NCB's Profile

We've been enjoying our Bright Starts Baby Play Place--cheaper than Haba and more versatile, I think. However neither Haba or mine is made to roll up and travel--that seems to be the beauty of these.

I started out intending to follow "no screen time until age 2" but when my 1 year old started waking at 5:30 am crying, we started letting her watch Blues Clues out of desperation. Slowly, the rules kept shifting and shifting as her behavior got more and more difficult to deal with, until it seemed like whenever she was home she was watching TV. I finally read "Sleepless in America: Is your child misbehaving or missing sleep?" and learned that for some kids, although it looks like TV is helping them veg out, it is really stimulating them. My daughter was completely over stimulated by preschool and TV. I have since gone cold turkey on TV (she's 2.5) and put her to bed much earlier. She's a totally different person. The first few mornings were rough as she screamed for TV, but we downloaded some audio books from ITunes and that has helped with the transition.

Well, I'm certainly in the minority here, but I say yawn for books (we always get a ton--and personally I prefer the library.) I love books but we have sooooo many. And you can get them all for free at the library, and you don't have to keep them on your shelves forevermore. By getting books at the library you can also see which ones your child actually digs, and then just add those to your permanent collection. We have been given many doubles, as well.

For girls' gifts, so far we've had great success with Fisher Price Snap-n-Style dolls for ages 2 and 3. My daughter gravitates towards dolls and can take off their clothes but she can't put them back on, which drives her nuts. These dolls are perfect for 2 & 3 year olds to dress themselves. When my daughter starts spazzing out when I'm trying to dress her, I distract her by having her dress her own dolly while I dress her. They are only 10 bucks, they are certainly not ubiquitous, and they don't take up a lot of room. Yes, they are plastic, yes, the blond doll looks like Chrissy from Three's Company, but I say yea for a little diversity from the tasteful wood toys etc. You can buy them here: http://www.fisher-price.com/fp.aspx?st=2180&e=thumbnail&pcat=snap_n_style

Drives me crazy that these "tips" contradict themselves...number 1 says "feed every 4 hours at night" then number 2 says "don't follow a feeding schedule" Am I the only one who finds those two contradictory?

Also about the whole "feed on demand" thing...with my first child, I thought every time she cried she was hungry. It made sense to me because she would always stop crying when I popped a boob in her mouth. That turned into me feeding her 20 times a day, sometimes for hours on end. I would try to take it out while she was sleeping, and she could cry. Needless to say, I was a mental and physical basket case. Finally we got her to accept a pacifier at 6 weeks. So for those with really "sucky" babies who would eat all day if they could, some sort of schedule is important so you don't spend all day feeding. My 2cents.

I got one for $20 from Ikea that came with two chairs. I didn't have a good idea of how my daughter would want to play (like listed above) so decided to be cheap at first. Right now she likes to sit in a chair and play with her doll house or do play doh. But it is starting to seem a bit small, so I think we'll be upgrading soon. What is also hard is that they come at different heights--I wanted the chairs to be useful right away and with many sets they are too high.

I have found the Sit-n-stroll carseat/stroller all in one to be worth its weight in gold. Unlike PatJ, I have never had to explain/defend it. I can't imagine not having a carseat while traveling--that's how she sleeps and I get to (gasp) read a magazine! If she is still asleep when the plane lands, no prob--just carry her out in her seat, pop out the wheels, and off we go. We have made many tight connections while others are waiting for their gate-checked strollers. Also, when delayed at the airport, slide the handles down and voila, push toy! We've used it from about 11 months and still going at 25 months. Not good for rear-facing carseat, but fine forward-facing.

I second the need for a clean shirt (and I also bring leggings) for you--I got vomited on 6 times from LA to NY and had to wrap myself in a blanket to avoid sitting in vomit soaked jeans for the whole flight.

As the poster who set off the flurry of snarkitude, I apologize for any hurt feelings. I did not realize that Anne was a respected contributor to this blog. I was just posting my gut reaction on how I would feel if that client was me, and frankly, felt justified when I saw others expressing more clearly what I had been trying to (like nycflatcats.)

If it is possible to take away the hurt feelings, I do feel like an interesting debate is taking place as to what differentiates a "professional" from an "amateur" when it comes to design.

In any case--Anne, I do apologize and was victim to saying something in a semi-anonymous internet post that I certainly would not say in person, without thinking of how it would make you feel.

I second going to the lighting stores on Bowery--they ordered a new shade for me.

I think our is called a Friedrich Quietmaster or something--I know "quiet" is in the name and it is MUCH quieter than the GE we had. Also way more expensive.

We have a toddler and a not 100% housetrained dog--FLOR has been great for our living room. Love it.