Here are some of the recent walks with Claire in the stroller. We have been heading out in the morning to avoid the heat. We usually also try to include an errand or two on our trip. Living within walking distance of most of our needs is a definite convenience.
Bringing along the GPS just leads to another level of interest for our excursions. I've been trying to wander the streets a bit, get the know our neighborhood and city better and better. Claire is a little angel in the stroller, I think she just likes to see the world around her. After a long walk she may fall asleep in the stroller, but usually she is just looking out, very interested in everything that goes past.
Another big hike into Runyan Canyon. We went all the way to the top this time.
The Sunset Strip with Claire. We went by all the nightlife hot spots... at 830am.
Monday, August 31, 2009
Sunday, August 30, 2009
Baby technology & the stay at home Dad
There is always a bit of technology out there, and when it is done well, it can be a tremendous help. These are the things which I have found fun & interesting while I have been the stay at home parent.
Video baby monitor.
Although we have a small place, it is great to be able to see what little Claire is up to when we put her down to sleep. This has audio also, but often if you see her fussing before she starts calling out, you can get her calmed much faster. This thing has infrared also, so you can see at night.
This will probably be useful when she is in her teen years also...
Baby Activity Logger app for the iPhone.
Throughout the course of the day, with the infant you are always trying to remember "when did i feed/change her last? how log has she been asleep/awake?" I tried writing this stuff down for a while but thought that there must be an easier way to keep track of this.
You quickly select the activity you want to log.
You can edit things later, in case you miss some exciting event.
And then you can generate reports. The one below here shows Claire's sleep patterns over a week.
Video baby monitor.
Although we have a small place, it is great to be able to see what little Claire is up to when we put her down to sleep. This has audio also, but often if you see her fussing before she starts calling out, you can get her calmed much faster. This thing has infrared also, so you can see at night.
This will probably be useful when she is in her teen years also...
Baby Activity Logger app for the iPhone.
Throughout the course of the day, with the infant you are always trying to remember "when did i feed/change her last? how log has she been asleep/awake?" I tried writing this stuff down for a while but thought that there must be an easier way to keep track of this.
You quickly select the activity you want to log.
You can edit things later, in case you miss some exciting event.
And then you can generate reports. The one below here shows Claire's sleep patterns over a week.
Monday, August 17, 2009
Claire goes to College
We got a card in the mail shortly after Claire was born from UCLA asking if we would allow Claire to be a participant in research involving infants. I guess they recruit from local birth records. Since this is peripherally related to Gary's work & education, we signed Claire up. Claire is now "attenting" UCLA :)
When you sign up, your infant becomes part of a research pool for several different areas of study. Claire has been in 2 research projects so far. One with the UCLA Baby Lab, where the test involved her vision & perception, and one with the UCLA Language Acquisition Lab, which involved her listening to vowels sounds which vary from language to language. The test was investigating differences between sound perception for infants exposed to English only, Spanish & English & Spanish only in their daily lives.
The research is interesting & there is really no impact on Claire. A piece of cake. We bring her in & both times she has just sat on our lap & watched some different graphics on a big TV or computer monitor & they record her responses. The tests take maybe 10 minutes. She gets a prize after each test; a couple t-shirts so far. There probably will be a few more studies she could be a part of.
When you sign up, your infant becomes part of a research pool for several different areas of study. Claire has been in 2 research projects so far. One with the UCLA Baby Lab, where the test involved her vision & perception, and one with the UCLA Language Acquisition Lab, which involved her listening to vowels sounds which vary from language to language. The test was investigating differences between sound perception for infants exposed to English only, Spanish & English & Spanish only in their daily lives.
The research is interesting & there is really no impact on Claire. A piece of cake. We bring her in & both times she has just sat on our lap & watched some different graphics on a big TV or computer monitor & they record her responses. The tests take maybe 10 minutes. She gets a prize after each test; a couple t-shirts so far. There probably will be a few more studies she could be a part of.
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