I am a big fan of baby-friendly places and places that cater to kids (and their parents).
One way that restaurants can do that is to offer free meals to kids. If you head on over to the Kids Eat Free website, you can find a listing of restaurants that do just that. The results are a bit skimpy at present, but you can submit your favorite restaurants so that other parents can learn from your experiences.
Thanks to Angie over at BabyCheapskate for calling my attention to this site where you can sign up for a FREE copy of What to Expect the First Year by Heidi Murkoff.
Another reason that I'm not particularly fond of maternity shops and maternity advertisements: they often feature women in excessively high heels in their advertisements [case in point: see this recent advertisement on A Pea in the Pod's website - a woman in a short dress with very high heels].
During my pregnancy, some people warned me that wearing heels during pregnancy was unhealthy. So I did a few quick Google searches on the Internet and found this and this. Apparently, there's no specific concensus on the issue, but most experts agree that lower heels (1/2 to 2 inches) are better.
In fact, the American Podiatric Medical Association (APMA) agrees that high heels -- which they define as pumps with heels of more than two inches -- are not the best footwear choice for anyone."
So, why-oh-why, do maternity advertisements always feature women in 3-4 inch heels?
There's a new article out in Times Magazine entitled "Baby Einsteins: Not So Smart After All." The synopsis of the article is that products like "Baby Einstein" and "Brainy Baby" may be "doing more harm than good" and that they may, in fact, "delay language development in toddlers."
Here's a snippet from the article:
Led by Frederick Zimmerman and Dr. Dimitri Christakis, both at the University of Washington, the research team found that with every hour per day spent watching baby DVDs and videos, infants learned six to eight fewer new vocabulary words than babies who never watched the videos. These products had the strongest detrimental effect on babies 8 to 16 months old, the age at which language skills are starting to form. "The more videos they watched, the fewer words they knew," says Christakis. "These babies scored about 10% lower on language skills than infants who had not watched these videos."
Instead of plopping your baby down in front of the tube:
A. Read a book.
B. Go for a walk and describe what you are seeing.
C. Play "Patty Cake", "This Little Pig", and "Itsy Bitsy Spider."
D. Turn on some music and dance with your baby.
E. Mimic the sounds and facial expressions that your baby makes.
F. Go about your daily routine with your baby in a carrier and verbalize your tasks ("We're doing the laundry. First, let's fold the blue shirt...").
(Photo by: Werther)
There I was, balancing all of my plates in the air, with relative grace and ease. Wife. Friend. Volunteer. Professional. Educator. Learner. Writer. Dreamer.
Then, in one beautiful moment that I will never forget, my little blue-eyed beauty was born. She entered gently and triumphantly - she overwhelmed us in a magical and mysterious way that I never expected. She stretched our hearts (and our patience) more than we ever imagined. She inundated our lives and left us breathless.
And then my "dance with the dishes" became rather clumsy. I was distracted and interrupted (in a lovely way, yes...).
And now I'm wondering how I will ever manage to hold up all of those plates successfully again. Will I have to relinquish one of my titles (for a time) or is it just a matter of switching up my priorities a bit? Will balance always elude me?
(No answer)
(Photo by: ohmomof1)
Thanks to Kevin Burke over at light iris for featuring my blog in his "Popular with Moms" e-newsletter.
In case you don't know...Light Iris is a "new brand and website for expectant and new moms" with the goal of providing "information and tools specific to new moms' needs."
Whitney over at RookieMoms has posted an open letter to Mimi Maternity about the negative aspects of the store (poor customer service, bras that are too small, associates who have never been pregnant, etc.).
As I read Whitney's tirade, I couldn't help but nod my head in agreement (mostly). Her experiences really replicated mine - although my complaints were aimed at Motherhood Maternity (who is, I might add, owned by the same company as Mimi).
I especially loved her ideas for improvement: "Offer me a cool drink of water. Provide a chair in front of a foot massage machine. Sell bras in sizes larger than E. (Nursing boobs are OFTEN larger than E). Put out samples of nutrition bars that you sell. Make me feel like coming to your store is a treat. A treat just for me because I am pregnant and special."
Other Ideas:
1. Change your return policy (er...lack thereof).
2. Make longer shirts.
3. Make professional shirts (not low-cut, not empire-waisted) that are designed for women with larger chests.
4. Offer classes/seminars on topics that moms care about.
6. Enlarge one of your dressing rooms and make it into a nursing lounge, with a comfortable chair, a baby changing table, complimentary wipes, and water bottles.
What has your experience been with the maternity empire owned by Rebecca Matthius (Motherhood, Mimi, A Pea in the Pod, Edamame, Destination Maternity)?
(Photo by: mom2lengguy)
There's a great discussion going on over at Baby Cheapskate about whether or not buying a diaper bag is a good investment.
Here's what I wrote:
"A diaper bag is definitely not on my "must-have" list. In fact, it doesn't even make my "wishlist." If I could turn back the clock, I wouldn't have registered for a diaper bag at all. When my baby was very little, I used the free bag from the hospital. Now, I just throw a diaper and a travel wipes case in my purse (I keep an extra outfit and an extra diaper in the car). If you want to invest in a bag, buy a stylish oversized purse (for the fashionista) or a backpack (for the athletic/outdoorsy type). BONUS: You'll be able to use the bag pre- and post-baby..."