A year in waiting

Wisconsin car seat laws changed shortly after Brooke was born and requires that children be in a full 5-point harness seat until they are 4 years old AND 40 lbs. At 4 years of age Brooke was still well under that 40 lbs mark and because Mike and I both are huge sticklers (some may call it anal) about our carseats - how they are installed, following the rules associated with them, etc. we have made her sit in the 5-point harness for the past year. (Really, I just have this nagging thought in the back of my head that I would never want to be in an accident and have to wonder if I had followed the carseat laws/recommendations more closely could I have protected my child better.) Anyhow - Brooke went for her 5 year old check-up and weighed 37.5 lbs. OH, the devastation that the scale still was not yet to 40 lbs! I also forgot to mention that when she did turn 4 and wasn't 40 lbs yet I did a bunch of research on why the laws had changed, etc and really the new recommendations should have been off of height, but easier for parents to gauge weight so they went with that instead...dumb, I know. I had even e-mailed the Department of Transportation about the issue (I know...dork.) and received a response listing the 2 car seats that fit her height. So back to the appointment - Brooke's Dr and I had a discussion that her having add'l "meat" on her thighs, arms, etc to bring her up to 40 lbs would not in fact keep her any safer and we talked through exactly how the seatbelt should fit her to ensure her safety. ALL that to say, here is one VERY proud Brooke as she sports her booster - after a full year in waiting. She is just ecstatic that she can buckle and unbuckle herself as well as let herself out of the car (mom, really likes that too!)