She is definitely my kid.

Hi.  My daughter's name is Mercy and she is a food-a-holic. 

There is no doubt that Mercedes is my girl.  The way to her heart is certainly through her stomach. Her favorite, most spoken word is "Bite."  If I even open the fridge, she comes running (as fast as her wobbly toddler legs will take her, which is pretty fast) to the kitchen with her chorus of "Bite?" in her precious little baby girl voice. Oh how I love her little voice. 

Anyways, I digress.  Her head and heart are located in her little stomach.  She can be in the kitchen, most certainly getting into trouble, and if I call out "Mercy, want a bite?" her little feet pitter patter all the way to me, the promise of food distracting her from whatever mischief she shouldn't be getting into.  She LOVES being outside and lately I'll set her down when we get out of the car instead of carrying her inside, but she likes to stay outside.  The other day I brought home food and she was standing in the yard, just looking around like usual, and I said "Bite?" and you could practically see her eyes light up as she came right inside. If she were a dog, her ears would have perked up.

She is such a good eater too, although lately she is showing a HUGE preference for rice.  Any kind of rice.  White rice, spanish rice, rice pilaf, sticky rice, rice with divan, rice sweet and sour pork, season rice, rice in sauce, fried rice, the list goes on.  I fear that not only is she a food-a-holic, but that she has inherited my carb addiction as well. I guess this means I'll have to get used to sharing my array of rices, pasta, and breads.

Have Mercy! is on Facebook....

I started a FB Fan page for Have Mercy! the other week.  I have the button on my sidebar, but figured I'd also go ahead and post the link here, become a fan! Sneak peeks, updates, and special deals!

http://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/Have-Mercy/362374060686

In other news, the giveaway for a FREE Have Mercy! soaker ends tomorrow night at 10 PM.  If you haven't entered yet I strongly encourage you to do so, who doesn't like free stuff?

Miss Mercy Rose has been busy the past week or so cutting teeth.  3 of them as a matter of fact.  It certainly helps explain why she has been being a gigantic poo lately. 

On the BLW front, at 13 months we are past the point where there is much to write about.  She is a great eater, and LOVES food.  Whenever anybody has a plate of anything she walks to them and stands by their legs asking "Bite? Bite? Bite?" it's pretty much the cutest thing ever.  We picked up subway for lunch today and she got her own little piece.  She loved it.

Nom Nom Nom

Another score for babywearing!

I have converted yet another person to the wonderful world of Babywearing.  The sling I posted pics of the other day was for a friend of mine who recently had a little girl.  I delivered it to her yesterday and showed her how to use it and everything and happened to run into her today where she told about her babywearing experience earlier today and how much easier it was and how much she loved it and that she is now an addict!  Squee!  ♥

Giveaway Alert!

Check out GreekMomma's Blog for a surprise giveaway.  Its a secret, can you guess what it is?

http://mommagreek.blogspot.com/

Just an update

Stocked some new soakers today, they are ridiculously cute and definitely warrant a look.

http://www.etsy.com/shop/havemercy213

I've also been making baby carriers, these are two of my most recent....



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(My sister modeling it with Mercy)

and a sling....

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It had been a long day.  Please excuse my frazzled appearance and my mess in the background.

It has definitely been a productive week.  I am also attempting to make skirts and shorts, we will see how it works out.  I will post pics if they come out somewhat decent.

In other news, Mercy's absolute favorite thing in the world to do lately is play outside.  She loves just walking around outside, its pretty ridiculously cute. It does make taking pictures a little difficult though because all she wants to do is walk away from me!

Car Seat Safety

Miss Mercy Rose moved up to her convertible car seat this past week.  We got her the Britax  Marathon in the Mariposa pattern.
Snoozin in her seat, all strapped in properly and safely.  She likes being up higher, it gives her a better view out the windows I think.  When she isn't sleeping that is.

In honor of her new car seat I plan on doing a couple blogs about car seat safety.  This one is on basic use, there will be another in the near future about the importance of Extended Rear Facing.  This one is kinda long so please bear with me, it is all very important information.  Even if you already have a child and have been through this car seat stage before there could be new information, or even if there isn't, its always good to brush up on the info again.

Important things to remember about car seat safety....

ALWAYS read through your ENTIRE car seat manual.  A couple times even.  Make sure everybody who will be strapping your baby into their seat knows how to properly do it.  Keep the manual with the seat. Also check your vehicles manual about car seat installation- where LATCH is located, which seats are best for car seat installation, etc.

You should also have your seat installation checked by a Child Passenger Safety Technician (CPST). Locate one here... www.seatcheck.org.  Each new seat should be checked, not just the infant or convertible.

Pay close attention to the height and weight limit of your seat.  There are limits because that is what your seat has been tested and proven safe for.  If your baby does not meet the minimum requirements, or exceeds the maximum, they will not be properly protected.  

Do not install your seat with LATCH AND the seat belt.  One or the other.  Not both.

The CHEST clip needs to be on the...you guessed it, CHEST. One of the most common car seat safety errors is putting the clip too low, closer to or even on the stomach.  If the clip is too low it will not do its job to hold the straps on the baby's shoulder.  On older kids if it is low they could slip their arms out of the straps completely.  If the straps aren't on the shoulders correctly the baby (or child) could be projected from the seat.  In a less severe crash, the pressure of the baby pushing against the clip could cause internal injuries.  It is a Chest clip because the chest is a strong bone that has a better chance of withstanding the force of a crash without causing serious injury. 

The clip where it should be- arm pit level.

The clip in this picture is too low.  Mercedes could sense that she wasn't safely strapped in and it distressed her.  She is saying "Mommy NO!! Please put my chest clip up where it belongs so I do not become a projectile or suffer internal injury!"

You should not be able to pinch up slack in the straps. If you can pinch and hold any slack then the straps are too loose and need to be tightened.  The straps in this picture are too loose.

 
Another important thing to remember- DO NOT USE AFTER MARKET PRODUCTS WITH YOUR CAR SEAT unless it has been specifically approved for use by your car seat manufacturer.  After market pretty much means if it wasn't included with your seat.  A good rule of thumb- If it came in the box with the car seat it is safe.  Items included have been tested with the seat, and passed the test.  After market items like the Bundle Me, Snuzzler,  and like items have NOT been tested with the seat. It might say it has been safety tested, but there are NO REGULATIONS for those tests. Their test could consist of throwing it against a wall for all we know.  In addition to the safety reasons (not that any more are really required) use of after market products violates the product warranty, and many insurance companies will not replace a seat that was in a crash and was being used with after market products.

Also, in colder climates do not buckle your child in wearing a thick or puffy coat.  The straps will be looser and the child could slip out of the seat, especially if puffy coats get compressed.  It is much safer to simply wrap your baby in a blanket for transport to and from the car and then cover them, or remove the jacket before you strap them in.

A big safety issue with infant seats because of their handles and portability (and a huge pet peeve of mine)- Putting the infant seat on top of the carts in stores.  This is NOT SAFE.  Even if your car seat "snaps" in (makes the click sound that it makes when it locks into the base) it is not safe.  Most manuals even specifically say not to do that, (Remember, read your manual, carefully and all the way through!)  The weight of the seat and the baby make the cart top-heavy and the cart (with baby attached) could easily be knocked over, and thats a long way with a lot of force to fall for a little baby.  Even if you are careful and walk slowly and keep your hand on the cart or seat, that doesn't mean everybody else is careful.  Somebody could simply not be paying attention, or a rambunctious kid could be running around and run into you or the cart.  Baby could also slip out of the seat if they aren't properly strapped in.  Just please pretty please don't do this.  Get a good baby carrier.  Put the car seat in the bottom portion of the cart.  Go shopping with a partner so they can push a stroller or an extra cart.  There are so many alternatives that keep your baby much safer.

Thanks for stickin with me through all that, I hope you learned something new to help keep your baby safe!  Stay tuned for info on the benefits of keeping your baby rear facing past the minimum of 1 year AND 20lbs.


(Once again, please keep in mind that I am just a momma who has done her research in the interests of keeping her baby as safe as possible and wants to share her knowledge with other mommas who might not know these things yet. )

Whew

I am exhausted.  Mercy has a cold or something and it has turned her into a very clingy, whiny, pretty much inconsolable little girl today.  It has given me a raging headache. 

On the bright side, my wonderful friend came over today and whisked her away to the park (before we knew she was sick) and I was able to go to the post office and grocery store all by myself.  Which was good, because there was a line at the post office, and it would not have been fun with a toddler in tow.  I received my 5th (!) order today on Have Mercy! and got it sent off.  Still waiting on feedback from a couple orders but oh well, hopefully tomorrow.

I got several cute new fabrics the other day, a few boy prints and a couple girl prints.  I've only got two of them sewn up so far (thanks to my cranky sick baby), this one is one of my favorites I think....


On another note, Mercy's convertible seat came today!  I'm very excited about it, hopefully install it tomorrow.  There will probably be a car seat safety post in the near future!

MacGyver Babywearing

Miss Mercy and I went on a road trip today with GreekMomma.  Okay, so maybe it wasn't a REAL road trip or anything, but we drove a couple hours to do some shopping in the big city.  Maybe an hour into our drive I'm looking at our diaper bag and realize that we have a Babywearing emergency. I am completely without a carrier.  I had a sling in my bag, but took it out because I planned on bringing my wrap instead, which I of course forgot to grab.  It was going to be a long day of shopping and running around.  My girl doesn't even like sitting in the cart for a whole grocery shopping trip. The thought of trying to do a whole day of shopping with her in a stroller, let alone one of those hard plastic uncomfy mall strollers, or the seat of a shopping cart, practically had me hyperventilating.

Thinking quick, we made a fabric store our first stop.  I ran in and grabbed some knit fabric from the sale rack.  I asked the nice lady behind the cutting counter if she could possibly cut it right up the fold line for me but she wouldn't.  :(  So, I was left with buying a pair of scissors and cutting it myself out in the parking lot or just double folding it which make for a REALLY thick, hot wrap.  I opted to buy the scissors.  Paid for my purchases and headed back out to the car where I sprawled the fabric out and quickly cut the fabric into two wraps.  Problem solved!

It turned out to be a good thing we were able to stop and fashion a wrap because Mercy had a rough day and definitely needed the closeness.  On the downside, I didn't really need any more wraps and now have two more.  On the upside, I now have two more wraps!  I got plain black knit fabric and am practically giddy with all the possibilities.  I think I will get some silk brocade and make a pretty center panel for an elegant look, or I could use some flannel for a cutesy pattern.  Or maybe some appliques or iron on patches.  Or maybe I'll Bedazzle it!  The possibilities are endless!




Miss Mercy on the verge of sleep, in her quickie wrap ♥

Hi Blog!

I've been pretty busy lately, running all over the place with friends and sewing sewing sewing.  Miss Mercy is doing wonderful, we ordered her new big girl convertible car seat earlier this week, just anxiously awaiting its arrival now.  Shes going through the delightful stage of tossing her food off her plate, it certainly makes meal time interesting. 

As for sewing I've been pretty busy.  I've got 7 soakers currently in stock at Have Mercy! and am working on some Sans Pants to put up.  I've also been making newborn fleece pants for several of my friends who are expecting.  I am enjoying making pants much more now than when I first attempted.  I also made a diaper cozy specifically for the gFlushies.  The pants and cozy match the sling I made for the Momma, I'll need to get a picture of her with it, perhaps after her little one joins us. 


My model was very cooperative.  No wiggly or squirmy or moving around to make the picture blurry!

Matching pants and cozy.....


Sans Pants!

Hope everyone is well, thanks for stopping by!