I really wish I didn’t have the experience to write about this, but . . .

Three weeks ago, my mom was in town, as were my two nieces.  We decided to go get lunch and maybe shop a little bit.  My VW Jetta couldn’t fit the whole crew, so my mom and oldest niece were going to take my mom’s car.  I loaded the boys in their infant car seats, insisted that my 9-year old niece ride in the back seat, and headed out to lunch with my mom following us.

Less than a mile from our house, I reached the first major intersection.  I had a green light and was going straight through the intersection when an SUV turned across our lane of traffic and hit us head on.  Metal screeched against metal, I felt my body go forward and be jerked back by the seatbelt, and then my heart stopped as I heard Lil’ Brother cry out.  With speed that would put a gold-medaling sprinter to shame, I was out of my car and opening the back door of my car, frantic to check on my little passengers.  Big Brother’s eyes were wide, but he wasn’t crying and seemed to be okay.  Lil’ Brother was still crying, but it seemed to be more from the shock of being woken up with a bang than from any actual pain.  I put my hand on my niece’s face and asked if she was okay.  She nodded, and her eyes started watering. I gave her a quick squeeze and told her that it had scared me, too.

After their first ride in the car seats that would help keep them safe less than 2-months later.  

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The other driver got out of her vehicle and asked if we were okay.  I told her that I thought everyone was okay, and she called the police to come make a report.  Meanwhile, my mom, who had apparently sucked all the air out of her own car as she watched us get hit, had parked in the Walgreen’s at the corner, and rushed over to help me get the boys and my niece out of the car, which was still in the middle of the intersection.  The boys went back to sleep as soon as they were in her car, though I continued to go back and forth between them checking to make sure nothing was amiss.  I texted Mr. Blue, and he decided to leave work when he heard how bad my car was damaged. Partially, I think he just needed to hold the boys and see that they were okay.  He called our pediatrician to see what they recommended.

Our ped had a few questions to determine whether he would recommend that we take the boys to be checked out.

  • Were there visible injuries on the baby?
  • How were the boys acting?  Were they acting abnormally?
  • Did the airbags deploy?

Even though the boys looked and acted fine and the airbags did not deploy, due to their young age,  our pediatrician recommended that we take them to the ER to be examined.  We did, and thankfully everything appeared to be fine.  We heard from multiple medical personnel that the absolute safest thing for kids is to be properly restrained in a rear-facing car seat.  Everyone had a story of how bleeding and broken people would come to the ER in need of major medical attention; meanwhile, in the same car, a child in a rear-facing car seat would come away without a scratch.  It further strengthened my resolve to leave our boys rear facing as long as possible.

Speaking of car seats, anytime you are in an accident involving car seats, you need to consider whether the car seats’ ability to perform have been compromised.  If you have any question whatsoever, you should mention it to either you or the other driver’s insurance because new car seats will often be covered under the policy.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration makes the following recommendations:

– Car seats should be replaced after any moderate or severe car accident.

– Car seats do not need to be replaced after a minor accident.

– For an accident to be considered “minor,” it must meet each of the following criteria:

  • The vehicle could be driven away from the accident.
  • The door nearest to the seat was not damaged.
  • There were no injuries to anyone in the vehicle (not just the baby in the car seat).
  • The air bags did not deploy.
  • There was no visible damage to the car seat itself.

Because our accident involved minor injuries (my niece had whiplash and a sprained wrist & I had whiplash) and our car was later classified non-driveable, the insurance company paid for replacement car seats.  I’m sure ours were probably fine, but when you have such precious cargo, why risk it?

Thankfully, our accident didn’t result in any major injuries, though it did take about 10 years off my life.  It did, however, total my car, so stay tuned for the hunt for a mommy car!

Have you ever been in an accident with children in the car?