by Whitney
Sometimes a baby just must be worn. I have a distinct memory of marching up and down my stairs with Julian in my arms, just to get him to stop crying and relax. If I had been smarter, or hadn’t just blown all my brain cells giving birth, I might have just worn him and saved my arms the trouble. And, now as a sophomore mom, if Scarlett wasn’t already trained to nap in her crib so well (yes, I am the best parent ever), I’d probably be stair climbing right now instead of typing at the computer.
I recently met Darcy, a woman who had the same experience as a new mom. She, being a dancer, had a solution that was less monotonous than a staircase. She danced. She soothed her baby to sleep while getting her own heart rate up and toning muscles. Call it overachieving, or call it crafty, but I have to give her a (virtual) high five for figuring out how to get something for herself out of a marathon soothing session.
If you are like me, you are not going to do this yourself. You might need someone to boss you around, er, I mean guide you. And Darcy put her work out on a video, so now you have it. It’s called Chicks-n-Chickens Lullaby Exercises and the DVD shows a room full of baby-wearing women getting a workout.
No time for the gym? Restless baby? Here you go.
What do you think? Would you try it? Does your baby demand to be worn?
Related links:
by Whitney
If you don’t have the mental space to read a non-parenting book, Operating Instructions could be your compromise. Have you ever gotten in the shower with your underwear on? So has the author.
Heather read this book cover-to-cover while visiting her in-laws. But it can also be enjoyed in bits and pieces if you don’t have a solid block of time.
by Whitney
Taking the baby in the pool is both scary and funny.
If you are alone, think carefully through the logistics of how you are going to change your clothes, change baby, get in the pool, get out of the pool, get on dry stuff and get back in the car. You are not as smart as you used to be and you will probably mess up part of this process and end up walking out to your car in just a bra and towel holding your baby in one arm and a diaper between your teeth. Let me just help you out: Take your stroller with you into the dressing room. That way you have someplace to put the baby, towels, wet bathingsuits and diaper bag while you get dry yourself.
In El Cerrito, there is a beautiful saline community pool and we take the babies in to splash around during family swim. At Berkeley High, there’s a warm pool reserved for seniors and babies. Friday afternoon there’s a drop in class for $4.50. Check the PDFs linked from this page for details.
Here’s a list of all the San Francisco public pools… only $3.
This is also a fun activity for a very pregnant friend.
by Whitney
Aside from The Rookie Mom’s Handbook (of course), this new book from Chronicle has got to be my favorite baby shower gift idea this year. Porn for New Moms is a collection of photos of hunky, shirtless guys doing the things that turn women on: holding babies, folding laundry, and preparing food. Each photo has a message from the model to the viewer. The whole concept of the book is just *so* my sense of humor, I had to share.
From the publisher:
Prepare to enter a fantasy world, a world where men insist on changing diapers, where guys get up for 3 a.m. feedings, and where they just can’t help but admire mom’s sexy all-sweatpants wardrobe. Page after page of titillating shots and dream-worthy captions will make every mother swoon. In fact, it might just leave her begging for more. . . . Oh, daddy!
What would your new-mom-porn look like? I think I’d like a picture of my husband getting out of bed at 5.59 (alarm clock would be pictured in the background). The caption would read “I’ll go sit outside the door of the children’s room to be sure I can get to them as soon as they awaken. That way, you won’t hear a thing.”
