Front Range Dad

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Archive for category Baby Stuff

Men Programmed Not To Wake For Baby’s Cries? Show Me The Stats

Nov 30

Posted by Front Range Dad in Baby Stuff | No Comments

There was apparently some research on sleep in the UK regarding sleep interruption.  (It was done by a British Cold & Flu medicine maker so take it for what’s it’s worth.)

Article link1 : http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1231896/When-Daddy-goes-deaf-How-men-really-DONT-hear-babies-crying-asleep.html

Article 2 http://www.express.co.uk/posts/view/143188/Sleep-patterns-Yes-dads-do-turn-a-deaf-ear

One of the conclusions they found was that men’s sleep is not as likely to be disturbed  by a baby crying as a woman.  For the most part I can believe it, but I sure do wake up fast when our baby cries in the middle of the night.  I don’t think I’m overly sensitive, but I am a light sleeper and this definitely woke me up.

I particularly liked this quote:

“These differing sensitivities may represent evolutionary differences that make women sensitive to sounds associated with a potential threat to their children while men are more finely tuned to disturbances posing a possible threat to the whole family,” said psychologist Dr David Lewis.

But then they describe what men wake up for:

  1. Car alarm
  2. Howling wind
  3. Buzzing fly
  4. Snoring
  5. Noise from drains
  6. Crickets…

Since when are crickets a threat to the whole family?  Not sure I get that.

Anyhow, I’m sure some of these would keep me from getting to sleep, but would I actually be awoken be a dripping tap?  I think the jury still is out on that one.

I believe that men and women would react differently to the sound of a baby crying, especially their own baby. (I don’t recall it bothering me much before we had our own.)  But I always wonder about these studies and the intent behind them.

Car alarm

Howling wind
Buzzing fly
Snoring
Noise from drains
Crickets
Emergency sirens
Clock ticking
Drilling/workmen

Dripping tap

Tags: baby, research, sleep

Crib Recall 2009

Nov 23

Posted by Front Range Dad in Baby Stuff | No Comments

Another product recall, this time cribs.  Be safe!

From the US Consumer Product Safety Commission

consumer product safety commission

The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), in cooperation with Stork Craft Manufacturing Inc., of British Columbia, Canada, today announced the voluntary recall of more than 2.1 million Stork Craft drop-side cribs, including about 147,000 Stork Craft drop-side cribs with the Fisher-Price logo. The recall involves approximately 1,213,000 units distributed in the United States and 968,000 units distributed in Canada…

Go To The Full Announcement

Tales From The Sleep Ninja – Quieter Keyboard

Nov 23

Posted by Front Range Dad in Baby Stuff, Products, Reviews, Tips and Hints | No Comments

I love it when my quietness OCD leads me to discover something perfectly designed for what I’m looking for. I feel so vindicated!

We just moved to a new house and my office was situated right across from our daughter Ella’s room. It is convenient if she needs anything, but also the noise computers can generate can be a problem.

Especially the keyboard.

Ella can’t stand the sound of typing on a keyboard and I can’t blame her. The sounds of computer typing like there are two caffeinated mice running around in a cage. Unfortunately, since I write a lot, that’s pretty much all I do on my computer. Additionally, I also owned the cheapest old PC keyboard in history and setting it on a wooden desk just made it sound even more like there were squirrels trapped in the walls. So I needed a solution fast.

After a few fruitless searches (why does Best Buy keep so few keyboards on their shelves anyway?) I found the perfect winner.

The Logitech K300 which I termed the “ninja stealth” keyboard.

logitech k300 computer keyboard

It satisfied all my demands:

  1. It was relatively cheap.
  2. It didn’t need to be wireless.
  3. Had to have normal, full-sized keys.
  4. The keys are quiet!

In fact, this thing is nearly silent. I was impressed.

It also had the additional benefits of:

  1. Being low profile which I find easier to type on.
  2. Backlit button bar on the top which just looks kind of cool.

So if you’re in the market for a quieter keyboard, I’d consider this one. It’s priced at about $30.00. Anything cheaper seemed to be the old noisy kind, and there are a lot of more expensive models for gamers and ergo-fetishists.  I chose the middle-way.

The price sure is right and now I can type and Ella can get her snoozes without interruption.

Tags: baby sleep, computer, product, review, tips