Gee, good thing I added the "parent company" category; it'll give me a place to post the birth announcement of every stylist/graphic designer/publicist/musician/freelancer in Southern California. Apparently, it's the law that when you have a kid in LA, you start...
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August 2004 Archives
August 31, 2004
In LA, Everyone's Unique (In The Same Way)
Swiss Family 'bandons Son
Oh boy, this is the week New York really sticks it to Old Europe, and I mean but GOOD. No, I'm not talking about the Republican Convention, even though this story DOES involve a dubious arrest. And, in Gothamist's comment...
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August 30, 2004
Starting a 'Parent Company'
Patemm, Elizabeth Mitchell, and a post I'm working on right now... It's been staring me in the face for months: a lot of parents are so dissatisfied with the pregnancy/baby/kid industry, they feel compelled to do something about it. You...
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Patemm Round Changing Pads
With her two kids, Grace Welch found out what we've been finding out lately: it's damn hard to keep a wiggly kid on a rectangular changing pad. Unlike me, though, Grace did something about it. She designed a circular changing...
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Elizabeth Mitchell's CDs for kids
You Are My Flower is a CD of childrens' music Elizabeth Mitchell and Daniel Littleton whipped up while on tour for their rock band, Ida. [You know how cuh-razy musicians get when they're on the road.] It was intended as...
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August 26, 2004
Villa Sibi, an amazing Miesian Dollhouse
Sirch is a woodworking family from Germany with a 400-year history. The current Sirch, Wolfgang, has teamed with Christof Bitzer to design an excellent range of childrens' toys and furniture (more of that later). Their latest creation is the Villa...
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With apologies to the ladies in the audience
I've never had a dog, so there was one advantage of having a kid I wasn't familiar with: it's someone to blame a fart or two on. There are limits, though. Sometimes, when the limits of plausibility are reached--or exceeded--such...
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When traveling with baby formula
Opt for the double freezer bagging rather than just putting the cannister in your suitcase. And be sure to press out as much of the air as possible from those bags. Otherwise, the combination of air pressure changes and baggage...
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August 25, 2004
Mouseketeer, Fact of Life, Hot Sauce-wielding Mom
The Lord may work in mysterious ways, but Lisa Whelchel is happy to reveal her secrets for raising God-fearing, well-disciplined children. ["well" as in "well done steak"] The former Facts of Life star and Mouseketeer is now a prolific author-mom,...
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Two Movies I Don't Have to Review Now
Lowculture does a side-by-side assessment of the date movie potential of Superbabies: Baby Geniuses 2 and Vincent Gallo's Brown Bunny. Not safe to read aloud at work, but no more offensive than someone actually contemplating seeing either of these films....
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Like A Bike, extreme retro bike from Germany
While Italians are poppin' out futuristic stroller/trikes instead of babies, designers in Europe's other rapidly aging country, Germany, are waxing mod-nostalgic. One result: LikeABike, a sleek, pared down reinterpretation of one of the earliest bicycles, the 1817 Draisienne (named after...
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OKO Trike, Like a Stroller
They sure are burning through the kids product R&D money in Europe these days, even in countries with no kids. The OKO Trike is from Italy, the product of extensive research into "child ergonomics." That explains the easy on/off access,...
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August 24, 2004
Celebrity Baby Product Placement #3
Odin, the famous extreemie , the little man who puts the IV in Eric Snowdeal IV, has been squaring off in the NICU with his latest gift, an Ugly Doll. Check out Eric III's rather incredible day-by-day report from his...
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Ed Koch's Book for Kids Who Can't Play Sports
Although he's famous as the face of New York's Welcome Committee for the Republican Convention (slogan: "You don't have to be a Democrat to like New York! [just if you want New York to like you back]") and the author...
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August 23, 2004
Fold-up Infant Cabana (yes, small as a dinner plate)
Finally. After scouring sporting goods stores, tentmakers, and baby shops, I'd given up on finding a simple sunshade so we could take the kid outside (and not fry her while I lay my pasty self out). I want(ed) a tensile...
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Infant software (and hardware)
Babysmash is a shareware program at kidsdomain.com for infants and toddlers which flashes colors and shapes on your computer screen with each slap of the keyboard. Your actual system is locked and protected, however, by certain keystrokes that they'll have...
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The new DWB: Daddying While Black
The NY Times Magazine ran a long book excerpt about Ken, a 32-year old black father in Milwaukee who's making a concerted effort to break the multi-generation absent-father cycle that seems to be at the center--if not the root--of the...
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Opium: It's not just for teething anymore.
In discussing our recent longhaul travels, I've been a little freaked out by how many people mention drugs. A guy in the row behind us: "Good job, whadja give her?" A flight attendant: "I always use Dimetapp." Another: "On the...
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Vintage Electronic Baby Music by Raymond Scott
The only thing that chilled out DT reader (and dance music guru) Tom Whitwell's son Alex during "a very colicky first six months" [!] was Raymond Scott's pioneering (1962-3) synth-meets-noise-meets-big band series, Soothing Sounds For Baby. Unsuccessful at the time,...
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Avery Fisher Hall, 10 Lincoln Center Plaza at 65th St - NO
Sebastian says there is none in the womens room, either. Still, if you're bold enough to take a kid to Lincoln Center, you oughtta be bold enough to change him on a table in the lobby (which is what he...
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August 22, 2004
Apple Store, 103 Prince St, SoHo - CLOSE ENOUGH
Prince and Greene, in the old Post Office. Decent restrooms up the stairs by the theater, but no changing table anywhere. Use a bench of a corner of the theater area instead; there're always people lounging around, mooching the wireless,...
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Bloomingdale's, 504 Broadway Between Spring & Broome: YES
Broadway between Spring & Broome Restrooms are in the basement, along the north wall. Changing table's in the wheelchair-accessible stall. Oh, and it's the sweet stainless steel model, like at the Hirshhorn. Finally, turning SoHo into a mall is paying...
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Lab-quality Stainless Steel Crib
Construction Playthings sells educational and childcare equipment to schools, daycare centers, and other institutions as well as to parents. Now, with this awesome--and awesomely tough--stainless steel and plexiglass crib, they're targeting you, if you run a primate testing lab, or...
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August 21, 2004
Blurbomat wants what 72% of men want
Jon at Blurbomat wants a new job. He and his commenters put cogent voice to the 72% of men who told SpikeTV they want jobs that give them more time with their families. Rebel Dad's got more findings of the...
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Pop-up Travel Beds
While my nose has been buried in Japanese diapers, the UK has apparently been overrun by springloaded travel beds that fold up "as small as a dinner plate." Baby Chic 101 (a new blog with enough baby designer links to...
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August 20, 2004
Rocky Flying with The Squirrelly
Over at Defective Yeti, Matt has a typically wisdom-packed, comedic account of a cross-country flight with his son, aka The Squirrelly....
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August 19, 2004
Daddy Type t-shirts are back
3 April Update: Shirts are temporarily out of stock. Please check back in a week or two before ordering. Thanks. I ordered up a second batch of 'daddy type' T-shirts. They're the same as before: with 'daddy type' screened...
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Cinnamon, the Stroller Test Dummy
Translated from Baby Pro News. Baby Pro bills itself as a "Baby Item Laboratory," and I humbly bow my head in the presence of a supreme master of baby gear-related websitery:Although strollers have quickly become compact and light, there...
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Marshmallow vs. Baby Rack
From the land of Godzilla vs. Mothra, during the week of Alien vs. Predator, here comes another pairing. Japan loves to individually wrap things: $5 peaches, marshmallows, and babies. A while back, I posted about some ruffly infant dentist chair,...
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The Kid's Room is a Tent
A couple living in a SoHo loft decided to put their daughter in a tent instead of in an actual room. The NY Times reports that it is "portable, unbreakable, and won't fall down," all good criteria for a room....
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August 18, 2004
Kodomo no Kuni: 1920's Japanese Children's Magazine
[via waxy] Kodomo no Kuni was a remarkable magazine for children which was emphasized art's ability to expand kids' imagination. It was published in Japan's Taisho era, a short-lived period marked by liberalism, westernization, and modernism that flourished starting...
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Am I A Sinner for Wanting a Remote Control Mobile?
I found this while I was searching (in vain, so far) for a cool/decent crib mobile with a remote control (the only shortcoming of the Pottery Barn Kids bunny-mobile we got as a gift, which the kid suddenly LOVES, but...
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New LL Bean Camo Tote/Diaper Bag
Now the LL Bean camo tote bag is available with a zip-top and hooks for a shoulder strap, two features that I'm definitely missing on the one we bought last winter. The lack of a shoulder strap made it less...
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Pimp & Ho Costumes for Kids
Projecting parental fantasies onto children has its darkside. Jon Benet. Pimp & Ho costumes, on Yahoo shops [via waxy] Related: Pimpin' your kids out to show biz...
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August 17, 2004
Stopping the flip-flopping?
Jet lag doesn't seem to be a problem; the kid takes about three days--like the rest of us--to adjust her schedule, both coming and going (we were trying to get her back on schedule, and had two major wakeup-feedings, then...
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August 16, 2004
Ah, the baby food jar bong
At waxy.org, Andy links to the story of an Indianapolis mom arrested for letting her 5-year old son smoke crack--from her baby food jar bong. In addition to being "horrendous," giving crack to babies is so nineties, it should be...
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From Poo Pockets to Photoshop: Looking into Japanese Diapers
I've got a few Japan-related posts in me: We started out admiring Japanese Pampers for their thinness and their convenient "Change me!" indicator strip, which would change from yellow [heh] to blue as the diaper filled up. But we came...
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August 15, 2004
Takashi Murakami Plush Flowers
These limited production plush toy flowers are by the contemporary artist Takashi Murakami, and are similar to the designs he made for the jellybean-colored Louis Vuitton bags so popular with the ladies these days. Considering that an authentic purse can...
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'families' in, 'fathers' out in UK legislation
Recommended changes in UK law would improve gay couples' access to fertility treatment and adoption as part of a larger recognition of civil partnership rights, according to the UK Observer. From what I can tell, 'gay couples' mostly means lesbians,...
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Cruising for, with, kids
So you just bought a brownstone, and you and your partner are starting to think about filling it with kids. How do you go about researching this major life decision? Take a cruise! That's what Peter Marchese did last month,...
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August 14, 2004
Awww, Fisher-Price Loving Family Dad
Normally, I would think this is too cutesy sweet to mention, but remember, I just got back from Japan, where literally Every. Single. Company. has a cuddly cute Hello Kitty-esque mascot. Right now, a Fisher-Price Loving Familyō Dad & Baby...
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That's Odd: United decides Bugaboo not a stroller, and other travel lessons
What's the Daddy Types secret for getting your kid to sleep the entire flight, even a 12-hour stretch from Osaka to O'hare? Get her to puke right after takeoff. (Of course, self-induced vomiting will come in handy when she starts...
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Jetlag Special: 5AM Thank-yous
Back from Japan, safe, sound, (almost) all accounted for, and jetlagged. More on that later. Thanks to the folks below, company's coming, and I've gotta start picking up all the stuff lying around the Daddy Types floor. First, DT fan...
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August 8, 2004
Japanese Hotel Crib
This is the hardwood crib the hotel gave us. It folds up to about 1/3 of the depth, but what I like most about it is the basic, no-frills shape: square rails and spindles, no tole painting (although the...
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Bamboo Bugaboo
It's too sunny and too hot for the kid to ride around in a stock Bugaboo/Maxi-Cosi carseat. The pullout shade doesn't cover her legs; the black carseat soaks up heat; and there's no ventilation, either. So I jury-rigged a...
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August 7, 2004
Awesome Japanese baby snot siphon
Well, as awesome as a system for sucking the snot out of your kid's nose gets, I guess. I found this Baby Mucous Sucking Device at the Baby Paradise superstore next to our hotel. It consists of two 9-inch or...
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Taking your non-Asian baby to Japan: A Phrasebook
KAWAIIIIII! (kah-wah-eeeeeeeee) Cute. Used as an exclamation by 98% of the Japanese women of any age when they see your kid. Hana ga takai! (hah-nah gah tah-kai) What a big nose! and O-tosan ni sokkuri! (oh-toe-sahn nee soak-curry) She look...
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August 4, 2004
quick japan update
1. flying 14 hrs was a breeze. the kid slept 8-9 w/no drugs, no crying, the only problem was over-eager-to-help-and-hold-her neighbors and total randoms. 2. oh, except she goes berserk as soon as the plane pushes back from the gate....
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