Did you know that you should replace your child's car seat after your car has been in an accident? Even moderate accidents that result in no visible damage to the seat can put stress on the car seat's straps, frame, LATCH connectors and other structural components. Most insurance companies will cover the cost of replacing your child's car seat, so give your provider a call to find out the details.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) says that there are some cases where it is safe to reuse a car seat after a minor crash. You may be able to reuse your child's car seat if the crash meets ALL of the following 5 criteria:

1. A visual inspection of the child safety seat, including inspection under any easily movable seat padding, does not reveal any cracks or deformation that might have been caused by the crash;

2. The vehicle in which the child safety seat was installed was capable of being driven from the scene of the crash;

3. The vehicle door nearest the child safety seat was undamaged;

4. There were no injuries to any of the vehicle occupants; and;

5. The air bags (if any) did not deploy.

Once I decided to quit my job and stay home with Ethan, that cut down our family's income. I've wanted to continue to contribute positively to our bank account instead of just spending money, :) so I've been thinking of ways to generate income from home. I came across GPT programs a few months ago, and thought other nannies/parents might like to try it out, as well. It's a bit overwhelming at first, so I've written up some information that is nice to know before you jump in.

What's a GPT program?

GPT programs (get-paid-to programs) are websites that pay you money for completing offers. Offers include things like product trials, completing surveys, shopping online, and signing up for trial memberships with companies like Netflix. Most of these offers are free for you, and you can always stay with the freebies if you're not a risk-taker. ;)

How does it work? Is this a scam?
No, it's not a scam. Advertisers pay the GPT sites to find new potential customers for them. The GPT sites pay you to check out the offers, because they (and the advertisers) hope that you'll like them and become a paying customer.

Will this cost me any money?
No, it doesn't have to. You do NOT have to pay any money up front if you don't want to. You can stick to doing "freebies," which are usually as simple as completing a short survey, or entering your zip code or email address.
If you do want to increase your earning potential, you can complete offers that require a small investment. Common fees are for things like shipping charges for a trial sample of a product, or gambling casino sites that ask you to deposit a certain amount of money and play a certain number of games. Some trial offers don't cost anything up front, but require you to have a credit card because they'll bill you after X number of days to continue using the service or product. If you decide after the trial that you want to cancel, your card will not be charged any money.

What: BabyLegs legwarmers
Website: www.babylegs.net
Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

I first came across these legwarmers for babies about a year ago online. I thought they were interesting, but didn't really see the point. Fast forward to this fall, when Ethan was crawling all around the house on our cold tile floors, and I immediately understood the appeal of BabyLegs.

We use cloth diapers. When we're home, I rarely put a waterproof cover over his diaper (it's easier to see when he wets so I can change him immediately). If I put pants on over his diaper, they'll eventually get wet. I do his laundry once a week, so putting pants over an unprotected diaper results in a huge pile of wet pants in the laundry basket.

Enter BabyLegs.

Ethan's legs stay warm, and if he goes in his diaper, I don't have an extra pair of pants to wash.

We also love BabyLegs for chilly days outside. If I'm carrying Ethan in our Ergo Baby Carrier, his pant legs often ride up and expose his lower legs to the cold air. I put BabyLegs on him under his pants, and they keep his legs nice and toasty.

They're one-size-fits-most, so Ethan should be able to wear his BabyLegs until he's old enough to think they're too babyish. :)

I gave BabyLegs 4 out of 5 stars because their size and weight seems inconsistent. I bought 2 different pairs, and one pair is much stretchier than the other. The less-stretchy ones cut into his thighs and seemed uncomfortable, although they are also a bit thicker and warmer. We put them to good use as arm warmers, since his upper arms are not as thick as his thighs.

I believe that in most cases, it's best for children to be cared for during the day by their own parents. Sometimes that's not possible for various reasons, and sometimes the decision to stay home or keep working really isn't an easy one to make. Here are some questions to ask yourselves to help you figure out what will work best for your family:

What's the cost of childcare?
Depending on where you live, childcare costs can be reasonable or outrageous. Call around to various nannies and daycares to get an idea of what you'll be paying. If one of you makes only enough to cancel out the price of paying someone else to watch your child, that might be a reason to think about staying home. If you're lucky enough to have trusted family living nearby, you may be able to cut down the cost of childcare while Junior has a blast playing with Aunt Katie and the cousins.

Can you afford to live on one income?
If it's likely but you're not sure, try putting away the salary of the spouse who is thinking of staying home. Pretend it doesn't exist for 6 months, a year, or the duration of your pregnancy. This way, your money is sitting in savings and you can work on cutting costs in different areas before you really need to.

That's understandable! There are so many options these days that it can be really overwhelming. Here's an introduction to the current types of cloth diapers that are available:

Flats: Flat diapers may be what you're thinking of when you hear "cloth diapers." Flats are thin rectangles of gauze cloth (usually cotton or hemp) which are folded to build up an absorbant area and then folded to fit your baby. They are fastened with a pin or a Snappi (a stretchy, y-shaped fastener with grips on the ends like for fastening an ace bandage). Flats are not waterproof alone; in order to be waterproof, they require a cover to be worn over them. Flats dry very quickly after being washed because the fabric is so thin.

Prefolds: Most often used as burp cloths today, these flat, rectangular diapers are "pre-folded" and sewn so that they're thicker and more absorbant in the middle. You still fold them a bit to fit your baby (they just require less folding than flats), and you can fasten them with pins or a Snappi. Depending on your baby and what kind of covers fit, you may prefer to lay a prefold or contour diaper inside the cover without fastening the diaper first. The fasteners of the diaper cover will hold everything on. Look for Diaper Service Quality (DSQ) prefolds, as these will be more absorbant and of better quality than non-DSQ prefolds.