through all the steps a little more carefully, and then push the seat around a bunch to see how it will move (very little this time) before we go. And we finally get to my visiting teaching appointment, with nothing but some minor mental scars for me.
I told the story to my friends, and my visiting teaching companion says: you've got to pull the strap really tight! I replied, I know that. And in fact, I did know, I just didn't manage to do it that middle time. But my daughter is fine. The car seat is in more solidly again. And I will never make this particular mistake again.
Also, at trek, in order to be authentic, I didn't take any of my modern day baby carriers up to the talk, so I just held my baby on my hip for the hour or so I was up there. Pioneer women are tough - and stronger than I am. Thank goodness for their sacrifice. I probably could have done if I had to, I'm just that stubborn (and hopefully faithful) but I'm sure glad I don't have to. (Even if I do make an exodus somewhere with a baby - I'm taking my modern day carriers!) Oh - and my talk went well.
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