Oh, how I pity the new-mommy me of yesteryear. If I met her now, I'm sure I would be nastily condescending, saying things like, "Honey, you don't have to order groceries--just go on the weekends," or "Ha ha, I remember when my biggest problem was how to prepare lunch with a baby strapped to my chest." I would DEFINITELY tell her to lay off the TV, because really? The Wire and True Blood and (shudder) One Tree Hill? You were that bored? (No, I do remember how much more boring it was with a newborn when I didn't have a fun, chatty toddler to entertain me. Sorry, did I say entertain me? I meant RUN ME RAGGED. Anyway!)
This is part one, and there will be at least a couple more posts like this--apparently the amount of stuff I need to keep me sane has increased exponentially in the last year and a half. Wonder why...
On TV or DVD (or, new sub-category, On My Bedside Table)
- DVR'ed episodes of Modern Family, Cougar Town, Gossip Girl, 30 Rock, The Office
- On Demand episodes of Parenthood, The Pacific, and 16 and Pregnant (oh yes, really)
- Coming soon: Treme on HBO, probably Glee if I can't help myself
- Not so much anymore: How I Met Your Mother. Because, when?!? When will you meet their mother? Enough already!!
- O magazine--um, my mom and I both have subscriptions now...need I say more?
- Entertainment Weekly: we started subscribing for free through Dave's extra-but-useless Delta miles, and now I count on it for good music and book reviews, which brings me to
- The Help by Kathryn Stockett: the book club selection du jour, and not, in my opinion, a Literary Work of Genius, but definitely absorbing and well-written
- Baby/toddler books galore, including: Happiest Toddler on the Block by Harvey Karp, Your Child's Growing Mind by Jane M. Healy, Bright From the Start by Jill Stamm (my favorite so far), and Raising an Amazing Child the Montessori Way by Tim Seldin
For the Baby:
- The bouncy seat (OMG he likes it! He really likes it! Coos, giggles, bats at the fish LIKES IT!)
- The swing (won't put him to sleep, but will keep him asleep)
- SwaddleMes, just like his bro
- The wipe warmer (TWICE now I have laughed in the face of the naysayers who claim it's a novelty item, a pretentious extra--both my boys require this thing)
- Ergo, Baby Bjorn, Ergo, Baby Bjorn. I wear Finn all day long, even down to the car where I put him in his bucket seat (thus thwarting the entire purpose of having a bucket seat) and then again when I retrieve him from the car.
- Dr. Sears' Baby Book. I have probably used most of the standard baby reference books out there, no joke, and I have to tell you that this one works best for me. It goes overboard in its praise for attachment parenting (I don't choose to wear Finn all the time because I believe in it as a method so much as because IT WORKS) but it's also sensible plus the Searses are a nurse-practitioner mother and a pediatrician father WHO RAISED EIGHT CHILDREN. A bonus is that they don't rely on scare tactics to guilt you into following their advice, which I've found a surprising number of these books DO.
- Sleep 'n' play outfits, again. This time, I only tolerate the footie ones with snaps or zippers all the way up the front. These Gerber ones are my favorite because they're thin enough to layer over without overheating Finn, and because the 0-3 month size actually fit him for about two months and the 3-6 size actually fits him now. I also like the thicker, cuter Carter brand sleep 'n' plays.
Sad but true mandatory disclaimer: No one's ever paid me to praise a product.
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