baby daze®

We sat down with Leland Brandt co-owner of baby daze® who offer a baby daze book, sitter slips and packing pals.

What was the inspiration behind the creation of your "baby daze® products" and how did you come up with the name?

After our first child was born, my wife and I would find ourselves awake at the way-too early hours of the morning during feeding and we would talk about how tired we were. As she was nursing, my wife said that it would be helpful to have a way to keep track of which side our daughter last nursed on, so she'd know which side she should start on for the next feeding. That conversation inspired us to create an early version of our feeding & diapering chart. Over the next few weeks, the other sections quickly developed as we dealt with an ever-evolving nap schedule, pediatrician visits, the gifts that arrived (and the thank-you notes that needed to be sent), little milestones, etc.

Since those early days and an early ad hoc focus group of other new parents, we determined that this brief, but intense, time period with a newborn lacked this kind of hands-on toolbook. We decided to design and publish this book to help other new and expectant parents find simple ways to cope with the anxiety that can often accompany the arrival of a new baby.

Our other products have evolved in a similar fashion. We've encountered a common parenting issue and attempted to design a tool to help make that experience (i.e. leaving your kid(s) with a sitter or packing for a day/week outing). There are so many details often swimming around a sleep-deprived brain that we've developed our products to help make those moments easier to manage.

The name "baby daze®" was selected as the most appropriate way to describe the sensation many new parents experience. The moment our daughter entered the world, the pediatrician gave us a seemingly endless checklist of details she wanted us to remember. We suddenly had to survive on brief naps throughout the night, a period I used to refer to as "sleep". This sleep-deprivation combined with all the new responsibilities truly put us in a "baby daze®."


What do you think distinguishes your products from others on the market?

Lynne Tapper, my wife (and co-author) is a professional organizer who specializes in helping new and expectant parents prepare and care for their new baby using simple organizational techniques and tools. Her input has helped to shape all of our products, making them both user-friendly, yet designed with an organized eye. In baby daze's case, we consciously designed our book as a tool, not a "how-to." Many of the competitors that we've identified try to offer both, which either increases the size of the book or limits the space for people to record data.

Our book was designed with parents of multiples in mind. The reason for the alternating blue/white shading in each section allows a parent with twins to easily keep track of two children in one book. Our book has no learning curve to be used. Some others have created notation systems that require each user to learn before they can record anything in their book. We wanted to make it as simple as possible for a sleep-deprived parent to use our book.

Finally, we chose to bind the book at the top and not at the side to make it easy for left-handed or right-handed person to use it. The spiral binding makes folding it over simple to facilitate easy "baby data" entry. And most importantly, the size was selected to make it fit easily into a diaper bag.

What do you attribute the success of your company to?

I think our success is really based on two elements. First, soundly designed products that address specific needs. The 2nd edition of the book (that you have) was revised based on comments we received from parents. Second, we have found that the people who have bought or received our baby daze products, return again and again to buy them for expectant friends or family members. This devoted customer base both inspires us to continue improving and promoting our products as well as developing new ones.


FEATURES:

baby daze® LOGBOOK



baby daze® is the one tool for all new parents. The only book of its kind designed by a professional organizer with the specific needs of new parents in mind. It easily and efficiently helps new parents combat much of the chaos that ensues when a newborn comes home. baby daze quickly makes sense of the brave new job of parenting. Consider it the main office for baby information, organizing all the facts, yet small enough for a diaper bag. No book on the market is a comprehensively or thoughtfully designed.

This easy-to-use logbook enables parents to track the basic, but important, details of their new baby's (or babies') life. During the early, anxious days of parenthood, knowing when your baby sleeps, eats and poops can bring some much-needed peace-of-mind to what can be a chaotic period. That's where baby daze can help. baby daze is divided into several sections that tackle common, daily, baby-related issues confronting parents.

The worksheets are super simple to use, but just in case, all have sample sections to get you started and feature Dazey, your tot-sized tour guide who offers simple instructions. The book is designed for daily use and can be easily plopped into a diaper bag, purse or stroller bag for easy transport. Designed to work well with twins.

8-sections that easily record a baby's (or babies') information on many daily topics:

* Feeding and Diapering
* Sleeping
* Pumping
* Milestones
* Gifts
* Food Diary
* Medical
* Contact Information
* Sitter Slips

Click here to view some sample pages from the book.


SITTER SLIPS



Notepads designed to simplify parent/babysitter communication. A two-part design enables parents to avoid repeatedly writing the same information. The top part allows parents to jot down information that changes like bedtime routine, absolute "no-no's", where they are going. The lower section records information that doesn't change often like the pediatrician's phone number, the home address, the emergency contact can be written just once.


PACKING PALS



Sticky pads that help parents recall what they need to pack when they head out for the day (or the week) with their baby. Organized according to the trip duration, checklists remind the parent of things they just can't forget. Blank spaces enable them to write in unique items. Affix them to a door, cabinet or anywhere you need to view the Packing Pal while you get ready or as a reminder.


TIPS AND TOOLS:

To access some useful tools and tips courtesy of baby daze, please visit this link.


PURCHASING DETAILS:

Order online by visiting the baby daze online store

USA & Canadian readers can click here to find a store near you.


Success Through Play™ Comments:

baby daze® offers a fabulous line of innovative products designed by a professional organizer. We have been most impressed with the professionalism of this company, who sent us our samples within days of requesting them. Each product is very well designed and make keeping track of important facts a breeze. You will find yourself reaching for these products throughout the day and you will wonder how you managed without them. Every sleep deprived mom and dad need tools to help them organize their day and keep track of important details and these products will enable you to do just that.

Pediatricians will require details of your baby's sleep, diapering and feeding habits, among other things and trying to remember these in your head or on scrap pieces of paper will prove to be very difficult. With these stylish and fun tools, you will be able to have all the necessary info at your fingertips and impress those around you! The tabs in the logbook make it easy to locate a category and enter or retrieve information. We really liked the category "milestones" which allows you to keep track of your baby's development. The fact that this book can be easily used by both left and right handers and used for more than one child is fantastic! The authors have included sample pages for each category, making the book very user friendly.

How many times have you headed out for the morning with your new little one in tow and then realized that you forgotten some important baby essentials? Worry no more, because with the Packing Pals, you will have a visual reminder and check list which will help you to remember to pack everything that you will need. You can even customize the list to suit your needs!

Once you are ready to leave your little one at home with a trusty sitter, use the Sitter Slips to record important information and hand it to the sitter before you leave. It will making leaving the little one more bearable and you will be able to focus on having some much needed couple time with your spouse!

baby daze® products certainly qualify as products that make our lives easier and we praise Lynne and Leland for developing practical, fun products which live up to their motto "Successful Parenting Through Organization". These products will make ideal baby showers gifts that will really be useful to the new parents. To access the FAQ about these products, please click here. We hope to review the Little Ledge from baby daze® next year! Stay Tuned!

To learn more, please visit:

www.babydaze.net