Tip 17: Rock-a-bye Baby

As I checked the spelling of this blog title, found it interesting to read the history of this American nursery rhyme on wikipedia This tip today is related to buying cradles or not. In the past, cradles were simple handmade items either using a cloth or a wooden basket hung on a tree or a stand, which is powered by the wind or by the energy of mummy, daddy or the babysitter to push the cradle. But nowadays, you have all sorts of motorised and battery operated cradles that will swing on its own with rotating animations or toys. Neat. There are lots of stuff you can buy when you pay a visit to the shopping complex and having 2 excited parents who want the best for the baby, you end up buying the whole baby department. But do you actually need all these thing?



I am glad I got a very neat and new Fisher Price Cradle Swing for free from one of the Internet groups I mentioned at Tip 11. In fact, this cradle swing was specially brought from USA to Tokyo by an American family and they wanted to get rid of it before going back home. It was almost brand new as babies usually grew out of these things too quickly and the father told me that this particular cradle swing can not be purchased in Tokyo. Later, I found out that Haruka only used it for a few weeks off and on. When Haruka was 2 weeks old, we were debating if a cradle is suitable for the baby since its not a flat surface bed. We decided to give it a try. Babies naturally like a swinging cradle as its like the floating movement they experienced for 9 months when they were in mummy's womb. But, as Tomomi was constantly breastfeeding Haruka and she would then sleep next to mummy after the meal, soon baby Haruka begin to get used to sleeping next to mummy. So, the cradle swing was not so necessary after all except when Haruka was starting to turn at her sleep and needed to be strapped somewhere for mummy to go to the kitchen or toilet. But, it did not feel such a loss to me since this cradle swing was obtained free and we did have good use of it sometimes. I think even if Haruka preferred the cradle swing, she would still grow out of it making most baby items not a necessity if one is cash strapped. Instead invest in spending time with your baby and maybe even blog about it, so your child may one day read about your initiatives for him or her. Happy rocking the baby to sleep.