September 2016 – The Milk Memoirs

Second Hand Car Seats: A Responsible Seller’s Guide

Posted on September 27, 2016 by mommabeartrax

Well, this one has been a bit of grey area to me for some time now. You know? This whole second hand car seat purchase debacle. And for anyone with a pulse and half an ear, they must have heard of the dangers of second hand car seats and to just stay away from them, and are sitting in that grey with me too. Grey because on one hand we want to encourage everyone to secure their kids in a car seat by any means necessary – because car seats save little lives, no question about it. However, given South Africa’s economic demographics, that’s not always possible. For many households, brand new car seats are often deemed unaffordable or seen as a luxury, thus, more often than not second hand seats become their only option.

The dangers are associated with second hand seats is that a)unless one knows the owner,one cannot be sure if it was in a severe accident and b)one is not always too sure if that seat model was recalled. And these concerns are real and need to remain top of mind, but there are ways of helping to mitigate them. So as a seller of these car seats, you have a huge responsibility in ensuring that the car seats you put up for sale are still safe and reliable. Because, what you as the seller cannot ever lose sight of is that those very seats could make the difference between life or death for a little child.

So whether it’s because your little Continue reading →

Bittersweet Baby News

Posted on September 22, 2016 by mommabeartrax

So to be completely honest, I don’t know what I’m going to say in here. Mostly because I’m still trying to work out where my head and heart is right now. And even though I LOVE writing, I’ve not really seen it as my real “release” before (speaking is normally it for me). But when I struggle to form the words with my mouth, I know writing gives me great pause and forces me to clarify my thoughts into actual words, and gives them life. Writing manifests my emotions into tangible bits that I can then grasp, and which somehow help clarify it for me. And with that clarity, helps me on the path to transform my pain/heartbreak/confusion into something better.

I was truthfully unsure of being public about this…But I am me – I am always and forever a genuine me. This blog is but a reflection of me. I may not share everything in my life on this platform – in fact there’s A LOT (the majority of my life) I don’t share, but everything you read and see on this blog, is me. Nothing made up. Nothing replicated Continue reading →

Mo’ more milkies: We kicked the milk bottle habit

Posted on September 20, 2016 by mommabeartrax

Bye-bye, bottle! 7 Tips to kick the habit.

Guys, t’is done… The great kicking of one epic toddler milk bottle habit has been done, and gone down into the parental victory history books. No more milk bottles in our house, or as my girl would say, “Mo’ more milkies!” Granted, this historic event happened long since I’ve even typed this up, but it was a momentous one for us. And, I mean anything that helps restore sleep and sanity back into a parent’s life is worth noting, right? Right.

But now, you may probably envision me with ragged face, and ripped clothes, with the toll of the bottle-battle all smeared across my worn-down body? Because, you may have assumed there was this Continue reading →

11 Common Car Seat Mistakes you’re possibly making…

Posted on September 13, 2016 by mommabeartrax

…And how to avoid them.

It boggles my mind as to how there are still folks out there, in this day and age, who don’t understand the massive risks that are involved when choosing not to safely secure their kids in the appropriate car seats, or at all. I mean, yes, “you’re such a careful driver”, and “you’ve never been in an accident before”, right? I get it. Well, here’s a chilling truth: We lose 4 to 5 children in car crashes on a daily basis*.

Fortunately, as has been highlighted throughout the #CarseatFullstop campaign, the proper use of a correctly installed car seat greatly reduces a child’s risk of injury or death. BUT, here’s another dose of sobering stats, especially for the parents out there who thought they could breathe a sigh of relief, since we diligently bought the seats and strapped our kids in: Motor vehicle crashes remain the leading cause of unintentional injury-related death among children ages 14 and under in South Africa**, in part because 4 out 5 car seats are used incorrectly and nearly a third of children ride in incorrect restraints for the size and age.

Dude! FOUR out FIVE car seats are not being used correctly!! That’s just mental! You do the maths on that and you’ll realise that between you and me, we may unfortunately probably be a part of those scary statistics.

In fact, there’s a slew of common mistakes that so many well-intentioned parents unknowingly and Continue reading →

Its OK to Grieve your Birth Experience…

Posted on September 8, 2016 by mommabeartrax

Why the “All that matters” syndrome should really just go suck it.

All too often, when the birth didn’t go quite as the mother had hoped for, well-meaning folk are always so quick to produce the, “all that matters is that it’s a healthy baby” . Or the “you know, the end result is all that matters, not the delivery. ” Or even the “that’s not important, darling. All that matters is that you and baby are fine”…All that matters… *cue silent head shake*…Now, I have absolutely no doubt that these well-meaning friends and family are truly just trying to offer that poor mother a bridge over her troubled waters. Except, all that the “bridge” is really doing is belittling her actual feelings, and adding an extra layer of shame. Shame that she really doesn’t need.

And yet, day in and day out, you’ll find countless mothers who have been left with that great disappointment that haunt them, are now also then Continue reading →