Essential Baby Things

No parent likes to leave their child unattended.  But sitting by their bed to watch them while they sleep or while they play creates need and dependence and breeds fear.  Baby safety monitors allow the cautious parent the ability to keep one ear, or in some cases one eye, on their children when they are not in the same room.  This allows the parent to get some rest or take care of other things and also allows the child a little independence and a chance to grow.

Baby safety monitors are, at their most basic, a type of walkie talkie.  There is a monitoring unit that is set in the room with your baby and then the receiving unit that is kept with the parent as they move about the house.  These days most systems fall under the term wireless baby monitors as the receiving unit can pick up signals around the house.  However, be sure that is what you are getting.  Some older versions and stationary baby monitors essentially create a line between two wired base units.

When they are up and running, a baby safety monitor allows a parent to listen in on their child in another room.  As mentioned, most these days will offer varying degrees of wireless capability.  If video monitoring is desired, there are also video baby monitors available.  Although the technology now isn’t what you’ll see in the movies, it is improving.  Some sets offer a wide range of doo-dads and upgrades.  Some even offer a pad that goes on the bed that sends alarms or notices whenever your little one turns over.  However, most systems these days are looking at incorporating video in various ways.

What are some popular brands?  Well, as in most things, Fisher Price and Graco offer several baby safety monitors that are fully functioning, if a bit un-fancy, but reasonably priced and well regarded, as is most stuff by those two brands.  Philips Avent has another well regarded model.  The previously mentioned one with the sensor pad is the Angelcare  baby monitor which has gotten high marks be most reviewers, even though the movement sensor can be a little sensitive.  The Tomy baby monitor is another good and reasonably priced monitor, although it seems to be sold primarily in England and Europe.

If you’re in the market for a little peace of mind, a baby monitor can go a long way to providing that.  The first thing a family needs to decide is to buy a video baby monitor or simply a wireless baby monitor.  After that, the decision comes down to features, prices, reviews and exchange policies.  Whichever baby safety monitor is chosen, they will undoubtedly help put your mind at ease.

Going without sleep is par for the course with new parents.  While those who are on their first or second child may be used to it, if you ever do get used to it, or at least know a little about what to expect, new parents have no clue as to what is really going on.  And when their baby is crying at all hours of the night and then crying more after feeding, it is enough to drive a parent to the edge.  Luckily, for parents who suspect their crying child has trouble with colic, there are solutions.  One of the solutions is Dr. Brown baby bottles.  Another is from Avent.

Here’s thing – nobody really knows why colic happens in babies.  There are numerous theories as to the true cause and reason behind colic.  Unfortunately, no study has shown definitive proof as to why colic happens.  Plus, the fact that with most babies it seems to resolve itself by about six months of age means that it isn’t really that huge of a problem from a medical standpoint.

From a parent’s standpoint, however, it is pretty huge.  Where medicine has not come up with clear answers, the marketplace has.  While Dr. Brown baby bottles have come up with one solution for dealing with air intake during feeding, Avent has a different approach, one that is simpler in its completion.  The theory behind the Avent bottles is that with a larger, wider nipple, the baby is able to form a more complete seal between the nipple and their mouth.  Then, similar to the nipple collar on the Dr. Brown bottles, air is brought into the bottle, which allows the child to drink without swallowing large amounts of air.  The Avent nipple in many ways performs similar to the air-vent system on the Dr. Brown bottles without all the extra parts.

Now, while you may think this sounds great at first, realize that each baby is different.  Some babies will prefer one blanket over another, one pacifier over another, and so on for reasons that we may not understand.  The same is true for bottles.  Your baby may fall in love with the Avent nipples and that may be the end of it.  Or they may hate them and you’ll have to give the Dr. Brown bottles a shot.  Whatever the case, be flexible.

Avent sells a whole range of baby bottle products, including an Avent bottle warmer and Avent sterilizer.  While useful, the Essential Baby Things staff recommends testing the water before jumping in the pool – try out the bottles.  If they work, then great, go out and buy all the accessories you like.  But wait till you see if your baby likes one thing more than the other.  Because if they don’t automatically love them, you may need to move on to a different bottle and different system until you find something that does work.

Unisex baby clothes?  Really?  Why would anyone want to buy unisex baby clothes?  Isn’t that just a half-step above buying a gift certificate or a book or something?

At first glance, the whole idea of unisex baby clothes seems a little bland, kinda like overcooked roast beef.  But the truth is, there’s nothing wrong with unisex baby clothes and in some instances, they may be the perfect thing for the little boy or girl that is already here or on the way.

First of all, let’s figure out what unisex baby clothes are.  Contrary to what one might think, unisex baby clothes aren’t some ill-fitting burlap sack fashioned into something that vaguely resembles an article of clothing.  Unisex clothing for babies is simply clothing that has no discernable design or color that favors either boys or girls.  That’s all.  A pink shirt with ruffled collars, sleeves and hem with a sparkly dancing unicorn?  Obviously girls clothes.  A dark blue western-styled shirt with a cowboy riding a bucking bronco and the words “Ride ‘Em Cowboy” stitched across the front?  More than likely boys clothes.  A simple green shirt with the design “World’s #1 Kid” on it?  Could go either way.  It’s not distinctly boys clothing and not obviously girls clothing.  Therefore it fits into the wide range of unisex baby clothes.  And what parent is going to turn up their nose at a shirt that says “World’s #1 Kid”?

So now that we see that unisex baby clothes simply mean clothes that can be worn by either boys or girls, it’s easy to imagine some situations where buying something that is neither strictly for girls or explicitly for boys could be advantageous:

-    Everything the kid has is blue or everything they have is pink: Your child is drowning in a sea of gender specific clothing (not that there’s anything wrong with that) and you think it might be time for a little variety in their life.
-    Not every parent chooses to know the sex of their unborn child: These days, even though the technology is able to determine it and many people choose to learn if their child-to-be is going to be a boy or a girl, many people choose to wait for nature’s surprise.  This also throws a damper on what may be bought for them by friends and family.  If you just have to buy clothes for the parents who are waiting to find out if their child is a boy or a girl until “The Day” then unisex baby clothes, as opposed to baby girl clothes or baby boy clothes, are the answer
-    Buying for charity: If you’re trying to do something nice for charity, you don’t want it to backfire by having the kids you’re trying to help hate you for it.  Not that they would, but their parents might not appreciate a whole box full of pink and ruffly clothes for their bouncing baby boy or vice versa.

There are a wide range of reasons for buying unisex baby clothes.  Newborn baby clothes are typically geared more towards either boys or girls, but if you look around or if you’re buying for an older child, you should be able to find just what you’re looking for.  And one of the best things about it – often times unisex baby clothes can be found in inexpensive stores.  That doesn’t mean we here at Essential Baby Things always advocate buying cheap clothes.  However, remember that the kids will never see them, they’ll outgrow them before you need to cut your hair again and that saving money is always in style.  And if you think you can’t find some cheap unisex baby clothes that are fashionable, you obviously haven’t taken an objective look at Carters, Gerber, Chico, Old Navy, Target or any other place that offers good quality clothes at reasonable prices.