Wednesday, December 29, 2004
Bug cupholder hack
I've said it before and I'll say it again, I love my Bugaboo. One of my favorite things about it is it's Teutonic beauty. However, like the majority of fine German automobiles, either the cupholders stink or they are nonexistent. I understand that when rocketing down the Autobahn at close to 300 kph, the last thing you should be doing is trying to get the last bit of soda out of the bottom of your Super Big Gulp. Maybe the same is true when piloting a stroller. But hey, this is America.
Lucky for us, MDD has come up with a mod for the Prince Lionheart cupholder so that it fits the Bugaboo. Unfortunately, the mod requires a Dremel tool and space to use it (both I do not have). Fortunately, Kayla's Grandpa B is handy, has a Dremel and space to use it. I may just add that to the ever growing list of Grandpa B projects.
Modern Day Dad
Lucky for us, MDD has come up with a mod for the Prince Lionheart cupholder so that it fits the Bugaboo. Unfortunately, the mod requires a Dremel tool and space to use it (both I do not have). Fortunately, Kayla's Grandpa B is handy, has a Dremel and space to use it. I may just add that to the ever growing list of Grandpa B projects.
Saturday, December 25, 2004
Tuesday, December 07, 2004
What's the 411?
I currently suffer from a baby literature glut.
There is a dizzying array of books, magazines, DVD's and web pages all designed to make you a better parent and to improve your child's quality of life.
As far as the magazines go, I generally do not pay attention to them except to cut coupons. Many of them read like Cosmopolitan. I definitely do have my favorite web sites and many of them are listed on the right.
I have also read my fair share of baby books. Some of my favorites are listed below
1) Baby Bargains: Secrets to Saving 20% to 50% on Baby Furniture, Equipment, Clothes, Toys, Maternity Wear and Much, Much More! by Alan & Denise Fields.
This book was indispensable for evaluating baby products, setting up our registry and equipping our baby. Concise with frank reviews. Seemed to lack bias. Informative companion website.
2) The Happiest Baby on the Block : The New Way to Calm Crying and Help Your Newborn Baby Sleep Longer by Harvey Karp, MD
I wish I read this before Kayla was born. We suffered for 2-3 weeks before watching the DVD. It is a MUST read. See an earlier post. This is in comparison with "Secrets of the Baby Whisperer: How to Calm, Connect, and Communicate with Your Baby" by Tracy Hogg which I felt was a waste of time. Her basic philosophy is to get your child on a flexible schedule ASAP and plan on making time for yourself when the baby sleeps. There is one table in the book about reading body language which was useful but otherwise she offered no practical advice.
3) The Baby Owner's Manual: Operating Instructions, Trouble-Shooting Tips, and Advice on First-Year Maintenance by Louis & Joe Borgenicht
Made to resemble an owners manual for a household appliance. On the surface, looks like a novelty but is a practical, no nonsense, well illustrated guide to performing every day baby chores.
4) The lilaguide: Baby-Friendly New York City, 2005 : New Parent Survival Guide to Shopping, Activities, Restaurants and More... (The Lila Guide By Parents for Parents)
This is like a Zagat guide for babies and parents. They are available for most major cities and can be obtained FREE just for filling out 10 evaluations on their website. Both my WW and I registered and did 10 each. As a result, we got both the NYC and the gear guides. That is about a $35 dollar value for 20 min of mindless work.
5) Baby 411: Clear Answers and Smart Advice for Your Baby's First Year by Ari Brown & Denise Fields
No BS answers to common questions, myths and misconceptions. Actually compares parenting strategies outlined in multiple books and gives the reader the bottom line. This is in comparison to "The Baby Book: Everything You Need to Know About Your Baby from Birth to Age Two" by James Sears which we felt was a little too New Age or Hippy in it's philosophy or "Caring for Your Baby and Young Child: Birth to Age 5" by The American Academy of Pediatrics which offers "party line" advice to parents.
Other books:
1) Brazelton "Touchpoints" was a good review of human development for us. Jogged my memory for all the stuff I haven't used since my third year medical school pediatrics clerkship.
2) Ferber's "Solve your child's sleep problems" is a decent read. So far, we haven't had to "Ferberize" Kayla, but now we stress that Kayla is developing poor sleep hygiene if she hiccups wrong when she goes to bed. BTW, I will have to do the "Ferberizing" if it ever comes to that. This is something that I'm not looking forward to.
3) Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child by Marc Weissbluth is sitting on my WW's night table.
4) The New Father: A Dad's Guide to the First Year by Armin Brott is broken down by month and touches on baby's development, what is going on with mom, what is going on with dad and family development. I'm only at Chapter 4 and the jury is still out.
I did not mention any of the father-to-be books because I did not find them useful. It may be because I'm a doctor and my wife is an OB. My WW swears that any book that has "The Girlfriend's Guide" in the title is amazing. I can attest to the fact that their gear guide was pretty good. Also, I managed to ignore any book dealing with breastfeeding.
Here ends my less than comprehensive baby book review. Remember, this is just one Dad's opinion. Use it at your own risk. But let me tell you this, if you ignore "The 5 Ss", you are doomed.
There is a dizzying array of books, magazines, DVD's and web pages all designed to make you a better parent and to improve your child's quality of life.
As far as the magazines go, I generally do not pay attention to them except to cut coupons. Many of them read like Cosmopolitan. I definitely do have my favorite web sites and many of them are listed on the right.
I have also read my fair share of baby books. Some of my favorites are listed below
1) Baby Bargains: Secrets to Saving 20% to 50% on Baby Furniture, Equipment, Clothes, Toys, Maternity Wear and Much, Much More! by Alan & Denise Fields.
This book was indispensable for evaluating baby products, setting up our registry and equipping our baby. Concise with frank reviews. Seemed to lack bias. Informative companion website.
2) The Happiest Baby on the Block : The New Way to Calm Crying and Help Your Newborn Baby Sleep Longer by Harvey Karp, MD
I wish I read this before Kayla was born. We suffered for 2-3 weeks before watching the DVD. It is a MUST read. See an earlier post. This is in comparison with "Secrets of the Baby Whisperer: How to Calm, Connect, and Communicate with Your Baby" by Tracy Hogg which I felt was a waste of time. Her basic philosophy is to get your child on a flexible schedule ASAP and plan on making time for yourself when the baby sleeps. There is one table in the book about reading body language which was useful but otherwise she offered no practical advice.
3) The Baby Owner's Manual: Operating Instructions, Trouble-Shooting Tips, and Advice on First-Year Maintenance by Louis & Joe Borgenicht
Made to resemble an owners manual for a household appliance. On the surface, looks like a novelty but is a practical, no nonsense, well illustrated guide to performing every day baby chores.
4) The lilaguide: Baby-Friendly New York City, 2005 : New Parent Survival Guide to Shopping, Activities, Restaurants and More... (The Lila Guide By Parents for Parents)
This is like a Zagat guide for babies and parents. They are available for most major cities and can be obtained FREE just for filling out 10 evaluations on their website. Both my WW and I registered and did 10 each. As a result, we got both the NYC and the gear guides. That is about a $35 dollar value for 20 min of mindless work.
5) Baby 411: Clear Answers and Smart Advice for Your Baby's First Year by Ari Brown & Denise Fields
No BS answers to common questions, myths and misconceptions. Actually compares parenting strategies outlined in multiple books and gives the reader the bottom line. This is in comparison to "The Baby Book: Everything You Need to Know About Your Baby from Birth to Age Two" by James Sears which we felt was a little too New Age or Hippy in it's philosophy or "Caring for Your Baby and Young Child: Birth to Age 5" by The American Academy of Pediatrics which offers "party line" advice to parents.
Other books:
1) Brazelton "Touchpoints" was a good review of human development for us. Jogged my memory for all the stuff I haven't used since my third year medical school pediatrics clerkship.
2) Ferber's "Solve your child's sleep problems" is a decent read. So far, we haven't had to "Ferberize" Kayla, but now we stress that Kayla is developing poor sleep hygiene if she hiccups wrong when she goes to bed. BTW, I will have to do the "Ferberizing" if it ever comes to that. This is something that I'm not looking forward to.
3) Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child by Marc Weissbluth is sitting on my WW's night table.
4) The New Father: A Dad's Guide to the First Year by Armin Brott is broken down by month and touches on baby's development, what is going on with mom, what is going on with dad and family development. I'm only at Chapter 4 and the jury is still out.
I did not mention any of the father-to-be books because I did not find them useful. It may be because I'm a doctor and my wife is an OB. My WW swears that any book that has "The Girlfriend's Guide" in the title is amazing. I can attest to the fact that their gear guide was pretty good. Also, I managed to ignore any book dealing with breastfeeding.
Here ends my less than comprehensive baby book review. Remember, this is just one Dad's opinion. Use it at your own risk. But let me tell you this, if you ignore "The 5 Ss", you are doomed.
