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My girlfriend, Mindy, just had her third child – that hold-out boy who finally decided he’d join the team.
Since it’s been nine years since I was in her swollen-ankle filled shoes I didn’t realize mommy/infant survival gear had come so far. Beyond still needing Daddies with mammary glands, it surprises me that everything hadn’t already been thought of.
First, a girlfriend of mine who’s a registered nurse with four boys decided there was no reason a mom in the maternity ward (or any woman in the hospital) couldn’t be comfortable in a practical, CUTE hospital gown. So she and her sister came up with Annie & Isabel – The stylish alternative to a hospital gown (http://annieandisabelblog.blogspot.com ).
Amazingly, it was a niche that needed to be filled, and with all things mom tested and mother approved, it is taking off as word is quickly spreading.
Of course, I had to have one for my friend Mindy! Not only did she love her “Annie” gown and the opportunity to look somewhat put together in all the first baby photos, it was also the hit of the Sutter Hospital maternity ward.
Once Mindy brought little Joey home, she put him in this contraption I would’ve given my left kidney for back in the desperate days of my children’s infancy. I literally had five “stations” I would move the kids between to try to keep both them and me happy – bouncy seat, swing, Baby Bjorn, Johnny Jump-Up and the Exersaucer.
At the time I thought that baby gear was pure genius. But to steal from Emeril Lagasse, they’ve “kicked it up a notch.”
This Fisher-Price Cradle Swing had a built in mobile and mirror, natural sound effects and music, it went in all different directions at six different speeds – this baby looked so happy in there I wanted to crawl in the swing myself.
But wait! There’s more. I was at a Giggle store this weekend and they had a bouncy seat created by moms called the Mamaroo Bouncer. It too had unique motions with actual names like Car Ride, Kangaroo, Tree Swing, Rock-A-Bye, Ocean Wave. It also had the built in mobile and natural sound effects. But with this one you could plug it to your iPod to create a young music aficionado!
You know how many times I strapped my son, Logan, in the Baby Bjorn, cranked up Train’s “Meet Virginia” and vacuumed the house just to create the soothing environment this one machine does? If the Mamaroo Bouncer can add a “vacuum the house” feature these women will be gazillionaires.
Mamaroo Bouncer
Okay, one last thing. I’m a big fan of tips lists to boil down the basics of parenting. Make it something I can quickly read on the toilet to improve my life and you’ve got my attention.
So here’s a good one from Susan Diamond, a licensed speech and language pathologist with over 25 years experience in diagnosing and treatment of children with language disorders. She contacted me with what I thought was some very valuable information for all of us mothers worried about developmental milestones (is there any other mother?).
Click here for her Social Skills Tips and if you’d like to read more her book, 100 SOCIAL RULES FOR KIDS, comes out this fall.
Enjoy the journey and welcome to your fantastic new family Joseph Dante!