Baby Police

Ike's starting to want to feed himself. Here are some of the less messy results.
Anyway, I just had an interesting experience. I was semi-rushing out of Dominicks, and the woman in the car next to me was also loading up her groceries. She had two giant strollers, several boxes of hostess snacks and EIGHT gallons of milk among the other groceries in her monstrous SUV. I thought, "Wow, she must have like a gazillion kids."
As I pulled out of my spot, she flagged me down. I thought she was going to ask me something like, "Your baby is so cute," or "Do you like your Outback? We're looking for something to replace this beast."
To my surprise, though, she said, "It's not really my business, and I'm sorry to stop you, but the handle on the baby seat really should be in the down position in case you get in an accident so the baby doesn't hit his head on it."
Doh.
I know this, but I was being lazy because we were going straight home (like, less than a mile). I also know that this is the excuse that people use to not put on their seatbelts or put their kids in car seats. Both of which I would never do. But I did this.
So, I told her, "Oh, I know, I just got lazy."
She was very nice about it, and apologetic, etc., etc. I'm certainly not mad or indignant, but it was interesting. As I drove off (with the handle still up), I wondered if it actually made me seem worse — after all, I know better. Or maybe it actually is worse.
It's like Murphy's law or something. I mean, I breastfeed, cloth diaper, feed homemade, organic baby food, Ike was born with minimal unnecessary medical interventions, we try to live consciously and tread lightly, and think about our parenting choices. Obviously, this isn't the first (or last) time I've been less than diligent about my choices (Ike has had the scrapes to prove it). And I'd never suggest that all of our parenting choices are "right." It's just funny that this is what I get called on.
I also wonder what motivated this woman. Did she know someone whose baby was hurt because the handle on the car seat wasn't down? Is this a pet peeve for her? Did I just look like I didn't know better and needed to be educated? Did she expect me to jump out of the car and fix it?
I guess I'm glad she can't see in the house when I'm slow about taking the dogs' rawhide away from Ike.