Top 10 List - Baby Carriers

It's time for another item on the Top 10 Most Essential Baby Products List (longest list title ever).  A month ago I asked for your thoughts on the truly, seriously, absolutely most essential baby products (here is that post).  The idea behind my inquiry was that when my baby craze turns into baby mama I'm going to need to get some baby stuff.  BUT, I live in a tiny apartment and I won't have much space to store said stuff.  Hence the list.  I'm on a mission to find the most compact versions of the most essential baby products.

A baby carrier is today's essential product.  It's second on the list and no, you're not crazy, I've never posted the entire list.  If you give away the cow for free, nobody is going to buy the milk.  And, truth be told, the list is sort of a work in progress.

The List so far (in no particular order):
1. Place to Sleep
2. Carrier

At first I wondered if a baby carrier is in fact essential.  Why can't one just carry her baby in her arms? From my non-mother point of view, a baby carrier seemed like a convenience, a bonus gadget.   Realizing that I couldn't rely on my outsider perspective, I asked some new moms about baby carriers.  Did they have one?  How often did they use it?  Is it really essential?  Every new mom (without exception) told me that she had a carrier and she used it often.  The moms unanimously agreed that carriers are essential.  I also started to notice how many baby carriers I see on a daily basis.  They're everywhere.  I would wager that carriers are used just as much as strollers, if not more.

Why are baby carriers essential?  Because there are a lot of activities that require two hands.  The carrier keeps the baby warm, cozy and peaceful while the mom can grocery shopping, get a coffee at Starbucks and travel on the subway.  You know how I feel about strollers on the subway (more on that here).  Carriers, however, are welcome on the subway.  And, for apartment dwellers, carriers are far more compact than strollers.

La Stella Blu ($45)

Maya Wrap ($74.95)

Belle ($109.95)

Happy NYC Marathon Day

Today is the NYC Marathon and I'm about to go watch a friend...or, rather, try to find a friend amongst the tens of thousands of people who are running this year (over 45,000 ran last year).

Thanks to Amber Miller, I'm keeping my eye out for some pregnant runners.  You may remember Ms. Miller being the 27-year-old who ran the Chicago marathon earlier this year while 39 weeks pregnant.  Shortly after running (it took her a little under 6.5 hours), she gave birth to a healthy baby girl.

This is the Miller family post marathon and childbirth.



What do you think: Crazy or Amazing?

Stuff People Google 25

I feel for this lady.  I hope it's not the same person from Stuff People Google 9.

pregnant and i am going to vomit

Katniss Is Not a Real Name

The title of this post says it all - Katniss is not a real name.

It's an answer to a question that I feel is plaguing my favorite baby name website, Nameberry.  I check it out on a weekly (sometimes daily) basis.  I love the witty blog articles.  I love scrolling through all the name lists like "Geezer Names for Girls" and "Nouveau Names on the Rise".  And, I love checking out the "Today's Most Popular Name" feature, which is a cluster of the most searched names on Nameberry on any given day.  It's a great website to kill fifteen minutes or two hours (click here for other websites that I kill time on).

For the past several months, Katniss has been a name featured in Nameberry's "Today's Most Popular Name".  It's always there.  Front and center, large and pink.  The larger the name the more times it's been searched.  Everytime I pop over to check out the latest in baby names I see Seraphina (thanks Ben and Jen) and Katniss.

A screenshot from Nameberry yesterday.  

You'll notice the prominence with which Katniss is featured.

For those of you who are thinking, KATNISS?  WTF?  I can explain its popularity, in part: The Hunger Games.  You've heard of The Hunger Games, yes?  It's followed in the footsteps of the Twilight Saga as the next, best, cheesy, teenage, science fiction, drama, romance series.  The heroine of the Hunger Games series, who will be played by Jennifer Lawrence when it comes to movie theaters everywhere in March 2012, is Katniss.  Just as Bella and Isabella became wildly popular baby names thanks to the Twilight Saga, it seems that Katniss is becoming a top baby name choice thanks to The Hunger Games.

Jennifer Lawrence as Katniss.  Fierce.
Looks like she could kick Kristen Stewart's ass.

The part I can't explain is why people have decided that Katniss is a real name (versus the name of a science fiction heroine).  Katniss is like Spock - it's a character, not a name.  People didn't have to make that distinction with Bella or Isabella, because both had been within the top 1,000 most popular baby names (per the social security website) since 1880.  Katniss has never been on the social security website's top 1,000 baby names.  Will it join those ranks in the next couple years?  If it's popularity on Nameberry is any indication, then yes.

What do you think - is Katniss a "real life" name?  Am I being a baby name party pooper?  Will I be eating my words in a couple decades?  And, more importantly, have you read The Hunger Games and how does it compare to the Twilight Saga?

Rude People and Socks

I've previously written about my astonishment at how rude people can be to pregnant women (read about that here).  By "people" I mean strangers, acquaintances, co-workers, neighbors friends and family alike.  By "rude" I mean everything from critiquing dietary choices to admonishing birthing plans.  It seems that being visibly pregnant gives others a ticket to judge.

But the rudeness doesn't end with the baby's birth.  My formerly pregnant friends are currently new mothers (no shock there).  With this transition, I've quickly learned that the ticket to judge pregnant women becomes a season pass to humiliate and belittle new moms.  It's awful.

My quick letter to all the judging, belittling, humiliators that are so rude to pregnant ladies and new moms:

Dear Everyone, what are you thinking?!!!  As Teresa Guidice and Melissa Gorga say (to at each other) - ZIP IT!

Teresa Guidice versus Melissa Gorga
Who's already excited for Season 4 of RHONJ?!!

And now, a short(ish) narrative of some unsolicited advice from a rude, rude lady.

A young mother is walking down the sidewalk on a warm fall day.  Her 3-month-old son is happily strapped into a baby bjorn, facing his mothers chest.  His chubby little legs are kicking and he's doing that adorable drool/gurgle thing, which is only adorable because he's a baby and not a 40-year-old man.  A woman and her husband approach the new mom and baby.  The couple is visibly older than the new mom, by several decades.  

The older woman says, "I just have to say something..."  

The new mom readies herself for a sweet compliment about her son's perfectly rosy and round cheeks.  "Those socks are much too small on his feet," says the older woman as she shakes her head in scorn.   

Record scratch.

The older woman continues, "They just are.  I had to say something.  Look at the color of that baby's legs!"  

The new mom's eyes dart to her son's legs in a moment of genuine concern.  They appear just as chubby and cream-colored as they were that morning, when he was sockless.  Nothing concerning.  Nothing concerning at all.  The new mom stares at the older woman, desperate to end the awful exchange.  

The older woman turns to the older man and repeats, "I had to say something, just look at those socks." 

The new mom walks away.  Pissed.

Shame on this older woman (also something Melissa Gorga would say). 

Socks and sandals - a true crime. 
(image here)

In case this older woman happens to be an avid reader of Next Stop Baby, let me offer some advice of my own: When you see a mother doing something that you don't agree with, STOP.  Take a moment.  Would you verbalize this same concern if the situation wasn't between a mother and a child?  Would you tell a grown man that he was wearing his socks too tight?  Probably not.  You probably wouldn't have even noticed the grown man's socks in the first place.  You're not the mommy police, so stop sniffing out non-issues and harassing people.

Have you ever witnessed one of these awkward exchanges?  When, if ever, is it okay to say something about someone else's mothering skills?