Baby Bjorn vs. Red Castle Sport - Choosing a Baby Carrier

In the rush to get everything together before our kids were born (yes, we nested - doesn't everyone?), we came across two Red Castle Sport baby carriers in a second hand store. We had only seen one or two people wearing them, but we'd seen a million Baby Bjorns, so we thought we'd be a little different. All in all, the Baby Bjorn vs. Red Castle Sport debate is really a matter of preference, as both are incredibly good, comfortable, and made of high quality straps and buckles that give you a very confident carry. However, I can honestly say that once you put the Baby Bjorn into action, you will see, as I recently have, why so many people use them.

The Red Castle Sports go for an on-the-hip carry, either towards you when the kids are really small or facing outwards when they get a bit bigger. They have one strap that goes over one shoulder and a backpack-like strap for around your waist. The Baby Bjorn, on the other hand, is directly in the middle of your chest (also with the ability for them to face forward or towards you), with straps over each shoulder.

What I have found is that the Baby Bjorn really lets you have both hands free if you are out and about or doing simple chores around the house. While you can more the Red Castle so it is more in the centre, the main strap is still over one shoulder and your kid is still a bit on your hip, which somewhat blocks one of your arms. I can see as well that when your kids get heavier, having weight distributed on both shoulders rather than only on one will definitely be more comfortable. While this is all still a matter of preference and you may want to be a little different, both my wife and I prefer the Baby Bjorn baby carrier and have thus joined the multitude of others that use it.

Celebrity Dads

Call it whatever you like -- wanting to know there are others out there sharing your intensely new experience or simply another manifestation of our celebrity obsessed culture -- but I seem to be gravitating more and more towards grabbing a copy of People when I am waiting in the check out line with a load of diapers and gripe water to see which celebrities are having kids and, especially, how the new celebrity dads seem to be faring.

Since the current fad seems to be on twins (or, at least, the paparazzi seems to be shooting pics of them), here is a list of celebrity dads of twins:

1. Brad Pitt (boy/girl twins). Brad wins the title of "Continuous Celebrity New Dad".
2. Jerry O'Connell (Rebecca Romijn - twin girls)
3. Michael J. Fox (twin girls)
4. Denzel Washington (boy/girl twins)
5. Lance Armstrong (twin girls)
6. Mel Gibson (twin boys)
7. Patrick Dempsey (your wife will know him as McDreamy - twin boys)
8. Sean "P. Diddy" Combs (twin girls)
9. Dennis Quaid (twin girls)
10. Marc Anthony (J. Lo - boy/girl twins)
11. Daniel Moder (Julia Roberts - boy/girl twins)
    

The Off-Switch - Dr. Karp (aka The Baby Whisperer)

Before I post anything else, I need to share something that change my life and hopefully will change yours as well. Before our twins were born, I had probably changed two diapers in my life, so you can guess what my level of experience was with trying to calm a crying baby.

About two months after the twins were born and we had spent countless nights pacing and rocking crying babies (sometimes two at a time), we stumbled across The Baby Whisperer, otherwise known as Dr. Harvey Karp, and his book and DVD called "The Happiest Baby on the Block". Dr. Karp has five steps to calm a crying baby and, I can honestly say that if you employ them properly, it will absolutely find your baby's "off-switch" (he calls it the "calming reflex"). In general terms, it involves swaddling correctly, rocking, holding them in your arms so they are on their side or stomach (anything other than on their back, which is supposedly a position of alarm for upset babies), white noise or "shushing" and so on.

In any event, get the DVD, watch it a few times and enjoy extended periods of time where your baby is calm, which helps them get to sleep faster and sleep longer. The best part about it is that knowing you have Dr. Karp's toolkit of steps to use to calm the baby helps keep you calm, which is key to actually getting them calmed down. I know that sounds like a "duh! of course!" kind of revelation, but your forget all of that in hour two of your little guy or girl screaming in your ear and you just become a ball of anxiety, especially if you are flying solo and your wife has gone out for a well-deserved break.

I cannot recommend Dr. Karp's method strongly enough and, Dr. Karp, if you are reading this, next time I am in LA, the beers are on me.

Introducing New Dad 123

Welcome to Whoa! New Dad, a place for the new dad or dad to be to get a few ideas and share some experiences. As a very newly minted dad of twin girls (whoa!), I can relate doubly to everything from the first ultrasound to choosing and installing car seats to trying to figure out where the off switch is when your newborn has been crying for what seems like hours. I hope that some of the things I have to share can help you make decisions on gear, let you get a bit more sleep, and generally just be a touch point for what will likely be many moments of feeling like an inadequate parent (you aren't, by the way, it just feels like that ... at least, that's what I've been telling myself).