Reviews of products, gadgets, and new innovations for babies and their parents.
So here’s a controversial question: would you insert a music device into your vagina to serenade your fetus? The makers of Babypod certainly hope so (www.babypod.net).
Believe it or not, the makers claim that 100 babies have been born who were exposed to music via Babypod have had no damage to their hearing after the mom used the product during pregnancy. → full article
Looking for that perfect gift for your favorite baby, pregnant woman, or older child? Here’s a year-end review of our favorite Baby Tech items from 2015.
For pregnant women:
Leachco’s Snoogle Total Body Pillow. → full article
It’s obvious that a lot of aspects of your daily routine change from the moment you realize you’re pregnant. Although, there are a lot of little things that you may just never think of until later down the line… like shaving your legs, for one. → full article
You’ve been told a million times that your nutrition is pivotal in the development of your baby, and even its lifelong health. There are a ton of foods that are on the “do-not-eat” list, and a new list of things you need to get in your system, namely vitamins, is never ending. → full article
Strollers manufacturers are constantly trying to outdo one another, and this one is no exception.
The Quinny Longboard Stroller allows adults to skateboard with their baby riding sidecar in an attached stroller seat. → full article
Amazon.com has just added a slew of educational videos for babies to its video streaming service.
Geared toward ages 6 months to 2 years, the videos cover everything from vocabulary to shapes to numbers to movement to sounds. → full article
Winkpass Creation’s iPregnant app for iOS (iPhone and iPad) is a pregancy tracker chock-full of features.
Its Journal feature provides room for tracking weight, doctors appointments, and notes as your pregancy progresses. You can customize reminders (a lifesaver if you have the all-too-common “pregnancy brain”) as well as questions for your doctor. → full article
VTech’s Move and Crawl Baby Ball, currently priced at $15 with free shipping for Amazon Prime members, is a learning toy that also provides exercise for your little one.
Once the toy is turned on, it rolls around by itself slowly, giving baby the motivation to crawl or walk after it. → full article
“Toddlers on Technology: A Parents’ Guide,” currently under $20 at Amazon, was written by a mom and two early-childhood educators to help parents choose how and when their children are exposed to various technology, from iPads to computers to cell-phone apps. → full article
Is your little one fussy at bedtime? VTech Baby’s Soothing Slumbers Bedtime Bear will help lull her to sleep with its soft, plushy fabric and an array of calming and tranquilizing tunes.
The Bedtime Bear, geared to ages newborn to 2 years, plays lullabies when the button on her tummy is pressed and stops automatically after 10 or so minutes (or before then if the button is pressed twice). → full article
Our last two columns reviewed some of the learning websites for younger children. This week we look at homework helper sites for older children.
Fact Monster includes homework help for a variety of subjects, from geography to writing to math to science. → full article
This is the second in our series on learning websites for children. Read Part 1 here.
A few more websites to acclimate the kids to the Season of School:
PBSkids.org is a favorite learning site among teachers and parents, but I found the navigation and sign-up process clunky (password authentication is a series of pictures, e.g.). → full article
Now’s the time of year when the kidlets are either back to school or getting ready to go back to school. If their brains have turned to mush over the long, hot summer, here are some websites to pique kids’ interests and teach them at the same time:
ABCya.com was developed by a grade-school teacher and features hundreds of games and apps for children from pre-K to 5th grade. → full article
New moms are on the search for natural and baby-safe body care products more than ever. But with the sea of choices, it can be daunting to hunt down something that you and the little one will love. → full article
With the highest ratings on Amazon and raves from new moms, the Spectra Baby series of breast pumps are getting a lot of attention. Many even seem to prefer them to their comparable Medela counterparts. → full article
