Baby On Board!

Before I had a baby those little yellow signs made me think twice about following too closely and maybe slowing down a bit. Now that I have a baby, I'm a much more defensive driver than I ever was before.

Carson has always liked travelling in the car. When he was younger he cried only if we were out too long and if he was due for a feeding. He seemed hungry all the time at the beginning! It was a challenge to accomplish one thing when I was out of the house. Thankfully, that has changed. He likes to play with his toys and look in the mirror at Mommy. I talk to him and he seems to like the music on the radio. He taps his feet to the beats. If we're in the car long enough, he falls asleep, or if he's already tired. He's a good boy!

Carson sleeping in the car. Taken January 2012.

 Driving around the city I see a lot of dumb drivers. In particular those who drive too fast, follow too close, and cut me off in a snow storm, or anytime really.

When Carson was only a few days old, my Mom was driving us on the way to a doctor's appointment when a car cut us off. I instantly became so protective of Carson and started yelling and banging on the window. I can't remember what I was yelling, but it wasn't something I would have wanted Carson to hear. I was surprised how I reacted.

Life is precious and very vulnerable in a car. I knew that before having Carson, but I feel so responsible for him and I don't want anything bad to happen to him. He's such a happy baby and has so much life ahead of him.  I know I won't always be able to protect him from getting hurt, but I wish that driving wasn't so dangerous. People seem to be in too much of a rush these days and often don't realize how dangerous their actions could potentially be.


There was a bad snow storm a few days ago and I had to go out to the vet because Arlo's ears were really bothering him. Carson had to come with me of course because Austin was working. I started off at the grocery store because we needed something for dinner and again, I was missing key ingredients. The snow seemed to start falling faster and the roads took a turn for the worst as I was out. Great....

I couldn't believe how recklessly people were driving. I was doing 40km/hr at times and felt that was fast enough given the road conditions. Carson was making all these noises in the back and I was trying to just focus on being a good driver and not going in the ditch. I had Arlo at my head watching out the windshield.  It was an interesting drive. I had to remind myself to breathe. I was thinking to myself:"Stupid Arlo and his ears. Why did we get a dog? Why can't vets be open later so I didn't have to bring Carson? Why did it have to snow today? Why did that truck just pull out in front of me like that? Seriously!I hope I can break in time without loosing control!"

What's the point of having the Baby On Board stickers on our cars if people still tailgate and drive carelessly? It's so frustrating. Again, I'm realizing that I can only control my own actions as a driver and am continuing to drive defensively. I am going to have to work on my choice of words for these bad drivers as Carson continues to grow older and has already started to copy me!