I found an interesting video on YouTube yesterday while searching for baby related videos. It’s a trailer for a new video game on Nintendo DS titled My Little Baby that allows you to raise a virtual baby. From the trailer it seems there are a variety of real world activities you can take part in, when it comes to raising a baby.

“My Little Baby is a family-friendly game for the Nintendo DS that gives players the opportunity to raise a baby – all without the real-world messes, sleepless nights, or “terrible two’s.” Players start by creating virtual parents, whose unique characteristics – eye color, hair color, skin tone, etc.

Anyway, I thought this was interesting. Not sure what to make of it and I’m also not sure what audience this would appeal to. Since its on the DS, one would assume it would be for a failry younger audience.

I never could have imagined how much work was required when shopping for the right stroller. It was almost as tedious as buying a new car - researching brands and models, reading product reviews, checking prices online and haggling with salesman for free floor mats (OK, well maybe not the last one.)

Anyway, there’s a [pretty] accurate article from MSNBC on tips to consider when buying a new stroller. You can read the article and get more detail on the tips here: 10 Tips: How to buy the right stroller

But here’s a sneak peak:

1. Be Decisive: If you strongly suspect that a family member or close friend wants to buy a baby stroller for you as a gift, register for the one you really want.

2. Kick the Tires: Visit stores in person and try opening, folding and carrying different models with one hand. Make sure the stroller feels sturdy, not flimsy.

3. Remember the small details: If more than one person will be pushing the stroller, adjustable handles are an important feature to have.

4. Newborns have special needs: A newborn baby needs a stroller that lets him or her lie down or that works in concert with a car seat.

5. Just detach the car seat and go: Consider a full travel system that fits a car seat into a stroller.
Read more…

These books have been “TOP 5’s” for as long as I can remember. I think we should just categorize these books as “classics” for the baby genre and make them a staple for any household with a newborn baby and/or toddler:

1. The Rainbow Fish by Marcus Pfister

The Rainbow Fish is a beautiful book, in terms of story and illustrations. Babies will enjoy the lovely drawings in calming colors and the fish’s sparkling scales. Parents will love the message this book teaches about sharing. The Rainbow Fish is an excellent bed-time story book, too, thanks to the restful colors and soothing text. The sparkling scales also look great by night-light.

2. The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle

5. Ten Little Ladybugs by Melanie Gerth

Touchable, three-dimensional ladybugs and bright, bold illustrations make this a wonderful book for infants, who will enjoy the rhyming story of ten ladybugs who disappear one by one. Toddlers can practice their numbers and colors, as well as identify familiar creatures in the illustrations. Ten Little Ladybugs provides hands-on learning and fun for babies of all ages.

List published by About.com

My son LOVES the water. We take advantage of summer the best way we can and take him to water parks and pools or just sit outside and play in the sprinkler. But his new favorite water sport is sitting in our backyard and (luckily for me) there’s no admission fee!

We ordered the “Lil’ Squirts Baby Pool” out of the One Step Ahead catalog, and our little boy has loved it from day one. Its essentially like any other baby pool, except that you hook it up to the hose and he can splash around and play with the various “sprayers” that shoot out a gentle spray of water that makes him laugh every time he catches it.

The only downside is that when it was cool outside, the water from the hose was too cold for him to enjoy - but I haven’t figured out a way to control the weather yet so I’ll have to make due.

+12 months (and up) | $19.95 (via One Step Ahead)

Image from One Step Ahead

As I was hanging around the house with my 2 year old little boy, we took the time to watch 123 It’s a Fruity ABC from Knowknowledge. This DVD aims to give kids an early lesson of the alphabet with fruits and vegetables as animated characters. Each lesson is based on synthetic phonics along with vivid colors and funny sounds/songs.

I’ve never really seen animated characters entirely put together using pieces of fruits and veggies, but my son certainly found it entertaining. And I would imagine that in addition to teaching kids the alphabet, the bright colors and fun shapes promote a healthy diet as well.

Overall, this is a really fun DVD for young children - It’s bright and colorful, and the unique style of characters made entirely from fruit and vegetables is truly fun to watch.

Approx. 40min | $29.99 (via Amazon.com)

What’s this? A DVD that claims to show parents the “off switch” for their baby’s crying. This DVD, The Happiest Baby on the Block - The New Way to Calm Crying and Help Your Baby Sleep Longer, claims just that. Most of us have tried numerous “techniques” to calm our baby to no avail. And of course we’ve all dealt with the many sleepless nights as well.

The DVD features step-by-step instructions by Dr. Karp, on how to “switch on” their baby’s powerful calming reflex. Dr. Karp has been featured on Dr. Phil, Good Morning America, and has even taught classes at the Children’s Hospital of Los Angeles. His tips and techniques are based on research and facts and have been know to work. That’s music to any parents ears; to know there is a solution to sleepless nights or uncontrollable crying.

The DVD also contains 3 bonus chapters:

1) Dr. Karp answers questions submitted by parents about calming babies.

2) A Spanish dubbed audio track of the entire 38 minute teaching video.

3) 3 tracks of calming white-noise sound to help sooth and relax your baby

After doing my own research on this and reading numerous reviews and testimonials it’s clear that the instructions in this DVD work. There is a great FAQ on The Happiest Baby on the Block website that should answer a lot of questions any parents may have. I can’t wait to try the 5 S’s on my little one. Happy parenting.

I have an important announcement. I’m a tech geek. Show me a new toy or gadget and I’m drawn to it like a mosquito to a bug zapper. What makes things worse is that now that my little boy is getting older, I get to let me “geekiness” overflow into the things I can buy him.

Lets be honest, there’s no denying that technology is everywhere. So I wasn’t truly surprise me when I saw how it applied to the baby and child product market. And I know you may be thinking - “there’s no way a kid would really need techy stuff so early on.” And that may be true. But, that doesn’t mean these things aren’t great to have!

Here are some of my top picks:

Intellicot Cot from Cencio (Price Unknown)
Intellicot will rock your baby to sleep, keep your baby cool or warm with automatic temperature control sensors, and help you keep an eye on your baby with its built-in video montors as well as lift your baby up to meet you in an effort to reduce back strain while taking the baby out of the crib or changing a diaper.

*Intellicot will first be available in the UK and Europe, and the designers hope to expand their new business worldwide within the next few years.

Bebe Sounds Remote Fever Monitor ($15)
If you’re baby has ever been sick, you know how important it is to monitor your baby’s temperature. This can be a huge hassle for an already sick and cranky child who needs sleep. This gadget clips to the front of their diaper and sounds an alarm if your baby’s temperature goes above the temperature you preset.

VTech KidiArt Studio ($79.99)
I love to draw. I always have and I only hope my son will feel the same way as he gets older, especially since it would give me the opportunity to get him things like this!

The VTech KidiArt Studio has a built-in digital camera so kids can create their very own masterpieces or edit images of family and friends, and then display them directly on TV. Plus, there are tons of activities such as art lessons and play with wacky effects to personalize their artwork.

It goes for about $80, which is a pretty good price for high-tech toy for your little artist.

Wild Planet ATV-360 ($129.95)
It’s a remote-controlled video car that can climb over obstacles (such as piles of dirty laundry) and inspect enemy territory - need I say more? Why are still reading, go get one!

Did I mention that it then wirelessly transmits audio and video back to the driver? I’m not sure if my boy will be into army soldiers and remote control cars, but I know I am. So either way, when the Wild Planet ATV-360 comes out in August, rest assured that it will be cruising around my house - solely for reviewing purposes of course.

Every set of parents or parent-to-be that I know have their own ideas about what they feel are “must have” products, and changing tables always seem to be 50/50 amongst the people I have spoke to. Some parents think they’re a waste of space - while others think that they wouldn’t be able to live without one.

I’ll be honest, when we were decorating our baby’s room I thought that a matching crib, dresser and changing table was the it had to be. Plus, the idea of always having a designated and prepped changing area sounded great! But after spending about $200 and later realizing that when the time comes, you’ll change a baby whenever and wherever you have to (couch, bed, floor, etc,) a simple $15 dollar waterproof changing pad works fine.

Understandably, every parent-to-be will make their own decision, but I’m curious - does the idea and convenience of a changing table outweigh the cost and extra space?

Let us know what you think.

As the time comes for your baby to go home for the first time, there are plenty of things that go through your mind: Do I have everything I need? Is the house prepared? Did we forget anything that the baby will need? Will I ever sleep again?

With the exception of the last one - in which the answer is “No,” I ended up being quite surprised at the small amount of things that we actually used the first week or so.

Don’t get the wrong idea, every baby is different and some may require more than others, but for the most part, you can run down this checklist of items for your baby’s first week (or so) at home.

Clothing

• 5-10 onesies, but this really depends on how often you want to do laundry
• 5-7 baby sleepers or nightgowns
• 1 cold weather sleeper (depending on the climate)
• 5-7 pairs of baby socks
• 1-2 newborn hats (depending on the climate)

Diapers and Bath Items

• Theres no real limit to the number diapers you can have - buy a lot. You can always exchange unopened packs for larger sizes later on.
• Waterproof pad for diaper changes
• 3-5 baby washcloths (again, this depends on your laundry schedule)
• 1-2 hooded towels, if desired. Adult towels will work, too.
• 1 bottle of gentle baby wash and shampoo
• Baby nail clippers and nail file
• Digital thermometer

Bedding and Feeding

• 3-4 fitted sheets for crib, cradle, cosleeping bassinet or traditional bassinet
• 5-7 lightweight blankets
• 1-2 heavier blankets (depending on the climate)
• 10 burp cloths
• 5-8 bottles (if you’re bottle feeding)
• A Breastfeeding pillow (if desired)

That’s pretty much it! Although, I would recommend a baby swing. It may not be a “necessity,” but it certainly was worth it a number of times when you’re too tired to stand up let alone rock your baby back to sleep.

Thats not to say that there are tons of baby products out there that can make a parent’s life easier, but for those on a money and/or space restrictions, most of these things are wants, not needs.

As new parents, one of the questions you may have is whether you need to wash your babys clothes in special detergent? I know that for the first 9 or 10 months, we washed all my sons clothes with Dreft because we didnt want to use the “normal” detergent on his clothes and blankets. But that was merely personal preference.

It really boils down to your own personal preference, family history and any skin reactions after your baby arrives. As it stands, most of the special detergents are different in the sense that they are scent free and use fewer ingredients that may be likely to irritate sensitive skin. Although some of these detergents have a light scent to them that can be described as that “class baby” smell.

On the other hand, you can certainly wash your baby’s clothes in regular detergent, but keep an eye out and make sure your baby doesn’t have any allergic reactions or skin irritation afterwards.