Dave Viner's Weblog

New and indispensable

I have recently discovered several things that are utterly indispensable. These are things that are now become our default baby shower gifts. Here they are in no particular order:

The Happiest Baby on the Block DVD. This video and book have, arguably, the dumbest sounding title ever. But the information is truly insightful. Among other things, this shows you - literally in slow motion - how to swaddle your infant. It shows how to soothe him or her when they seem completely beyond control. This might sound easy, but I assure you it isn't. And this DVD is worth its weight in gold.

A good baby sling. We have one and we love it. I can't find it online, but if you go to a place like the Pump Station, you'll find one that's all one piece of cloth that feels kinda like thin sweatshirt material - and it has a emblem like a hawaiian hibiscus on it. That's the one you want. It's a little hard to use at first, so you have to have someone show you. But once you get it, it is awesome. In fact, I am wearing Aurelia right now. That's right... these things let you manage your newborn but leave your hands free for other stuff.

iTunes playlists. One of the first things you should do is create a "Sleepy Baby" playlist. I think almost all infants like the sound of music... it's one of those weird traits that seems inborn in most if not all infants. So, grab iTunes and load up a good playlist of music that your baby likes. One key thing to remember - try lots of different kinds of music. Just cuz you don't think a particular type of music sounds right for napping doesn't mean your infant agrees. For example, Aurelia loves folk rock, reggae, and new age music with high pitched female vocals (a la Enya or Vas), as well as classical. No real rhyme or reason I can figure out for this... and I don't really care too much. The point is that you find something that is reasonable for you and helps the baby get to sleep.

An exercise ball. We have this one and it totally rocks. We sit on it and bounce all the time. Of course, you can bounce with your baby on your knee or in your arms. But the ball makes it super easy to bounce for hours with a lot less effort on your part. For around $20, this is a spectacular value.

Some funny books about parenting to read. Personally, I really like Eats, Poops, and Leaves. This book is really hysterical. I would even recommend it to people who have friends who have kids. It takes all of 2 hours to read because it's only 150 pages or so... but it's laugh out loud funny. Maybe not David Sedaris funny, but damn close (and much more likely to happen to you).

Lastly, of course, is patience. Yeah, it's trite to say, but I had to anyways. There are good days and bad days. Some days seems like they will never end. Some days you never want to end. Just accept it and have fun.

Posted by dave at January 19, 2006 09:57 PM | TrackBack