Rookie Moms

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:

• Order Lullaby Exercises DVD
• Bay Area free classes - bring your baby and try out the Lullaby Exercises routine.

Misty’s found a way for her baby to enjoy some summertime water fun: Fill baby’s high chair tray with water for warm weather splashing!

I love this activity for hot, housebound babies everywhere (especially those of us jailed by an older napping child).

Baby Madeline’s high chair has a very deep lip, enough to hold about half an inch of water. Misty filled that with tap water, stripped her down, and let her splash around as she wants. It is amusing to see her reaction when she splashes herself, and her obvious enjoyment of the new experience.

[This fun trick discovered on ParentHacks]

Did you know the Cardboard Box was inducted into the National Toy Hall of Fame in 1998?

My mom sent me a link to fridgeboxworld.com and I got so excited about it that I had to email the director, April Capil, and ask her to write an activity for us. She has founded a company that produces cardboard boxes especially for the purpose of imaginary play, and she explains, “I brought the cardboard box back via the cardboard-box-with-training-wheels, Fridge Box, as a way of being “green” and encouraging creativity and resourcefulness in the generation behind us. The cardboard box, of course, is one of the few toys made from recycled materials, that can also be recycled when you’re done with it!”

More from April:

“So, you’re sold on bringing back the cardboard box. Now what do you do? Well, start with a box, preferable a big one. It doesn’t have to be a Fridge Box; you don’t need to buy some McGroovy’s rivets (but you can!). Just start with a large empty box and ask your children what it looks like to them. Some may say, “Duh, a box,” but chances are, their imagination isn’t totally atrophied; it’s just been waiting for a workout. Ask them if they think that, together, you could turn this box into something else (if necessary, hit up Mr. McGroovy’s site for some fresh ideas). It’s good to start with a structure (a house or building) or a vehicle (like a train, truck, car, plane, spaceship, submarine, etc.), and let things evolve from there.If you have two or three boxes, even better - see if you can connect them somehow, like a series of boxcars on a track, or a mansion with “West” and “East” wings. Start adding to the box(es) using cutouts from magazines, glue sticks, markers, crayons - whatever you have handy. Feel free to cut out windows, doors, escape hatches… in a couple of hours, you can go to the moon and back in a cardboard rocket with your children - the only limit is their imaginations.

In closing, don’t be afraid your child will scoff at this lowly plaything made of brown kraft. The cardboard box is a favorite of children all over the world, and can provide hours of creative play with minimal costs and a minimal impact on the planet. Best of all, it builds skills that toys with more bells and whistles can’t - creativity and resourcefulness. And who doesn’t need more of that?

Girl parents, I know: you didn’t think your little baby, so bald and androgynous for a whole year, would begin crawling, walking, then talking about princesses and demanding tutus — but it happened. Well, you just have to learn to live with it. But here’s an easy project - no sewing or glue - that will allow you to make a tutu in lightning speed. So you’ll have more time to spend lecturing your daughter on other, non-princess, career paths she might consider, like software engineer or urban planner.

Bonus for those who need an outing with their new baby (hit the fabric store) and a surprise to share with a little girl (or boy, although my son will not put on a dress even for dress up but says when he grows up he is going to be a daddy and a ballet dancer). Emily, a rookie mom to 10-month old Logan, has posted this amazingly simple tutorial on The Little Window Shoppe. You can make a tutu with just some strips of tulle (that’s light-weight fine netting fabric for you non ballerina types).

And PS, nothing featured on The Little Window Shoppe is more than $50. Thanks, Emily!