Pepita

Baby’s First Lömsk

I used to kind of feel like a jerk buying my daughter expensive, frequently organic toys from Europe. The jerky feeling came from my awareness that these purchases were mostly inspired by aesthetic snobbery, but I consoled myself with the knowledge that, while I was protecting my daughter (and my living room) from bad design, I was also keeping her out of the clutches of the Dora/Elmo/Disney Princess commercial-industrial complex. (As far as I know, this little guy still doesn’t have his own TV show, nor have I seen his face on breakfast cereal, toothpaste, or outerwear). Now that we know that all the colorful plastic made in China is poison, I am even more determined to stay wooden.

Recently, Ted decided that Frances might enjoy a little table with a couple of chairs. We wanted something that was not a hulking, primary-colored, petroleum-based, and lead-riddled eyesore. We also wanted something that didn’t cost $150 or more. Thus, baby’s first trip to IKEA. We ended up choosing Lätt, a very plain, very nice little wooden table-and-chairs combo that set us back a mere $19.99.

Most of my previous trips to IKEA occurred while I was single, and all of them while I was childless, so I had never gone looking for toys before (I was looking, rather, for furniture and fixtures that would seem cool in the store but would kind of look like junk in my apartment. I pretty much always found exactly what I was looking for.) I was very pleased with what we found. In addition to the table and chairs, we picked up a few more wooden and cloth toys that cost substantially less than similar items I’ve considered at online boutiques that cater to hipster parents. It was nice to find a source for toys that falls somewhere between Wal-Mart and babygeared. And I hope that all the umlauts, lingonberries, and clean lines helped Frances to connect with her Swedish heritage.

Great Moments in Mothering

Frances and I still have a lot of things to figure out. Take the sling, for instance. It’s one of those big-long-piece-of-fabric-you-have-to-wrap-in-intricate-patterns dealies, and we’re not exactly adept with it yet. I’m sure that the native mothers and babies of many undeveloped countries would have a good laugh if they saw us struggling with this thing.

Anyhoo, Frances has been in the sling for about an hour now, and, after an initial period of shrieking and trying to claw her way out, she fell asleep. Her head was outside the sling, though, and typing with her giant noggin resting on my right forearm was starting to get old, so I tried—gently, gently—tucking her head inside the sling. She woke up, and I held my breath and waited for the wailing to start. Instead, she gave me a skeptical little sideways look, one that seemed to say, “I am willing to give this a try” and went back to sleep.

My 1-month old daughter giving me the benefit of the doubt: truly, a great moment in mothering.

Valerie Solanas Onesie

Today, I got a package from Bitch magazine. It contained my contributor copy of the latest issue, a check for the book review I wrote, and this delightful Valerie Solanas onesie. The artwork is by artist and comic-book historian Trina Robbins, and it is just one of many fine items available at Baby Wit.

Pink Cosco Highchair

This vintage Cosco highchair is my very first baby-gear purchase, and I have promised my husband that it will remain the most extravagant. Indeed, I have volunteered to observe a baby-gear buying embargo until we assess everything we’re getting secondhand from friends, and until after the baby showers. So, yes, I maybe could have refrained from buying this highchair, but—good Lord!—it’s pristine, and it’s pink.

Slings and Suffocation: The Hazards of Babywearing

I just got an e-mail message from my dear friend Dr. Kate, a pediatrician who specializes in neonatal intensive care. It’s about the potential risks of baby slings, and I think it’s worth sharing:

I was reviewing your baby registry and I wanted to mention a potential hazard.  When infants are very small and breasts are enlarged with zeal at finally fulfilling their genetic potential, suffocation can occasionally result. I’m not joking.  They are used successfully the world over, but it happens that I have resuscitated and cared for two infants smothered to the point of cardiac arrest when their mothers were distracted and wearing a sling. Little babies don’t have much fight in them, so they don’t struggle as much as you would think. Maybe us westerners don’t know how to do it right, or maybe we are more likely to be sucked into something else while wearing our babies. 

The Baby Bjorn is well-designed by pocket-protector-wearing Swedes and is very safe and comfortable. This might be a place for safety over style. When the baby is older (say > 4 months) and has a little more strength and fight in her, the sling is a reasonable option (not to mention more politically correct at the Michigan Womyn’s Music Festival.)

I am surprised that more isn’t known about this. The people who use slings aren’t the litigious type, I guess. It surprises me that the American public has so wholeheartedly embraced a product that says in the instructions: “Make sure that your baby can breathe freely.” Again, increases in head control and trunk strength and general will-to-live decrease the danger considerably after the first few months of life.

ADDENDUM: In a follow-up message, Dr. Kate had this to say:

You might point out that both of the near deaths (with subsequent neuro-devastation) that I have seen involved children < 2 months of age and occurred during breastfeeding. There is a published case report of a similar instance. The authors of this paper speculated that the sling allowed the mother to focus on other things (she was grocery shopping) and obscured her view of the baby’s head.

Perhaps the bottom line is that you shouldn’t breastfeed your child in a sling while you are doing something else.

That sounds like solid advice to me. Lord knows I’m a multitasker, but it does seem wise to give one’s full attention to the infant one is both feeding and wearing.

Angelina Jolie Just Bought the Highchair that I Really, Really Want

I have never found Brad Pitt particularly attractive, and I find he even less compelling since he’s gone all grubby and dyed his hair black. Thus, I begrudge Angelina Jolie nothing in the man department. I do, however, covet the NEST highchair which, according to the latest issue of Us Weekly, she just purchased. I, too, would like for my baby to dine in the not-too-distant future.