With the combination of busy lifestyles and the plethora of products out there on the market, there appears to be an increasing demand for Baby Planners. These individuals help new parents decide what products they need, help select pediatricians and nannys and even will design the nursery. According to an article in the Chicago Tribune, one planner even admitted to helping choose a baby's name!
There is some controversy over the subject, the fact that parents are relying on this outside help and no longer seem to trust intuition, judgment, or their own parents input/advice and instead seek out books, the internet and now the "Baby Planner". I can see both sides of the equation. Though Jeff and I are older and "wiser", we still find this whole world of parenthood quite intimidating. Things our parents did are often no longer recommended, products we grew up on are no longer safe, and every day there is a new study that says we should (or shouldn't) use this or that product or method. It can be overwhelming and I have found myself spending a great deal of time doing research, buying books, checking the internet and talking to friends.
While I admit the fact that there are about 1,000 strollers/cribs/car-seats (you name it) to choose from can be a bit daunting, we do trust our judgment in the long-run. But, the help and information seems to be crucial when choosing products. We can find information on safety, usability, and practicality that is offered by a combination of parents and experts. Without that information we might end up with dangerous products, or things that may have negative developmental impacts on our child. But I am not counting on all of the external advice and information to tell me how to actually raise Baby Schneider ... thats where we have to count on the fact that our intuition and judgement is going to lead us in the right direction :) I dont need an expert or a book to tell me what to do. Everyone makes mistakes, and I am sure we will make plenty. Its the making of mistakes that eventually makes good parents ... and those "oops" events are often more important than the things we do right the first time.
But Maybe I Could Use...
A personal assistant? Though we don't seem to need someone to help us with our product selections, I could use someone to actually go do the shopping :) We have a list of stuff we need, and have picked out the type/brand/color of most things ... yet we fail to go get them. It's not the thinking, its the doing. If I could just have someone go do all this stuff for me (and perhaps also take care of the labor part of this pregnancy process) then life would be pretty sweet.
