Like that Idea has been an online associate for Amazon.com for some time. When Bryan, Karen, or their son like a particular product and recommend it for your family…we talk about it here. Because we like the product so much, we often provide a link to it which gives you an easy option to buy a similar product that we have liked so much. Now it’s time for something slightly different!

We are starting something new as associates with Amazon…it’s called aStore. Basically, aStore allows us to have a store at Amazon for those visiting our Website. From Amazon you get the same service and support for your purchases as you always have. At the same time, we can now offer a store that is Amazon plus our own Like that Idea style added to the mix.

Check out our new Like that Idea store at Amazon. We hope it is an idea that you’ll like!

I was in Toys-R-Us the other day and saw a woman with about a 5 month old looking at this drum.? I had forgotten what a long-lived toy this is!? I was given one as a gift when my son was quite young.? We began playing with it before he was 6 months old.? Besides having?fun, it starts teaching?as infant?the principle of cause and effect.? As he got older, it has become more and more of a learning tool while he is having a blast with his choice of playing music, imitating the drum beats that they play, numbers?or letters (there are four different settings the child can set it on).? He is now just over 2 ? and still plays with it quite frequently, sometimes singing along as well!? This toy is a definite for any mom!

?

Ok, we are not sure if we like this idea or not. The thought of sitting a baby in front of a TV just scares the crap out of us. Yet, we all know whether it’s Teletubbies, Baby Einstein, or the latest on PBS…your baby as well as ours will likely be watching some TV. We just hope, that parents truly get it…you use the programs to interact with your child and not to baby sit your child.

The new, round-the-clock channel is called BabyFirstTV. For $9.99 a month, it will be available initially by satellite through DirecTV and later through cable TV providers as well.

TV offerings already abound for older toddlers, and a lucrative ? though controversial ? market has developed for baby-oriented videos, attracting the Walt Disney Co. and the makers of Sesame Street, among others. But until now there had been no ongoing TV programming aimed at infants.

“This is the first channel dedicated to babies and their parents ? transforming TV from its original purpose into a way for them to interact,” said Sharon Rechter, BabyFirstTV’s executive vice president for business development and marketing.

“The fact of life is that babies are already watching TV,” she said. “That’s why having BabyFirstTV is so important ? what we want to offer is completely safe, commercial-free and appropriate content.” KDKA.com.

This has been a great, fun learning tool for my son! It was a gift when he was 15 months old and he thoroughly enjoys it. Although he doesn’t yet grasp the enunciation of all the letters, it has given him a good start and he sings the tune of the alphabet song quite well. His only frustration with it was turning the letters to get them to fit for the first year we had it. That is no longer a problem. This is a gift that I am likely to buy for others since it has been so beneficial to us!

Being my first pregnancy, I wanted to do all I could for my baby, to include reading to him and playing music while he was in my womb. I read in one of my pregnancy magazines about Babyplus and was intrigued! I conducted further research and, although a bit skeptical, felt that if it did what it said it would do, it was well worth $150.00. Now, convincing my husband of that was a totally different story!!!! He was very skeptical and felt I was being ?taken? but eventually agreed to a mutual decision to purchase the system.

It is a device that you wear on a belt around your waist. It puts out a ?thump, thump? sound which changes each week. It is recommended that you start just after 4 months (since that is when the baby?s hearing is developed). The theory behind it is that your baby is developing millions of brain cells and, if not utilized, many of them will die. The first week, it sounds very similar to your heart beat but, as you advance each week, the rhythm varies in different tempos; this utilizes those brain cells as the baby is processing the different rhythms he or she is hearing. I wore it for 1 hour at a time, morning and evening. My husband did not like the sound and worried that it was too loud for the baby. I got used to it pretty quickly though, especially since it was supposed to benefit my baby.

After it was all said and done, I had a very healthy boy via natural delivery (no drugs) and his apgar score was 10! He nursed readily and was calm as well as very aware of his surroundings. Initially, he woke up about every 3 hours. At 6 weeks, he would sleep one 5 hour stretch and at 10 weeks, slept one 8 hour stretch. Now, I never knew if that 8 hour period would start at 6 pm or at 11pm so I remained flexible! At 5 months, he would sleep 12 hours and he just turned 2 in September and still sleeps 11 ? 13 hours every night; waking up between 8-9 each morning (which I’ve heard is absolutely not the norm)!

He is very curious and learns very quickly. The things that he picks up on is amazing! We traveled quite a bit with him during his first few years and everywhere we go (even now), people comment on what a good boy he is and how happy he is. As he is starting the terrible two?s, it has not been bad. His temper tantrums are short lived (a minute at the most) and very infrequent (maybe 2 times a week at most), he listens to us and rarely defies what he knows our wishes are. He is so good natured that when he is sick and even has a fever, I rarely know that he is sick by his behavior (i.e., he doesn?t cry and get fussy). I can?t think of a single time in his life that he has cried for more than 2-3 minutes except when we were going through the struggle of teaching him to go to sleep in his bed (at naptime) without one of us there. That struggle only lasted 3 days as well; then he would lie down and go right to sleep without a fuss. I just can?t believe that his behavior and good temperament are totally coincidental or strictly based on good parenting!

All in all, I am convinced that this product works well! It is the BEST money I have ever spent and I recommend it to all my friends who become pregnant. Even just for the hours of sleep I?ve gotten when I know other parents who have one year olds who aren?t on a schedule, it was well worth it! I would not even THINK of having another baby without using the Babyplus!

I would be very interested in hearing from others who have used this product during their pregnancy. Feel free to use the comments box or link below to share your thoughts on Babyplus! Also below, is a link to Amazon where you can purchase the Babyplus!