A childhood friend of mine who's now married and living in California with two kids sent me two boxes of baby stuff - clothes, shoes, socks, a travel changing pad... and a few things that seem to me to be pretty ridiculous.
First is the BabyPl.us. I pulled it out of the box, and immediately realized I had no idea what it was or what to do with it. It's a white, oval, battery-operated device, and there was no instruction manual included. Google informed me that it's an in-utero educational system. Yes, you read that right! It plays a series of 16 "lessons" that you're supposed to play to your unborn child, starting at 18-32 weeks gestation. The sounds it makes are similar to the mother's heartbeat that the child hears in utero, but different, and it's supposed to help your baby learn to distinguish different sounds. Or something like that. And supposedly, babies who are exposed to this system are more alert and calm, better nursers, and better able to self-soothe.
Ok, so I figured what the hell, it's worth a try, right? Especially since I got it for free, and it's a $150 product. Now, it's supposed to come with a little carrying pouch that looks like a fannypack, but my friend must have misplaced hers, because it wasn't included. I don't know if the pouch buffers the sound to those of us on the outside world, but I laid on the couch with the device on my bump, and I could hear the sounds quite well. It's tones that sound sort of like banging, but gentle banging, if that makes any sense. I put the tv on, but boy are those sounds annoying! And I'm supposed to do this for an hour at a time, twice a day?? Who even has time for that, especially without the pouch so you can be up and moving around? I could order a replacement pouch for $20, but it's something I have to think about. I mean, do I even buy into this, or is it total bunk? Supposedly there's research that backs it up, but it kinda sounds like total bullshit to me, to be honest. Plus, Baby Girl was moving around a lot while I had it going, and I wonder if she liked it and was just being stimulated by it, or was trying to get the hell away from it!
Next I pulled this really, really long piece of fabric out of the box and again had no idea what to do with it. Turns out it's a Boba wrap. And again, no instruction manual, but visits to a youtube video and the Boba website helped... sort of. You should have seen me sitting/standing here trying to put this thing on so that it looked like it did in the pictures, and so that I would actually feel safe putting my baby in it and letting go. Yikes. Why does it have to be so complicated, and basically seem to need two people to get it put on right?
And then there's the Ho.tSling. I held it up and immediately thought there must be a piece missing. But, alas, no. It really is just one piece of fabric sewn in a circle. But for the life of me I had no idea how it was supposed to work. Back to google I went, once again. While it's a little easier than the wrap, it still doesn't seem like it would work well. I registered for a Beco carrier, and I sure hope someone buys it for me, because I think I'll stick with that!
Seriously, who comes up with all these crazy contraptions and things?!
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