There Must Be An Easier Way

Got the dreaded call from Sarah's daycare yesterday, "She's sick. Can you come and pick her up?"

I found her looking miserable and warm with fever. On the drive home, she did what she always does when she's sick. She puked. The car seat and her entire upper torso were drenched. While she was feeling horrible, she wasn't too ill to identify the chunks in her lap, "Look mama, corn!"

At home, we went through the usual pukey kid routine - remove soiled clothes, give a quick bath, get her dressed and start testing liquids she might keep down. It turns out that Pedialyte popsicles were just what she wanted and could tolerate. Great! Now, she's completely convinced that popsicles are medicinal.

After I got her settled and comfortable, I turned my attention to the car seat. The damn car seat! Every time I have to clean that thing, I'm convinced that car seat manufacturers must be childless trolls who delight in wasting their troll-time dismantling car seats with tools, troll tools.

The only way to remove the fabric cover is by taking the entire back panel of the car seat off. This requires a Phillips screwdriver and the time and patience of a troll. I can't tell you how many times I've been tempted to grab a pair of scissors and just cut the cover off the seat. You'd think that removing the cover would be a simple process. Surely, other parents have to do this all the time too. Or, am I the only person with a kid who pukes in their car seat regularly?

Whatever. Sarah is doing much better today, and we're not going anywhere. So, there's no chance of having to deal with another soiled car seat - today, anyway.