Being a parent is like being a good, old-fashioned butler.
Like Mr. Belvedere ... or Geoffrey from Fresh Prince.
Bottles, feedings, snacks, diaper changes, drool wipings, back-pat burpings, cuddles and entertainment are demanded every hour on the hour and all the minutes in between (depending on the number of mini-mes you have running around the house), with nary a nanosecond to yourself.
Granted I love the job and wouldn't trade it for any other, but every now and then, a clever tip or trick of the tike trade comes in handy.
Take the Baby Butler, for example.
The brainchild of stay-at-home-during-the-a.m. dad (after checking it out, I definitely think of it more as a gadget for the menfolk) to two daughters, the Baby Butler (shown at top left, $22) is a hands-free bottle holder/burp cloth/changing pad amalgamation meant to give parents that helpful third hand that also provides a chance to multi-task - play with older tots while the newest family member takes a nosh, have a (gasp!) hot meal, or even answer the phone or door - all without interrupting baby's bottle feeding.
The concept is simple. A weighted pillow goes over mom/dad/gram/gramp's shoulder while a thick Velcro strap on the opposite end securely straps in any size/shape bottle while holding it up to baby's hungry little mouth. Once the bottle's sucked dry, burp baby without fishing around for an additional cloth (there's even pacifier/small toy pocket), and when that formula or *** milk makes it down south, use the reverse non-absorbent padded side to keep baby's bum clean and fresh.
Cosmomama says there's more in the details:
While I'm not a big fan of the company's suggestion of being able to check email or talk on the phone while feeding (I guess I'm all about the bonding and work only when Wills is napping or down for the night), I do like the idea of being able to play with said wee ones' siblings who undoubtedly need tons of attention at the exact moment that bottle comes into view.
It also occurred to me that the Baby Butler probably isn't recommended for special needs children or those with feeding/swallowing concerns (definitely would have caused problems for the Willster when he was a young chappie), so I checked with the company, and though no one had asked them before, they did agree that this product should not be used for babies with special needs.
