Posts Tagged ‘Babies’

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New Dadlabs book out in time for Fathers Day

Tuesday, June 2nd, 2009

Our friends at DadLabs.com are at it again with a new book that tries to put in prose what they do so well in video. And, they do a great job, with tongue in cheek article son everything about pregnancy through Year 1 (subsequent volumes will treat older kids).

The new book is DadLabs Guide to Fatherhood. It has many practical tips on subjects like picking a baby name and how to change a diaper, just as you will find on DadLabs TV, but much of the value of this book is the ability to laugh at the early stages of parenthood, just as your pregnant partner is taking it so seriously. There is a time for soulful feelings about incipient fatherhood, but also a time for having a beer and making some crude jokes using all the new vocabulary you’ve just learned in Childbirth class.

Recommended for nervous dads who need to see the lighter side, or as a fun shower gift (you are throwing a man shower, right?).Eat Your House 4

$16.95 on Amazon and other fine booksellers.

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Posted in Babies, Books, Books for parents, Gifts for dads | 1 Comment »

Famous older dads

Wednesday, April 29th, 2009

For you men hoping to have a baby at a more advanced age, here are a list of your potential heroes:

David Bowie (at 53), Mick Jagger (at 57), Michael Douglas (at 58), Rod Stewart (at 60), Paul McCartney (at 61), Eric Clapton (at 59), Pierre Trudeau (72), Charlie Chaplin (at 73), Saul Bellow (at 84), Pablo Picasso (at 68), David Letterman (at 56), Larry King (at 65 and 66), Woody Allen (at 51), Warren Beatty (at 62), Dennis Quaid (50) and Jack Nicholson (at 53)

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Posted in Babies, Fertility | 19 Comments »

Older Dads Father Dumber Kids?

Tuesday, March 10th, 2009

This one hits closer to home since I was already 43 when w had our first.

A recently released study finds that children of older dads score lower on IQ tests even after weighing socioeconomic factors.
Australian and US researchers analyzed test results of more than 33,000 US born children born to fathers between the ages of 14 and 66. The tests included reasoning, concentration, learning, memory and speaking and reading skills, at eight months, four years and seven years.

[From Fatherhood Examiner: Older Dads Father Dumber Kids?]

The lead author, John McGrath says that he was surprised by the results, since a lot of the “blame” for DNA errors usually goes to older eggs in the mom. Luckily, McGrath says the “effect we see is very small.”

Despite my advanced age, my kids are still among the smartest, most beautiful and well-behaved on the planet.

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Posted in Babies, Fertility, Health, Safety, and Medical, In the News | 1 Comment »

From the “There but for the grace of God…” department

Monday, March 9th, 2009

Fatal Distraction: Forgetting a Child in the Backseat of a Car Is a Horrifying Mistake. Is It a Crime?

The charge in the courtroom was manslaughter, brought by the Commonwealth of Virginia. No significant facts were in dispute. Miles Harrison, 49, was an amiable person, a diligent businessman and a doting, conscientious father until the day last summer — beset by problems at work, making call after call on his cellphone — he forgot to drop his son, Chase, at day care. The toddler slowly sweltered to death, strapped into a car seat for nearly nine hours in an office parking lot in Herndon in the blistering heat of July.

It was an inexplicable, inexcusable mistake, but was it a crime? That was the question for a judge to decide.

[From Fatal Distraction: Forgetting a Child in the Backseat of a Car Is a Horrifying Mistake. Is It a Crime? Gene Weingarten Reports. - washingtonpost.com]

This is a particularly chilling article on how leaving babies in the back seat of cars to die in a closed car is a tragedy that happens to all sorts of people. As a society, we demonize these poor people who already have suffered the worst event that could ever happen to a mom or dad. And then, we subject them to criminal prosecution. The truth is that this is a horrible unintended consequences of an unrelated safety issue. When airbags were put in cars, new laws required babies and children to move to the back seat, putting them out of sight, and sometimes tragically, out-of-mind.

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Posted in Advice on raising kids, Babies, Health, Safety, and Medical | No Comments »

Maxi Cosi Mico car seat Review

Saturday, February 21st, 2009

The
Mico Cosi Mico car seat is a seat you can easily use everywhere. Thanks to rigorous European and US standards testing, the sleek and brightly colored Maxi Cosi Mico car seat is known for its safety, surpassing US safety standards. Most people choose it for its safety features, including the padded harness and side impact protection, but also enjoy it’s ergonomic design and distinctive colors. The snugly padded seat also makes your baby feel safe and comfortable.

Off its base, the seat is light and easy to carry around with its retractable carrier handle (4 different positions!). It also fits nicely into the Quinny Zapp stroller, which we use a lot. Snapping in the seat to the base in the car can be a bit tricky, but you get used to it. The Mico will carry your baby from five to up to 22 lbs and the shoulder harness, buckle and infant head cushion are all adjustable as your baby grows from infant to toddler. We also use the sun shade a lot where we live but it could ideally be a bit longer. The nice thing is the shade tucks away behind the seat when you don’t need it. When you’re on the go, the Maxi Cosi Mico is overall just an easy car seat to reckon with.

$169.99 MSRP and 144.95 on Amazon.


Pros:

  1. Moves in and out of car easily.
  2. The seat is light and easy to carry around with its retractable carrier handle (4 different positions!)
  3. Compatible with the Quinny Zapp and Quinny Buzz strollers
  4. Retractable sunshade tucks away easily behind the seat when you don’t need it.
  5. Features side impact protection.

Cons

  1. Snapping the seat to the base in the car can be a bit tricky, but you get used to it.
  2. The sun shade is good-sized, but could ideally be a bit longer.

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Posted in Accessories, Babies, Car seats | 1 Comment »

Review: Mutsy Stroller

Tuesday, December 16th, 2008

There are planes – and then there are private jets.

There are cars – and then there are Bentleys.

There are houses – and then there are mansions.

There are strollers…

And then there is
Mutsy!

Super chic, super sleek, and oh-so-indulgent, never before has there been such a posh stroller!

European design is just one of the fantastic things about this wonderful stroller. Your little one will be the center of attention in this one-of-a-kind experience. Now, if I sound over excited, I am – simply put, The Mutsy Urban Next is just too cute for words and definitely a conversation starter!

Pros:

  • Amazingly smooth ride – large, easy-swivel tires make any terrain a snap (the stroller comes with a second set of smaller wheels, but I prefer to leave on the bigger ones)
  • Stands upright when folded – easy to maneuver folding means less time fussing with folding and more time with baby!
  • Wheels easily remove – with one-handed removal, this feature makes Mutsy all the better for quick storage
  • The Mutsy Sitter turns your seat into a wonderful, detached seat for your little boy or girl.
  • Soft, Graspable Leather Handle
  • Lots of accessories, including bassinette, hard-shell backpack, Eskimo muff (which is just too cute and warming!), rain cover and many more.

Cons:

  • It seems larger than other strollers – tight turns or small grocery store aisles may pose a problem
  • It can appear weighty for some – at around 25 lbs for the stroller alone, it can be considered by some heavy duty.

If you’re in the market for a stroller and you like that modern European stroller look, then Mutsy is the stroller of your dreams. Combining functionality and charm, it will never fail to impress and charm onlookers.

To purchase, please visit www.goores.com

Great Dad Readers, receive 10% off of your order by using code “gdmu” at checkout

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Posted in Accessories, Babies, Owned by GreatDad staff | 2 Comments »

Our intrepid mom and dad reviewers rate the Symmetry Sleep Positioner

Friday, December 12th, 2008

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In our careful watch to ensure our baby slept on his back to avoid SIDS, our newborn son started to develop a flat head. While only a cosmetic concern, our pediatrician recommended we put him on his side while sleeping to mitigate the potential problem. The challenge was, our active son actually rolled over by himself at 1 week, so was not likely to stay on his side.
We found the Symmetry Sleep Positioner useful to keep him on his side (and rotated sides). In the months before he was able to really move on his own, we place him in the SSP within his crib, and he slept comfortably. The device stopped being useful once he could roll himself off of it, but by then he was moving enough that the flat head syndrome was not an issue.
While we never used the caliper to actually measure change, the improvement was visible.

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Posted in Accessories, Babies, Health, Safety, and Medical, Sleep | No Comments »

Review: Safety 1st (AKA Safety First) OnBoard Car Seat

Tuesday, December 9th, 2008

Safety1st Onboard car seat.jpg

Buckle up – it’s the law! And not just for you, either – babies in every state are required to be placed in a rear-facing car seat. So you have to juggle between convenience and safety (not to mention how it looks!). You look, you compare, and you search high and low. But you may never find one as good as Safety 1st ’s onBoard™ car seat.

OnBoard™ manages to combine functionality, safety, and a sweet, sophisticated look all into o ne affordable package. And Safety First is a well-known household name when it comes to baby items (I have more than several myself!)

The Good:

  • Spacious – as baby sits comfortably snuggled inside, you rest assured knowing that he won’t soon outgrow the car seat.
  • Leave behind base – keeping the base securely in place in the car means not only convenience, but peace of mind that fewer mistakes can be made in the buckling.
  • EEP Foam – I call it the “super shock absorber stuff” and I can safely say my baby doesn’t know what it is, but he is very appreciative!

The Bad:

  • Handle – not the easiest thing to move up and down, but I’ve only done it once; 99% of the time it stays up anyway.

With a superior name in baby care and a positive, strong record in safety, the Safety 1st onBoard™ car seat is a sound investment. Not only is it good for your little tykes, but parents will find the stay-in-car base and the knowledge of the child’s safety among the most important attributes.

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Posted in Accessories, Babies | No Comments »

Review: SoundSleep for Babies CD

Monday, November 24th, 2008

Clue one: The soothing, subtle sound of the heartbeat

Clue two:Ambient, soft conversation sounds

Answer: The SoundSleep for Babies CD, from Sound Science

A lot of parents, especially frustrated ones, have tried products that say they’ll help soothe your baby. And then you turn it on. Far less from soothing, they seem to actually be bothering both you and the baby.

That’s not true with the SoundSleep for Babies CD. The very first time I used the product I was amazed. I put the CD in the player, hooked up the headphones (making sure the volume was appropriate), and put them on a fussy baby.

BAM – silence. A doe-eyed, blinking baby was calm. Maybe from the new experience of headphones, but something tells me it was the womb-like sounds quieted baby.

That’s right: womb-like! Muffled heartbeats (not Tale Tell Heart sounds like in some other products) and muted background conversations all helped baby calm.

Pros:

  • Comprised of actual recordings from the womb, digitally enhanced
  • Based on medical, scientific, and audio research
  • Calms even the fussiest of babies quickly
  • Plays for one hour
  • Keeps baby asleep

Cons

  • Unless the room is super quiet, I had to use headphones – otherwise, just playing them on a CD player, baby was uninterested

I am always skeptical about products that say they will quiet a baby fast – especially if they’re just going to play music and sounds. But the SoundSleep CD has proven me wrong (well, as far as this CD alone goes!). The CD has now become a mainstay in my household, keeping baby comfortable and asleep longer, making sure accidental loud noises are a thing of the past.

Note: The CD plays for an hour. It is suggested that you put the player on REPEAT, keeping the sounds going as long as you feel.

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Posted in Accessories, Babies | No Comments »

Review: Baby K’tan Carrier

Monday, November 24th, 2008

Sometimes a product comes along that isn’t quite one thing or another. Baby K’tan fits that description. Not quite a sling, not quite a wrap, the best way to label it is simple “carrier” – and what a unique carrier it is.

A lot of carriers have one or two good points to their designs, but the Baby K’tan is chock full of beneficial features.

Pros:

  • Can be used from birth to 42 lbs – one of the only systems to carry that much
  • Made completely of natural cotton making the carrier very breathable
  • Ability to carry twins – the only carrier I’ve seen that is able to do this
  • Comes in patterns for both moms and dads
  • 8 possible positions for baby
    • Cradle
    • Hug
    • Explore
    • Adventure
    • Twins
    • Two-Hip
    • Hip
    • Back
    • Phone support

Neutral:

  • Can take some practice, but with well written and video instructions, getting the hang of it does not take that long

Again we have a carrier with no cons (and only one neutral). That is why with today’s ever advancing products and product ideas, it is important to compare and see what works for you and your little one, or ones!

Of course, not all slings are appropriate for all families and parents. It is very important to find the right sling for you. Remember to ask to try the sling in-store to get a feel for what the sling is all about. If a sling you are interested is unavailable by you and you must purchase online, make sure you are well informed about the company’s return policy.

Note: use coupon code: GREATDAD for 15% discount on any orders at www.babyktan.com..

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Posted in Accessories, Babies | No Comments »

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