Review: The Baby Bonding Book for Dads

PR people send me a lot of stuff. Sometimes they even get my name right.

Entrepreneurs and authors also contact me and they almost always get my name right. That's only one of the reasons why I prefer to deal directly with the source, especially when I'm interested in what they're trying to promote. This was the case when Jennifer Margulis wrote to me asking if I'd be a stop on her blog tour of the book she co-authored with her husband James di Properzio, The Baby Bonding Book for Dads.

The Baby Bonding Book for Dads is a little photo book with simple advice on how a dad can bond with his baby. The photos manage to capture both the sweet and not-so-sweet moments of fathering a child.

The advice is straightforward and useful, especially to new fathers who may not be as likely to share this kind of advice with their other new father friends.

Some of the most useful advice includes:

• Use your pinky finger to soothe a crying infant.
• Newborns are portable. Take them out now, because soon you won't be able to.
• When your baby is really little, you don't have to always read their books. Reading your own book aloud to them counts as bonding too.

The photos are really lovely and the book would be perfect shower gift for an expecting dad. I'm left wondering, though, are most men interested in looking at lovely photos? And do they give each other shower gifts?

The advice in this book is so solid and so important for dads to know, that I wish it had been packaged differently. Maybe in the Uncle John's Bathroom Reader style?

Jumping Monkeys Episode 45: Dr. Ruthann Russo

Happy Mother's Day! In this week's episode we chat with Dr. Ruthann Russo, author of 7 Steps to Your Best Possible Healthcare. We discuss how to use the Internet to research health issues for your family and whether services like Google Health and Microsoft Health Vault are worth it.

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SPEND: Moleskin Notebooks
SAVE: TwitterSnooze
GIVE: Amish Friendship Bread (Get the starter recipe and the recipe to give to your friends when you give them the starter.)

THE Z PICK: Jeremiah of Z Recommends also stops by to talk about his homemade robots. See the robots:

1. walking robot
2. jumping robot
3. drawing robot

Also, see Jeremiah's review of BPA-free water bottles.

AUDIBLE PICK:

Whistle for Willie by Ezra Jack Keats


LISTENER FEEDBACK:

Lee from Tel Aviv, Isreal (not to be confused with Tel Aviv, Egypt) loves Beautiful Dorena.

Indoor Sledding

Just because it's 80 degrees, doesn't mean sledding season is over. My favorite part about this is the fact that Milo is sledding but Huck is the one laughing the loudest behind the camera.

Jumping Monkeys Episode 44: Why Kids Lie

Today we welcome back Ashley Merryman to talk about her piece in New York Magazine called Learning to Lie . We discuss kids ages toddlers to teenagers. Ashley is the author (with Po Bronson) of an upcoming book on the science behind child development.

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SPEND: A Plumm Summer

SAVE: Brad's Deals

GIVE: March of Dimes Mom You Rock e-Card
Here's the one I made for Leo

AUDIBLE PICK: The Cricket in Times Square

LISTENER FEEDBACK:

Donna recommends Merlin Mann's video Eleanor's Agenda.
Check out Andre's new blog: Lost Parent Diary: An Interactive Best Practices Parenting Blog

Jumping Monkeys Episode 43: Parenting Teenagers

On today's episode we talk teens with Vanessa Van Petten, author and entreprenuer. Check out Vanessa's new wiki, Rrules. Also, Vanessa wants you to follow her on Twitter.

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SPEND: Cubes and Crayons

SAVE: Photoshop Express

GIVE: AMC Summer Movie Camp


AUDIBLE PICK: Robert McCloskey for Young Children

VIDEO OF THE WEEK:


HR Check-in from Merlin Mann on Vimeo. HR Check in by Merlin Mann


OTHER LINKS:

Greg of DaddyTypes interviews Scott Pankrat, the guy who crowd surfed his daughter to Obama

Teacher Tube


LISTENER FEEDBACK:

Dave tells us to check out Mabry Online.org, a school who's doing great Web 2.0 things online.
Lori's Manga site is called Manga Xanadu.

Dermabond: Part Deux

You are drinking wine with new friends and your kids and their kids are running around the house like crazy. You are shocked at how well this evening is going. This might be the first time, ever, that you've been over at someone else's house and been able to let the kids play on their own and not worry about anyone getting bitten. Your husband actually says this aloud to your new friends, which makes you cringe just a little. Why worry them? But they don't seem worried.

"They're boys," the new mom friend says. "Let them be boys." You love her instantly.

All five kids run upstairs from the basement playroom and chase each other through the living room, around the corner, and down a hall. You hear a scream, which is most definitely the scream of your child. You and your husband's eyes meet in that silent "you or me?" look. He's up first and goes around the corner.

"Ooh," he says. "Uh oh," he says, a little louder this time. His voice is light-hearted, but there's something in his tone that tells you that everything is not OK. You get up and meet him as he turns the corner. There is blood on your son's head and pouring down his cheeks. It's all over his shirt already and your husband's shirt. You watch as it drips on your new friends' hardwood floor.

You take your son from his arms, maybe more for you than for your son. If you're the one holding him then it can be someone else's responsibility to find out where the blood is coming from and to make it stop. Have I mentioned that you don't do well in stressful situations like this?

"He hit the corner of the wall. It's a small cut over his eyebrow," your husband says. "It's not bad, but it will need to be stitched up."

"OK. I'll take him to the emergency room," you say.

And you're off to the emergency room where the doctor looks at the cut.

By that time you are calm. The blood has stopped.

"Can you seal it up with Dermabond?" you ask the doctor.

"Yes, probably," the doctor says.

"Are you in medicine?" he asks, wondering how you know about Dermabond.

"No," you say, "He has a twin brother, who did almost this exact same thing last year."

After your son has been glued you return home where your husband has already put both of your other children to sleep. Your son might have a scar, which people who can't tell him from brother will appreciate. Plus, he has a good story. Days later he will delight in telling people, "There was blood coming out of my eyes!"

You? You're exhausted. So you sleep. It is a deep sleep, the sleep of the thankful, the sleep of a mother who knows how to appreciate the near miss, who knows that every mother does not return home from a trip to the emergency room with simply a small scar and a story. 

Jumping Monkeys Episode 42: The Rookie Moms

In this episode we interview Rookie Moms Heather and Whitney, who thankfully for us are not so rookie anymore. We talk about their new book, The Rookie Moms Handbook: 250 Activities to Do With (or Without) Your Baby. Listen to find out why your infant needs his or her own Gmail account.

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SPEND: The Cool Mom Picks Mother's Day Shopping Guide (Scroll down for the geek mom's section titled "For the Mother Who's Other Child is a Computer.") Cute laptop sleeves are also available at Target for cheap.
SAVE: Hulu.com
GIVE: Action Without Borders (Idealist.org)

BOOK PICK:

Pippi Longstocking audio book by Astrid Lindgren, read by Esther Benson.

Pippi Longstocking on Amazon

LISTENER FEEDBACK:
Dave from LA loves TuxPaint. Here's a picture of his BiKernel daughter.

Speaking of Tux, Deb in San Francisco recommends TuxMath.

Leo recommends Microsoft SyncToy.

April Showers

Belly Icing
Originally uploaded by jumping.monkeys

Birthday season is over at our house. Annabella turned 5 on April 7th and Milo and Huck turned 3 on April 14th.

There was lots of cake, a new scooter, a new bike, a doll named Gigi, summer dresses for every day of the week, toy airplanes, one big faux slumber party, several rounds of "happy birthday," and cookies to be made for 50 classmates. I say "to be made" because I didn't make them. Thanks, Mom and Allie.

And yes, this is a picture of Huck licking icing off of his belly.

More photos.

You Are Stupid

Most parents (myself included) have had the uncomfortable experience of hearing their children repeat undesirable four-letter words that the parent has accidentally said in their presence.

And as the mother of three children who love to play the name game and considering the fact that one of those children is named Huck ("Huck, Huck, Bo-Buck Banana, Fanna Fo...), we've had our fair share of accidental cursing too. This might have been avoided if only the name "Huck"had been included in Wikipedia's list of names that will result in profanity in the Name Game.

Each time one of my children have cursed I've somehow managed to remain calm and not bring attention to the word and the kids have moved on without incident.

But then about a month ago Huck turned to me out of nowhere and said, "You are stupid."

If Huck was looking to get a reaction out of me, he got one. A big one.

I looked at him, shocked and said, "Where did you learn that? We don't say that word. That's not nice. We do not say stupid. We do not say stupid. Never. Ever."

Since then he has used this word every day, several times a day. According to him, not only am I stupid, but his brother is stupid, his father is stupid, and his sister is especially stupid. Grilled cheese sandwiches are stupid and so are pajamas. The mailman, the stroller, a sippy cup of milk, and the big toe on his left foot are all very, very stupid. Kids at the park are stupid. Kids at school are stupid.

He also invents different forms of the word, including (but not limited to):

• Stupidy
• Stupidish
• Stupy, Stupy, Stupy, Stu

I try to be calm when I repeat, "Stupid is not nice." I try to explain that it makes people feel bad when he tells them that they're stupid. I've tried to give him alternatives, insisting that it is way more fun to replace "stupid" with any of the following:

• Silly Willikins
• Stupendous
• Weirdo

The only thing that seems to work, even a little bit, is to ignore him and wait for this phase to pass. At least he's not biting anymore.

Anyone been in this situation and have some advice that worked?

Jumping Monkeys Episode 41: One Media Player Per Teacher

Listen to our interview with Matt York of One Media Player Per Teacher, a non-profit organization devoted to helping educate the world's poorest billion people with the use of technology.

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SPEND: Pleo
SAVE: Save on a breast milk organizer (from Parent Hacks)

GIVE: Fair Trade Certified Flowers

AUDIBLE PICK: The Tales of Beatrix Potter

POLL
In reference to Brad Moon's post on Geek Dad.

Opinion Polls & Market Research

LISTENER FEEDBACK:

Corbett recommends the Math Tutor DVDs.

Brian Niles of PTA Tech Corner says to check out High School on We TV and the PBS documentary Growing Up Online. (You can watch the whole thing online.)

Erica from Chicago says homework should reinforce the skills taught in school. She also recommends Scratch. Also, here's the link to Mitchell Resnick's podcast.