What good is that baby monitor anyway?

I should probably preface this by disclosing that, due to spendingmuch of my pre dad-life in rock bands, I have a pretty average case of tinnitus (constant ringing in my ears) that I’ve learned to live with. My hearing is OK – it’s a little tough to understand people in crowds and it’s generally known I keep the television up too loud – but the only truly annoying side effect is that certain noises, particularly high pitched noises, sound particularly loud to me. Or maybe it’s just that I notice them more.

Anyway, so when the baby monitor is on and Madame is in bed soundly sleeping, all I can hear is that high pitched radio sound. Usually it’s not that big a deal, but I’ve been tempted to turn it off in the middle of the night when my wife is sleeping and it is driving me to distraction. I haven’t done it but it got me thinking, what am I listening for anyway? She sleeps through the night, so if she stirs or cries for a few moments she always falls back asleep. She’s in her empty crib alone, with no chance of rolling out, and I would hope that anything that happened in the house to be cause for alarm would also wake me up. I’ve been racking my brain to think of things that the monitor could alert me to, and I’ve come up with four:

1. Ninjas come in through her window at night and steal her. This would be a tough one, as ninjas are notoriously stealthy and would likely be hard to hear on a baby monitor, but a brief scream from my Madame heard over the monitor might wake me.
2. She decides she’s had enough sleep, stands up in her crib and vaults herself over the side, landing on the floor. This might be one I’ll have to worry about in a year or so, but at five months I’m pretty confident this won’t happen, though she is advanced.
3. Any electronic toy or device in her room spontaneously turns on and starts making a racket. I don’t see this one happening as I don’t believe in ghosts (I’m thinking about that creepy clown in Poltergeist here), but I guess you never know.
4. She starts talking in the middle of the night. Now this would be something to blog about. I’m lying in bed trying not to hear the silence over the monitor and my five-month-old says something like “Love you daddy,” or “Fire truck banana robot.” If that happened I sure would be glad I had that monitor on.

Also on MDD - Best Baby Monitor (2-16-07)

Get the Fisher Price "Private Connection" Monitor with Dual Receivers (one for upstairs, one for down) for $38.72 from Amazon via the Modern Day Dad Store.

Hold 25 everythings.

When I was in NYC a few weeks ago I visited Hold Everything(looking for a magazine rack) and while I was there I saw something kind of cool, the Adler Advent Calendar. It’s a green lacquered box with a little door for each day of the season that spins around and reveals an illustration of a partridge. Behind the door is enough space to put a piece of candy or some other treat. If you got sick of the partridges you could even cut out pictures of different holiday things with your child and tape them to the inside of the doors. It looks beautiful and modern but at the time I wasn’t prepared to drop $148 on an Advent calendar, even if it is something we would enjoy for many years. I’m guessing I’m not the only one, because now it’s on sale for $99.99.

Bugaboo breakdown.

I’m backfrom NYC; tired and worn out. As it turns out I pretty much kept my body on Pacific time, which kind of worked out well but I really don’t bounce back from a late night quite like I used to. Anyway, it was a great time (like it always is). 

I didn’t end up doing much dad-related stuff (I did visit buy buy Baby which I think I’ll write about it later this week) but I did walk around a lot. Besides noticing every baby that went by (an unexpected result of being a new dad without his family), I was also keeping a mental note of stroller activity. It seems by far the most popular stroller on NYC sidewalks is the Maclaren. I couldn’t say which was the most popular, but there were lots of them. More interesting for me were the Bugaboo Frogs, which was cool because I’ve never seen one in my city (other than my own). Here’s the breakdown.

Number of Bugaboos seen: 5
First Bugaboo sighting: about 5 minutes after arriving in Manhattan.
Favorite color: I’ve got a red one, but the orange looked pretty dope.
Best Bugaboo accessory: The bag clip, which I never wanted, but they actually look kind of useful.
Favorite Bugaboo modification: None. Hey, where are the Bugaboo mods? Aren’t dads supposed to be handy? Don’t dads like cup holders? I’m waiting for an inspired dad to make a cup holder for their Bugaboo, and then let me know how he did it.

Shop for strollers and other products from Bugaboo at Amazon.com

iPod dads rejoice.

I mentioned in another post that I was going to NYC soon for a visit, and in anticipation of that my wife gave me a small photo album (“brag book” she called it) to put photos of Madame in to show our friends. A good idea I thought, as I don’t keep photos in my wallet. Now it seems there’s a digital solution that I can get behind. I’m sure you’ve heard by now, Steve Jobs of Apple has announced the latest version of the iPod – the iPod Photo. It’s an iPod with a color screen that holds not only your music, but all of your photos - allowing you to display them right on the color screen. The device also has video out so you can show the photos on a TV and even make slideshows with music right in your iPod.

Before I had a kid I never would have cared about this, but now it seems like a great idea. I already carry my iPod around with me most places I go; now I can have pictures of my daughter with me as well. The only drawback I can see is the screen still seems like the standard iPod screen size, which is a little too small for photos for my taste. Hey, it’s not like I’m going to eBay my current iPod so I can upgrade any time soon, but I’m sure the next one I get will have this functionality.

Newest iPod From Apple Holds Photos and Music NY Times
New iPod Plays Photos PC Magazine

The requisite Bugaboo Frog post.

No matter where I go, if I’m out with my baby in the Bugaboo Frog, someone will stop me and ask about the stroller - every single time. And there’s a reason. It’s the best stroller available. It turns on a dime, our car seat attaches to it, and it converts from a bassinette to a regular stroller once your child grows up. We even used the bassinette in our bedroom as Madame’s bed until she moved to the crib. Plus it looks cool and is the one stroller every dad would be happy to use.

There are plenty of places you can find where people talk about how awesome their Bugaboos are, and I don’t have much to add here. Below are some links to finding out for yourself how much the Bugaboo Frog will totally rule you.

Bugaboo corporate website (English version)
Bugaboo mini-site from Baby Style
A short history of the Bugaboo Frog (from DaddyTypes)
Bugaboo as part of the Madonna Gift Set from Lifesize at Fred Segal (Lifesize is where I bought my Bugaboo, because Baby Style was out of red.)

Shop for strollers and other products from Bugaboo at Amazon.com

Diaper bags for dads.

2/21/2011 UPDATE! If you're looking for info on the best diaper bags for Dads, this post has old information. Check out my updated post on Modern Day Dad:

The Best Diaper Bags for Dads - An Update

So like I mentioned in my first post, the first dad-related thing I ever looked to purchase was a diaper bag that I could wear proudly. I’m going to be the one wearing it, not my child, so I definitely wanted something without ducks and bunnies and something that wasn’t made specifically for moms (or was from a woman’s bag designer). This wasn’t such an easy task – even the “daddy bags” at diaperbags.com (of course there’s a diaperbags.com) are more like mom bags that aren’t overtly feminine. The one I found that I liked the most is the Dad Field Bag from Jack Spade. It’s basically a large messenger bag, with insides designed for baby stuff (pockets for bottles and diapers, a changing pad etc.) and dad stuff (ipod, sunglasses, headphones). It comes in lots of color combinations (I chose grey/orange) and it works great.

Since then I’ve found two others that could work.

One is the Skip Hop (available at Amazon for $50.00), a diaper bag that’s designed for over-the-shoulder or over-the-stroller use. It’s not specific for dads or moms, but looks O.K. enough to wear for a dad (clean lines, solid colors). There’s also the Diaper Dude bag (available for $54.00 at Amazon), which is another messenger type bag, a little smaller than the Jack Spade bag which is actually kind of good. And both of these bags come in camo for those still celebrating the camouflage revolution. I was able to check out both of them this past weekend at Nordstrom’s, and I definitely liked the Diaper Dude bag the best. The Skip Hop was OK, but it didn’t attach to my Bugaboo Frog particularly well (I guess it’s made for lesser strollers).

Also on Modern Day Dad:
The Best Diaper Bags for Dads - An Update (2-22-2011)

Daddy binky.

It seems our friends in Russia are reporting that “Specialists from the University of Goettingen” have created something the world (or maybe just Russia) has apparently been waiting for – the adult pacifier. The English translation is a little rough, but Pravda (old-school communism, online since 1999!) reports:

German scientists have come up with a revolutionary approach to help those suffering from heavy snoring condition. This time, they developed a special pacifier for adults, which is meant to bring immediate relief. (Full article here)

Apparently these “scientists” have cured snoring by creating a man-sized binky and sticking it in some poor guy’s mouth. These geniuses figured out that if you’ve got something in your mouth, you can’t snore. And they’re claiming 7 out of 10 are cured (the other three guys probably just spit it out immediately like my daughter does). If you really want to stop snoring, do like I did – loose some weight and roll over on your side. And if that doesn’t work see a doctor (it could be a serious problem), but I would probably avoid one from the University of Goettingen.

(On a side note, did you know that the term “Binky” is owned by Playtex? I guess file that one along with the Gerber “Onesie.")

Careful what I wish for.

The first day flying solo has come and gone, and everything went about as well as I could have expected, except one thing. Once you settle down to begin the bottle feeding, there’s really no going back (unless you want to get up, undo everything, piss off the baby, and get what you forgot). There’s no more, “Honey, could you hand me the remote?” Thanks to a little practice and a well placed pillow, I’ve got it now so that Madame is on the pillow and I hold the bottle with one hand. The other hand is pretty much open to handle the remote, which is good if I want to watch TV, but yesterday morning what I really wanted to do was read a book. The wife can read and breastfeed all night long if she wants, but what about the literate dads?

I figured there must be a solution, and the closest thing I’ve found is the Oprah-approved Gabriel Break-Away Feeding Pad ($24.99 at Amazon). This thing drapes over your shoulder and holds the bottle right at nipple-height on your chest so you can hold the baby with the other hand. I guess this would solve the problem (if you can get the kid to use it in conjunction with a pillow), but at this point what the hell am I doing? Strapping on a fake boob so I can read a book for 30 minutes? I need to suck it up and watch some TV like a normal dad, and be thankful it’s not my nipple the baby is tugging on.