Motorola Video Baby Monitor

You could call this product a video monitor... OR you could call it by its official name:

 

The Motorola MBP36 Remote Wireless Video Baby Monitor with Infrared Night Vision and Zoom!!!

(I added in the !!!)

I think I'll stick with just "video monitor."

You might remember when I asked for video monitor recommendations after Baba G started pulling himself up in his crib. I was hesitant about getting one because I didn't want to grow obsessed with watching it, nor did I want to be freaked out by any Paranormal Activity-looking flickers or glowing eyes and whatnot.

Before I solicited advice, I didn't realize that the video screen can be turned off while the audio monitor stays on. Um, that's kind of a key feature! So just imagine this thing on my nightstand with a black screen, because that's what it looks like 95% of the time. If you want to turn off the audio, you'll still have the colored dots at the top that light up horizontally to indicate the noise level in the room. If all of them are lit, that means your kid's a-screamin' his head off. Ours normally has three or four dots lit because of the white noise machine we have in the nursery:

His head's in the left corner + typical "booty-up" pose

We ended up going with the Motorola version because I'd heard so many good things about it from others (and thanks to BG&Me commenter Cindy for her thoughts on this model as well). A close second was the Summer Infant monitor, but we liked how Motorola used a technology that was supposedly less likely to interfere with other signals in your house (more on that in a second) and also showed the room temperature. BG's nursery is unfortunately in the coldest room in our condo, so it was important for me to ensure he wasn't freezing down there. We've been able to adjust our furnace so that his room stays around 70 degrees even in the depths of winter (like right now).

Funny thing is, it also helped us realize that his room was way too HOT while on our disaster vacation to the Dominican Republic. Of the many things that went wrong on that trip, one of the biggest was that the air conditioning in our suite was broken (and it was around 95 degrees that week). We'd brought the monitor with us, and that's how we knew that despite setting up two extra fans in BG's room, it remained a stuffy 77 degrees:

Before The Sickness struck!

Here's a little video I took of Baba G walking around a bit before hitting the hay. I clumsily attempt to demonstrate some of the monitors features...

The bottom line: For us, a video monitor ended up being a must-have gizmo. Right now we're not on the same level as Baba G's nursery, and so it's key for us to be able to see what's going on in there before we open up the door and risk waking him up for good. A lot of times he's really loud when he's shifting positions, and if we couldn't see what he was doing, we might think something was wrong.

The monitor also came in handy when we finally broke down and decided to stop going in his room every time he cried, so as to get him out of the soul-crushing habit of wailing for us at 4 a.m. every morning for no apparent reason. The first night we didn't come in, we used the monitor to watch him get angrier and angrier and stomp around his crib for about 15 minutes. The next night, he protested for 5 minutes. After that, the few times he's woken up in the wee hours have been when he's actually sick.

I don't think I could do without a video monitor at this point, and would highly recommend one to anyone who thinks it might make their lives a bit easier. The best thing about the Motorola one is its ability to be remotely controlled. So we can be in our bedroom and pan the camera in all directions, as well as zoom in and out. The worst thing about it is that it definitely seems to mess with our wireless connection. Not the hugest deal, but we have to have the monitor completely off if we're planning on watching any streaming TV shows or movies.

It's also on the pricey side: about $240 on Amazon. For us it was worth it!

Baby Gund Mini Tinkle Crinkle (Worm/Caterpillar)

We have this one

I learned something today. One of Baba G's most beloved toys, which I've been calling "Baby Worm" for 8 months (in honor of his favorite book character), is actually 1) a caterpillar, and 2) officially called the "mini tinkle crinkle."

Is that name for real? What in the hell is a "tinkle crinkle"? Who comes up with this stuff? Are they regularly tested for drug use?

Though the Baby Gund Mini Tinkle Crinkle might be battling My Brest Friend for the honor of "Worst-Named Product," Baba G doesn't care. He loves this toy, which I'm still going to refer to as Baby Worm, dammit.

But it comes in primary colors as well

We got Baby Worm as a gift from friends when BG was born, and it was one of the only toys I felt comfortable putting near him in the early days because it is SO SO SO soft. Seriously, it's the softest.

It makes a very faint rattling noise if you shake it, and it's only 8 inches long so it's the perfect size for a newborn to grasp.

Apparently there's a 17-inch version that's named the "Tinkle, Crinkle, Rattle and Squeak," and it's one of Gund's best-sellers. If the mini worm is any indication, I can see why the bigger one is such a hit.

Here's Baba G when he was less than 2 weeks old, already holding Baby Worm and trying to eat it:

You, Baby Worm, are destined to become the most-slobbered-on of my toys

The bottom line: The Baby Gund Mini Tinkle Crinkle (grr) makes for a GREAT, inexpensive gift that I guarantee any newborn is going to love. The mini version goes for between $2.50 - $3.25 (I told you it was inexpensive!) on Amazon, and the full-sized version is around $16.

Baba G still loves Baby Worm just as much as he did when they were first introduced. Even though he has a ton of fancy teethers and other toys now, Baby Worm is the old standby we take with us in the car and to restaurants because he can't get enough of it. Plus, it's one of those toys that doesn't make noise when it's dropped OR when it's played with, and it's easily washable. Perfect! I guess I'll forgive its stupid official name.

The Runaway Bunny & Goodnight Moon

Loungin' with the bunnies

Baba G's Great Aunt Sue bought him Goodnight Moon a few months before he was born, and then followed up with its companion book The Runaway Bunny as an Easter gift this year. I, however, didn't realize the books were related in any way. I'd never read either and knew nothing about them, except for the fact that Goodnight Moon was one of the all-time best-selling children's books. And that it was one of those "Dammit, I could've written this and become a millionaire!" types of books in its extreme simplicity.

Since BG didn't have any sort of bedtime routine for quite a while, I didn't crack open Goodnight Moon until a month or so ago. But we've been reading The Runaway Bunny every single morning since he was less than three months old. It is OUR book, and no one else is allowed to read it to him. So don't try!

At first I was like, "Hmm, is reading this book each morning going to instill the desire in him to run away—if for no other reason to test whether or not I could catch him?" Because that's basically the entire story. The little boy bunny keeps saying he's going to run away and turn into different things (like a fish) and then the mom bunny explains how she'd still find him (she'll become a fisherman). Then I reasoned with myself that a kid probably isn't going to want to run away if you've openly talked about running away for years in the context of a bunny story. Where's the rebellion in that, right? Plus, he would know by then that I WOULD find him.

Yes, the story is simple. But what I love about it is that its phrasing is very rhythmic and sing-songy (at least it is the way I read it), and you can make up whatever you want to say for the picture-only pages, which comprise half the book. Plus, it's a great mother-son story.

So I adore The Runaway Bunny (and in researching for this post I learned that it's apparently one of David Letterman's favorite books to read his son, too), but remained skeptical about Goodnight Moon. Finally I gave it a shot, and now I understand what all the fuss is about.

First, the same little boy bunny from The Runaway Bunny is IN Goodnight Moon. I had no idea. There are a few other little cross-overs, too. I've personally had fun discovering those, as nerdy as that might sound.

Mmm, cardboard.

Second, the illustrations are really what make both of these books so wonderful. Margaret Wise Brown might have come up with some soothing verses, but Clement Hurd brings everything to life. Goodnight Moon is significantly better than The Runaway Bunny in this regard. Sure, there are major inconsistencies in the drawings across the pages, but there's just so much cool stuff in each room scene—I admit I'm looking forward to when BG realizes there's a tiny mouse who keeps moving around the room as the story progresses. Or when he starts imagining what the two silly cats are doing, or what the old lady bunny might be knitting. Or when he appreciates the beauty of the final illustration.

Right now, however, while he DOES listen patiently to the stories and look at the pictures, he's mostly concerned with gnawing on the corner of both books every chance he gets. Two more top teeth are coming in, and something must be done!

 The bottom line: There's a reason Goodnight Moon and The Runaway Bunny have been in print since the '40s. They work. They're beautifully illustrated, the stories are engaging, and there's room for improv thanks to several picture-only pages in both. And I think The Runaway Bunny is especially great for mom-son reading time.

Once I figured out that the two books were connected, I rushed to Amazon to buy the third Wise/Hurd book, My World. But then I read all of the negative reviews and decided against it. Apparently the verses aren't sing-songy and there's a dad bunny smoking in it and random stuff like that. I guess there's a reason that one is NOT a children's classic, huh?

I wish I could tell you that this is a picture of Baba G being absolutely delighted after I finished reading him Goodnight Moon, but it's actually the first time he realized he was seeing himself (or at least a happy looking baby) on my phone when I turned the camera screen around to face him.

Have a great weekend!

Fisher-Price Luv U Zoo Busy Baby Booster

I'm back from my Girls' Weekend in New York, and somehow everyone at home survived without me—imagine that. Thankfully my husband and I were able to set up a video chat each morning after Baba G had his first meal of the day, and it was clear that BG could actually see me. I would make funny noises and faces and he would laugh and laugh, so it helped convince me that he wasn't going to forget who I was. Ah, the miracle of technology!

Today I decided to write about the Fisher-Price Luv U Zoo Busy Baby booster seat we received as a gift. The friends who got it for us loved theirs so much that they wanted us to have one, too. After the recent Bumbo seat recall, I thought it would be especially timely to talk about this product since people might be on the hunt for alternatives. Though, having said that, I know a ton of parents who love love love the Bumbo seat and are annoyed that the recall only happened because idiotic peeps left their kids unattended in the seat... on top of tables and stuff like that, which was always clearly against the "intended use" instructions. On the flip side, my physical therapist is not a fan of Bumbo seats in general, saying that kids don't need them to learn how to sit up on their own. Which is true.

The Fisher-Price seat I'm talking about in this post isn't meant to be a sitting aid or anything like that, it's supposed to be a booster seat that you can attach to a chair either in your home or out at a restaurant. (See to the left how it folds up to carry along? Not exactly the smallest thing to haul with you, but still.)

We have yet to use it for that purpose, however. After Baba G was sitting up on his own, I would put him in the seat for short periods of time when I needed to Swiffer the floor or clean off his play-tile area or was otherwise unable to hold him or be right down on the floor with him.

And guess what? He loves it. In addition to being a booster chair, it's a mini "activity seat" that has a little arch of spinny toys you can snap on to its tray. Baba G LOVES spinny toys, especially ones that have tiny colorful balls in them like the alligator in the center below. (I threw a few more toys on the tray, too.)

You spin me right round.

Whatchu lookin' at?

You can't see it in these pictures, but unlike the Bumbo seat, the Luv U Zoo booster DOES have a restraining belt to fasten around your kid's middle. The other straps you can partially see in the pictures above are what you're supposed to hook around a chair.

So we did exactly what you're not supposed to do in that we put the seat on our low coffee table in order to feed Baba G his very first meal—we didn't have an actual high chair at the time, and the only place we could really sit across from him in a semi-comfortable fashion was on our couch (with him facing us on the coffee table about six inches away).

Bring on the grub!

Gimme that... rice cereal? I was hoping for ice cream.

We only used this set-up for about three days and then our high chair arrived. But it worked well and we obviously never left him alone in the seat at all.

Now the seat is actually taking up residence on the play mat, and it remains a great option to put him in for a short break. Since BG is crawling all over the place now AND pulling himself up to stand on things, this chair—with its belt-restraint and tray toys and perfect size—is a godsend.

The bottom line: I highly recommend this booster seat and am so glad our friends got it for us. It seems like a lot of other people are big fans, too, judging from the reviews on Amazon. On top of providing a safe, secure place to put your already-able-to-sit-up-on-his-own infant when you can't be holding him or on the floor with him, it's really easy to wipe down. It was also given the thumbs-up from Desmond's physical therapist (more on that some other day!). And while we haven't taken this seat to a restaurant yet, our friends set theirs up for their son while out to brunch with us, and it worked like a charm. They're around $45 on Amazon.

Fuzzy Bee / Squishy Turtle and Friends (Cloth Books by Roger Priddy)

Anyone who's ever read a book to a baby knows that a lot of books geared toward infants are criminally dumb. At first I was all bitter that these kinds of books found publishers and made money for their authors and became best-sellers. I mean, don't even get me started on the "Goodnight nobody" page of Goodnight Moon.  ?!?!?

But then I had to get over my issues because I realized Baba G loves almost all of the books that I think are ridiculous.

I've been reading to him since he was approximately six days old (as in, his first day home from the hospital). I've had many friends say that they didn't start reading to their kids for several months, but I'm not sure why. Maybe I just lucked out with a baby who would actually sit still long enough for me to finish a book. But wait a second—these books are like eight pages max and some of them are a total of like FIVE words. So I'd say that it's worth a try no matter how squirmy your baby is.

I'm sure I'll be reviewing a ton of BG's favorite books over the course of time, but I had to make sure I talked about his absolute favorite book to date: Fuzzy Bee and Friends, by Roger Priddy. My knee-jerk reaction to this book was that it was cute and colorful, and the only page I felt left something to be desired was the one for the butterfly. I mean, that rhyme is weak:

"I wonder why I'm such a splendid butterfly"? That is the best Mr. Priddy could come up with? Seriously.

BUT it doesn't matter to Baba G. From the early weeks he was immediately drawn to the things he could touch and pull at on each page (not sure how clear it is above, but the beetlebug's blue wings and one of the butterfly's red wings are like flaps).

Four months old and still captivated.

The whole book is made of cloth and it's got crinkly stuff in it. Crinkly stuff is like crack for babies, for real.

MUST... CRINKLE!

I've always thought that Baba G (and any baby, really) slightly resembled the Baby Worm, so I always squeal "BAAAAAaaaabbbby WOOOORRRRMmmm!" when we get to that part and he laughs and laughs. He still does, 6.5 months in.

Similar profile, and both bald with big eyes. There are worse things to look like.

After we knew Fuzzy Bee was a huge hit, my parents bought him another cloth book by Priddy: Squishy Turtle and Friends. Baba G loves this one, too. As I was preparing to write this post and Googling for links to use for the books, I realized that there is ANOTHER one of these cloth/crinkly books by Priddy: Fluffy Chick and Friends. Damn! How could I have not known about this? (It's since been ordered and will arrive in 2 days. Baba G is in for a surprise!)

The bottom line: I highly, highly, highly recommend buying all three cloth books by Roger Priddy: Fuzzy Bee, Squishy Turtle and Fluffy Chick (and Friends). Yes, I am recommending a book I don't even have yet because I looked through it online and know it's going to be just as loved by Baba G as the other two.

All of these books are brightly colored, have large, simply drawn animals on each page, and have sing-songy rhymes that make sense (for the most part)—BUT the secret to their success is the materials they're made out of. Both the crinkle-stuff inside the cloth pages and the textured wings, flaps, spouts, fins, tentacles, etc. of the "friends" on each page are what makes these books so irresistible to the tots. They're $9 or $10 each on Amazon—well worth the money.