by Whitney
There’s been some talk in the blogosphere about babies born with URLs already reserved for them. That’s fine and all, but there’s a reason to get your pre-reading child online that’s not just about reserving his or her Internet real estate. If you sign your kid up for an email address, you can send messages to his or her future self.
All those things that you aren’t writing in the baby book are candidates for an email to your child’s future inbox.
- Dear Julian, today you threw a tantrum like none other I have seen. You have impressed me.
- Dear Julian, today you said “Mama” in a way that told me you knew exactly how to use that word.
- Dear Julian, I’m on my first business trip away from you, and it’s not half-bad.
Let’s face it, handwriting in baby books is old school. Screen-based communication is what our kids are going to expect. This is how their lives will be documented. Of course blogging about them is another choice.
If you are commited to the paper-based method, you can check baby’s inbox from time to time and print your messages out. Or, just wait. When these guys are old enough to open their inbox, they can read all the notes you wanted to send them when they were too young to understand. And hopefully, they won’t see your name in the “From” line and click “This is spam.”
For those of you considering the URL option, just remember that you may have another child someday and www.the-nguyens.com is going to make a lot more sense than www.owen-nguyen.com when Owen’s little sister comes along.
by Whitney
It makes me and Ryan feel like Real Parents when we take Julian on outings like Tilden Park’s Little Farm. Animals and their sounds is one of our favorite topics of conversation with Julian. Of course at this age, our babies barely get what’s going on, but showing them the live animals on a farm somehow feels very important.
Perhaps you live near animals and don’t think anything of it, but for us city folk, these experiences have to be sought out. In Berkeley, there is a little farm and nature center in Tilden Park. No admission fee. Just like on Old MacDonald’s farm, there are pigs, sheep, cows, goats, rabbits and chickens. That’s it. Hence the name Little Farm.
You’ll see older kids feeding celery to the goats and be able to fantasize about your baby becoming a Real Kid some day.
Pack up a lunch for yourself and the kid and go up there for a walk. This is a great one for when you have the grandparents visiting and need to get everyone out of the house.
by Whitney
Since my New Year’s resolution was to walk 10,000 steps a day, and so far I have failed miserably, I have a new piece of advice for myself. I should be doing as many errands as I can on foot. I did so much better when I was on maternity leave and then when I was working 4-hour days. Now, I’m not doing nearly as much walking.
If you are reading this looking for a suggestion for the day, this is it: Run errands. For reals, girls, run them. Ok, walk if you’re not a runner. Put the kid in the stroller, backpack or front carrier and head out the door to the place you need to go. If it’s within two miles, this is a reasonable feat. For most of us, however, I’d guess we can get food or necessities less than two miles from home. We can do it. If you do it, come back here and brag. I’ll give you a virtual pat on the back.
P.S. If you live up in the hills, you can drive to the bottom of the hill and start from there.
by Whitney
We try to focus on activities more than products, but this product seems like such a good idea, it could help you avoid a daily activity: cleaning pacifiers. (That is, if your kid is a bink-aholic like mine was.) Check out this pacifier that stays closed when not in the mouth. As soon as it hits the ground, the shield closes around the nipple. Anyone have experience with it? More details>
Some advice from the trenches: as soon as Julian was able to put the pacifier in his mouth himself, we began placing a minefield of pacifiers in the crib with him. If he awoke in the middle of the night (IF!?) we were increasing his odds of finding one and taking care of his own pacification needs. Credit for this tip goes to the book Be Prepared: A Practical Handbook for New Dads.
Some people, I’ve learned, refer to pacifiers as “nuks” (a popular brand of paci that we’ve never used). My nephews walked in to greet Julian after a nap recently and he was sitting up in his crib with a pacifier in his mouth and two laying next to him. “You’re a nuk-man,” said the eight-year old. “It looks like Julian’s having a nuk party!”
