Just the two of us

Just good listening

Enjoy

- Eric

Car Seat Safety - Your baby makes a great backseat driver

Car safety is your responsability when driving in a car with your baby, not only is there good driving practises to follow for driver responsibility there is also correct baby seat restraints and the rules around the use for optimal baby safety. For example a 3-6 month baby will still need to stay in their rear facing car capsule (or rear facing car seat that fits like a capsule). Use ‘Baby ON Board’tags on your rear window as well as window shades to keep the sun from their eyes and face.

Stefan and Eric on Australias 'A Current Affair' Channel 9 Prime Time TV Show

DIYFather was invited to appear on Australia's prime time TV show 'A Current Affair' to talk about out book 'Call Me Dad!'.

Read the Article titled 'Help for first-time dads' on ACA Nine MSN.

Watch the show online then look for 'Help for first-time dads'

A special thank you to all the people who helped us in the filming of this interview, especially our publicist Nell

Scott with Pyper on the Good Morning TV Show talking about Fun Activities for Dads and Kids

Scott from DIYFather and his Daughter Pyper are on the Good Morning Show (04/09/2009) to talk about fun activities for dads and kids.

Good Morning is a 9am Show that features on New Zealands TV Channel One.

Watch the interview and Pyper giving Brendon a flower

Tummy Tub - Mum versus Dad Face Off

Welcome to DIYFather Face Off reviews, featuring Andrea and Eric parents of Ava. In this series of reviews Andrea and Eric battle it out and give their own view "mom" and "dad" perspectives on a range of products. This article is a review of "Tummy Tub".

TummyTub was designed in the Netherlands by child carers to ease the transition from the comfort of the mother's womb to our world. Babies naturally adopt the fetal position and it is amazing to see how quickly they calm and relax.

Features and Benefits:

• Bathing in the familiar fetal position – helps babies feel reassured and relaxed
  
• Stress free bathing for both baby and parent – excellent for colicky babies
  
• Anti-skid base and low center of gravity for safety and stability
  
• Compact size – takes less space and less use of water
  
• Especially useful for premature babies
  
• Ergonomic hand grips and extremely lightweight
  
• Made of environmentally friendly materials
  
• Less surface area of water – temperature stays warmer for longer time
  
• Has European TÜV safety certificate/assessed by BSI

Why not a normal bucket?

• Normal buckets don't have an anti-skid bottom.
  
• The bottom is not curved and therefore does not give the baby any support.
  
• Babies discover their new world by touching with their hands and tasting with their mouth. The pigments in plastic buckets will most likely contain toxic elements, as normal buckets aren’t meant for bathing babies.
  
• The handle of the bucket can easily hurt the fingers of the baby. It also does brings an extra risk, as an older brother or sister could – by holding it – pull the bucket from the table.
  
• You can view on your baby from all sides, because of transparent material of original TummyTub
  
• Normal buckets are too low and narrow. The water level is therefore also too low and the children can’t stay warm. Apart from that mother and child are hindered in their movements. However simply using a bigger bucket doesn’t give the child the support and a comfortable sitting position.

Porta Chair from BambinOz - Mum versus Dad Face Off

Welcome to DIYFather Face Off reviews, featuring Andrea and Eric parents of Ava.

Andrea and Eric will review products and give their own views on the products.

This is a review of BambinOz Porta Chair

Porta Chair from BambinOz is great for using at home, at a neighborhood cafe, or when you are simply visiting a friend's house. The innovative design fits a variety of chairs and is flexible to accommodate your growing child. Weighing less than 280 grams, the Porta Chair folds compactly and can go wherever you go. It's small enough to fit in your diaper bag or the bottom of your stroller.

Take the Porta Chair with you to restaurants and avoid exposure to germs on highchairs used by hundreds of other children. It's also great way to keep children secure during when you are travelling through busy airports or malls when there's no highchair in sight.

We've paid particular attention to the details in designing this product. All of the straps are fully adjustable for maximum safety and the soft cushioning will keep your child comfortable. We've also added a convenient cord at the bottom so you can neatly fold and carry the Porta Chair when not in use.

Key Features:

• Suitable for ages 5 - 30 months


• Fits most chairs (dining and cafe style)


• Five-point safety harness


• Fully adjustable straps to fit growing baby


• Folds compactly


• Machine washable


• Independently tested


• Accredited and approved by the Infant Nursery Products Association of Australia (INPAA), Inc.

BambinOz

From Andrea (Mum)

Well we have reviewed one other portable chair in our time here on face off so I’m a convert and becoming quite a fan of the highchair alternative.
Bambinoz is an Australian company headed by a mum who found a hole in the marked for parents who were wanting to get out and about with their child.

The Bambinoz Porta Chair i

Bracu Olive Baby Massage Oil - Mum versus Dad Face Off

Welcome to DIYFather Face Off reviews, featuring Andrea and Eric parents of Ava.

Andrea and Eric will review products and give their own views on the products.

This is a review of Bracu Olive Baby Massage Oil

Bracu Olive natural baby products are hand blended with natural ingredients selected to be gentle and nourishing to your infant's delicate skin.

Bracu Olive baby massage oil moisturises your infant's skin and helps to protect it from dryness. The luxurious blend of almond oil, jojoba oil and extra virgin olive oil has been carefully chosen for its hydrating and, nourishing properties.

To a baby, touch is talk.

From Andrea (Mum)
As a newborn baby part of our nightly routine for Ava was to give her a massage after her bath which she really enjoyed, at about 11months of age after a mystery bout of spots (not chickenpox) the skin on her body, mainly her torso became very dry and itchy, it seemed our poor wee girl had developed a bit of eczema and our nightly massage with almond oil didn't seem to make a difference in improving the condition. It was at this point we stopped and started with the aqueous bath washes and intensive moisturising. Things improved eventually however we had to stay on top of things and felt like eczema was just lurking, waiting for us to stop the moisturising routine so when we were asked to road test the Bracu Olive Baby Massage Oil I was bit dubious.

phil&teds Wriggle Wrapper Mum versus Dad Face Off

Welcome to the first of the DIYFather Face Off reviews, featuring Andrea and Eric parents of Ava.

Andrea and Eric will review products and give their own views on the products.

They start their Face Off with a review of phil&teds Wriggle Wrapper

The world’s only 3 in 1 portable wrapper for your wriggler! The perfect solution for sitting, feeding and sleeping on the go.
Sit and Feed: Attaches securely to any chair or adult waist for hands-free feeding and wriggle-free sitting
Sleep: Fastens securely to any single bed for safe napping away from home
Fuss Free: Folds around baby like a nappy/diaper (and it’s machine washable!)
Serious Safety: Super secure fastenings and fit-to-child adjustments

President Obama - We need Fathers to Step-Up!

On the eve of Father's Day weekend, President Obama gives remarks at a White House Town Hall on the topic of fatherhood. June 19, 2009 (public domain)

He made some unusually clear and direct statement about effects of fathers being absent:

Lest we forget

Today is ANZAC (Australia and New Zealand Army Corps) Day, the anniversary of the first day of the Gallipoli campaign, it is a reminder of a very important episode in New Zealand's history.

A campaign during the First World War that as far as military campaigns go was a tragic and very costly loss to both Australia and New Zealand, ANZAC Day is certainly not about victory but about the bravery and ultimate sacrifice these young men gave to their king, country and each other. Read more...

What inspired me to post ANZAC Day today was a letter that was featured during the day.

The letter is from a British soldier who came across the torn backpack of a dead Australian soldier. Lying there amongst all the horror and destruction are two pale-blue baby shoes and a woman's silk gloves - obviously the dead young man's most treasured possessions.