Unclutterer

1. Posted by Emma - 09/09/2009

   How awful! I particularly like the switch to show whether you fed them on the left or right side last time I used a stretchy bracelet for that!

   It’s turning your baby into a tamagotchi… do you get a sad face if you leave it too long?

2. Posted by Michael - 09/09/2009

   Couldn’t not disagree more. As an owner of one of these and a new parent of a three-week old, this is a piece of minimalist genius. A combo of high and low tech ideas that replaces far more clutter than this represents.

   On a notebook, you could log poops and pees (8-12x / day) and diaper changes (same); and times of feedings (again 8 – 12x / day) and sleep and wake times (dozens of entries) and the “wildcard” which permits my wife to know when the last time it was that she took her Motrin.

   These are things that “mommy brain” helps with. Since you don’t really need the “log data” but only how long “its been” since the last time it happened, this little gizmo DECLUTTERS in the truist sense of the term.

   On top of this, any iPhone app would be inadequate because I take my iPhone to work. Itzbeen stays with Baby Margot.

   When Itzbeen blinks, I know she’s been sleeping for X hours, or last fed, X hours ago.

   COULD. NOT. DISAGREE. MORE.

   MRL

   P.S. No ownership or relationship whatsoever to the company that makes this product.

3. Posted by Loren - 09/09/2009

   Things like this make me even more petrified to ever be a parent. Is there something I don’t know? Don’t babies just sleep when they want? Don’t you just change them after they ‘go’?
   Don’t they usually cry to let you know you forgot something?

4. Posted by Olga - 09/09/2009

   I don’t know about this one… I guess I can see how it can be useful, such as what Michael is saying above. On the other hand, I’m just not sure if you need to be obsessing so much about when was the last time the baby pooped or ate or slept. I think it would be useful if something is wrong and you are trying to find a pattern, but then keeping just the last time information would not be helpful. When my son was little I certainly didn’t have it, and now it’s been too long for me to remember if I ever wished I had one.

5. Posted by Christine - 09/09/2009

   I like the Tomagotchi comment. This makes me nervous as well… My parents did just fine without one. My grandparents did just fine, as well. I think we’re starting to rely too much on technology. If I had one of those things, and relied on it too much and it broke, would I just shut down and have to call in the reinforcements for help? No thanks, I will just use a pen and paper if I need to record things. Soon we’ll be using things like this to log when the last time WE slept (or ate, etc) was.

6. Posted by Kate - 09/09/2009

   I’m with Michael on this one. While yes, a baby does typically sleep when it’s tired, feed when it’s hungry, change when it “goes”, it is not always easy for tired mommy and daddy to remember when those things happened… case in point… 10 days after my friend’s baby was born, I spent the evening with her while her husband went to a business meeting. After I left, I received a call at 11:30 p.m. asking me if I remembered what time the baby last ate because she couldn’t remember. If she’d had something like this, it might have made it a little easier on her. True, this device doesn’t necessarily “help first-time parents learn the basic needs of a baby” — but it may help make certain things a little easier on them. AND, it’s NOT that big!

7. Posted by David - 09/09/2009

   We have a kitchen timer with three countdown/countup clocks that also shows the time, so it’s “Itzbeen” minus one timer.

   So, if Itzbeen has countdown functions (as well as countup), it could eventually become a kitchen timer…

   If not, there probably exists a version of our kitchen timer with four countdown/countup clocks….

8. Posted by Magchunk - 09/09/2009

   Hmm, would a babysitter be considered a unitasker?

   Joke.

   I don’t have kids so maybe I’m wayyy off base, but is it really that important to know when the kid last ate/pooped? Sure, if it’s been all day that would be an issue, but day to day, is it really necessary?Do you have to know that it’s been 18 minutes since little Joey pooped, or could you look back and say “I remember changing him while watching Judge Judy (hah) and that was around 3:00″

9. Posted by Emily - 09/09/2009

   I especially like the top button, which reminds me of the Autobot logo from “Transformers”.

   “Itzbeen 2 hours and 28 minutes since Baby has transformed into Autobot.”

   That’s probably some good information to keep track of…

10. Posted by Peter - 09/09/2009

    I found it extremely useful to track when I last did these things, and I remember seeing this product and thinking it was nifty. But it also seemed exactly what this post says: a unitasker which can easily be replaced with something more useful. I used a whiteboard.

    For those smartasses who don’t understand why you would want to track this information… yes the baby cries when it needs something. What that something is, however, is often a mystery. Knowing it’s been 30 min since X but 4 hours since Y is helpful in zeroing in on what the baby needs. Especially at 3 in the morning. Especially when two parents are taking turns getting up. Not having to wake my partner to ask “how long it’s been” is very important.

11. Posted by Aleisha - 09/09/2009

    Gotta disagree here too. I also didn’t like the implying that owning this means you’re not doing your job as a mother. I think this is one of the problems with motherhood today… people think if something isn’t for them, then it’s wrong. Never owned or have even seen one of these but it would’ve been SO helpful when I to pump and then breastfeed my baby every 90 minutes for the first few months of her life. I wrote stuff down but it was one more task on top of pumping, breastfeeding, cleaning the bottles, etc. I did know out how to “meet my child’s most basic needs”, but this device could’ve helped ease my load just a little. Sheesh.

12. Posted by Sheryl - 09/09/2009

    @ Emily :

    “Itzbeen 2 hours and 28 minutes since Baby has transformed into Autobot.”

    ROFL!!!

    As the mother of three, who have all now made it to adulthood (31, 29,& 20) without the “benefit” of this little device (or a baby monitor either, for that matter…), I just don’t see a need for it.

13. Posted by Nutmeg - 09/09/2009

    Hey… I don’t think anyone needs this and as the mother of a kid who cried ALL DAY LONG for 4 months straight, I would know. Would it be nice and helpful to someone? Maybe, but it is certainly a unitasker and it is one whose job is just as easily done by something you probably already own that can perform more than one task… which is the whole point here. It’s really easier to simply remember the order of things that happen and then you know if you fed him last and he’s crying now it’s either diaper or sleep. Sometimes they need food more often and some times they need sleep more often. Sometimes my son needed to eat every 30 minutes and some times every 2 hours. Timing it doesn’t help me do anything any better.

14. Posted by Erin Doland - 09/09/2009

    @Loren — Yes, you are correct. The baby will always let you know … sometimes even just for sport! I have NO idea why someone would want to log when their kid last peed or pooped. Unless ordered by your doctor, tracking this information is nothing but clutter. Babies eat, sleep, and poop. They’re relatively easy to manage until they start moving around on their own … then that is a WHOLE different story.

15. Posted by Celeste - 09/09/2009

    Well, the pediatrician’s nurse always asked us a lot of questions about number of wet diapers and how much food did the baby eat…but I swear I felt like they were working off a checklist put out by Gerber. My slacker-mom attitude was that if there was growth measured every visit, then the answer to their questions was “enough”.

    I know there are lots of breastfeeding moms who track feedings. I wasn’t one so I can’t comment.

    However I will say that I felt like it was QUITE enough task taking care of all of these maneuvers, without having to document them in some way. I felt terrible for the daycare workers who actually had to give me a written report like this for the day. I sure didn’t require it. The empty bottles and the dwindling diaper supply told me the story.

16. Posted by Lori Paximadis - 09/09/2009

    Count me in with those who are befuddled by the need to know this kind of information if you’re not trying to track down some kind of medical problem, in which case you’re going to want a log with actual clock times anyway so you can track all of them, not just the last one. Maybe if you’re trying to keep track of medications given (although you could do that with a regular countdown stopwatch or timer). But otherwise…

    I’m all for unitaskers that are actually useful (viva la Diaper Genie!), but some of this stuff they have for parents these days is completely beyond my comprehension.

17. Posted by Michael - 09/09/2009

    @Peter – AMEN.

    I’ll add to this that your baby “tells” you something is wrong ONLY by crying. If you read and follow (not saying you MUST, but if you do) folks like Dr. Weisbluth, you learn that your kid may be awake for two reaons – s/he is “awake” in the regular sense; or s/he is awake becuase the “second wind” adreneline has kicked in.

    If you are in “second wind” mode, you are in trouble. Your kid should be down in the “tired” not “over tired” phase of things.

    As Peter says — its tough to remember how long your kid has been up when you are feeding, changing, entertaining folks who want to see and play with your newborn, its 3am, etc.

    BUT TO THE POINT, its SOOOOOOO difficult to call this “unitasker” device “clutter” given its size and the relative size to its counterparts (e.g, a white board and/or a log book). How are EITHER of these things less cluttering, which is really the thesis of this post, right? I’m not knocking either method, but to call “itzbeen” clutterific, is (IMHO) fabulously uninformed.

18. Posted by Michael - 09/09/2009

    @all naysayers — i’m also a bit confused by all the condemnnors who are doing so on the basis that THEIR kid didn’t need this kind of thing.

    can’t you all accept that some people’s kids DO need this kind of things?

    the comments here might be more civil if folks confined their comments to things they know about and whether the ITZBEEN does, in fact, (as accused) represent more clutter than the things it is supposed to replace.

    Its one thing to say that the FUNCTION is unnecessary and thus the device that does that ONE function is unecessary. But that’s not the same as saying that the “one function” device is better replaced by another multi-function device.

    MRL

19. Posted by Ann - 09/09/2009

    Speaking as a doc….. after 2 or 3 days, and if the munchkin isn’t jaundiced…..it really doesn’t matter if you track how much how often. If they cry…. feed ‘em, change ‘em, love ‘em. That about covers it! Obviously, if there is a medical condition things chage. Sometimes it is vitally important to know exactly what goes in and comes out and when. But at that point a log book is going to be much more effective.
    Speaking as a breastfeeding mommy…..If they cry…. feed ‘em, change ‘em, love ‘em!
    Seems silly to spend the cash on that thing!

20. Posted by Allison - 09/09/2009

    I unequivocally do not accept that some children may need this. That’s a load of….never mind. Anyway, generations of children and parents have functioned quite well without this ridiculous gadgetry.

21. Posted by Jessica - 09/09/2009

    Can I just second laying off the snark when it comes to parenting choices? Some people want or need to track this info, some don’t, and I think that’s ok. I’m very tired of parenting “discussions” that basically go “I made choice A and clearly those who make choice B are unsophisticated idiots who will eventually revel in my brilliance.” I’m not even a parent (yet) and I’ve had enough of this.

22. Posted by Erin Doland - 09/09/2009

    @Michael — Unitaskers are JUST FOR FUN. We don’t care if you or anyone else own them. They’re to make you laugh.

23. Posted by Jay - 09/09/2009

    If you want to know the type of information the Itzbeen provides, then consider buying one and inputting all the information into it.

    Except in the case of a medical issue, the information is fairly useless. The information itself is clutter, whether you are putting it into the Itzbeen, a white board, or piece of paper. Parenting is tough enough without burdening yourself with collecting and inputting this information.

24. Posted by Serge - 09/09/2009

    “in case your screaming live human infant isn’t a clue that you are neglecting him”

    brilliant line

25. Posted by Beth - 09/09/2009

    *Unitaskers are JUST FOR FUN. We don’t care if you or anyone else own them. They’re to make you laugh.*

    Seems like a lot of people aren’t laughing. That may be because of the excessively judgmental and critical tone of this post. Laugh at the device, but saying someone isn’t a fit parent if they use one? That’s crossing a pretty obvious line.

    I usually like these posts because they *are* usually fun; think I’ll skip them from now on.

26. Posted by Caroline - 09/09/2009

    I want one of these for the next baby. When my first was born, I had to write down everything (poops, pees, naps, how long he nursed, what side, when I took my pain medication last, our thrush medicine applications, if the home nurse had come to change my bandages and her measurement on the packing etc), so I wouldn’t forget, and could tell the doctor a summary (that he asked for) when we went for well-baby checkups.

    I kept it all in a little blue notepad that went everywhere with me (in my housecoat pocket). I discovered that writing with one hand free, the other around a newborn happily nursing was not the easiest. Half the time I could not read my own writing afterwards. So when I saw this, I coveted it immensely! How much easier it would be with one hand to go *boop-boop* on a button!

    yes, it may be overkill, and yes, millions of children have survived before this without one, and yes, a pen and paper is much more economical. And no, I do not think this device is a substitution for common sense, or if I had one, make me a bad mother. Sometimes, at 3 in the morning, when you are over-tired and can’t remember, having a “written record” can really, really help. It helped me, and my husband, learn what our son wanted when, and to keep tabs on having a healthy child. We stopped recording everything at 2 months, roughly.

    I for one embrace innovation, and new ideas, and this one would work for me.

27. Posted by Kay - 09/09/2009

    My best friend and her husband swore by this gadget when they had their little one a few years ago, almost to the point of over-dependence, and often commented on how much they loved it. But that’s the life they lead – they are technophiles – blogging every detail of their day on their laptops while catching up on their TiVo, and monitoring how long since little Sally fed on the left breast with their Itzbeen.

    I wouldn’t be caught dead with one in my diaper bag – but it is pretty small, not taking up much space. Also, if it tracks many different things, is it really a unitasker?

    I wouldn’t be caught dead with one in my diaper bag . . . but if someone finds it useful, go for it!

28. Posted by Dawn F - 09/09/2009

    I would have LOVED to have seen my grandmother’s face if I handed her this incredibly insane tracker. She would have busted out laughing at this thing and then probably asked me “are you sure you want to have a baby if you need a machine to help you take care of it???” LOL!

    I don’t know if I should laugh about the Itzbeen or just be scared for the children whose parents need it. Yikes.

    Great entry today, Erin! Always a good chuckle!

29. Posted by Dawn F - 09/09/2009

    @Michael

    You mentioned “can’t you all accept that some people’s kids DO need this kind of things?” in one of your comments…

    So, some people’s kids do need this?? The kids, huh? Funny how my newborn baby never mentioned that he NEEDED this tracker. I think what he needed (and got) was a parent who could manage to care for him 24/7 without having to punch some buttons on an electronic device to make sure parenting was done correctly and accurately.

    Another gadget in this world….

    My poor baby – stuck with parents using maternal and fatherly instincts, common sense, doctor’s advice and grandmother’s experiences. How will my son ever survive? (okay, I’ll lay off of the sarcasm – for a few minutes) LOL!

30. Posted by Natalie - 09/09/2009

    Really interesting to see how passionate everyone is about this! I’m a biologist and I *love* data, so I really would love to have one of these if we decide to go for child #2. We had some medical issues with our son when he was a newborn, and this could have helped us track things a bit better. Yes, we wrote everything down, but I agree with @Caroline about now nice it would have been to “beep boop!” and have it recorded.

31. Posted by mo - 09/09/2009

    I can see how this would ease things with multiple caregivers, parents handing off care, nanny, grandparents,older children etc. or a nervous mother. Actually, letting older kids deal with it would be a good thing.

    I could see this going into the great box of used baby stuff passed around to each new mom in my family.

32. Posted by Gabriel - 09/09/2009

    Nope, sorry Erin: I’m vetoing the unitasker label for the Itzbeen.

    The wife and I have two young kids (ages 1 & 2) and if I come home and want to take one to the grocery, I want to know if he’s going to need a diaper change soon. We actually ask our babysitter to track our kids’ feedings and diapers so when we come home, we know what kind of evening to expect.

    This device tracks multiple things and replaces a clock in the nursery. It’s a multitasker.

33. Posted by Michael - 09/09/2009

    @Erin

    Unitaskers might be “for fun” — but plenty of people here seem to be taking their liberties in passing judgment on folks who use them.

    No question, as others have observed, that our parents got by without them. They also got by without cell phones.

    For me, put this in with a toaster and a cell phone. A “unitasker” that is not in any way, shape, or form, “clutter.”

34. Posted by Gabriel - 09/09/2009

    Also, it’s only a matter of time before some cooking magazine realizes the four-timers-in-one usage of this device in the kitchen.

    One timer for the meat.
    One timer for the veggies.
    One timer for the rice.
    One timer for the dessert.

    And a built in clock.

35. Posted by Michael - 09/09/2009

    @Serge:

    – “in case your screaming live human infant isn’t a clue that you are neglecting him”

    brilliant line

    So brilliant, I assume, that you can tell me just from reading it what this screaming baby needs to make it stop screaming, right?

    Enough with the parenting judgments.

36. Posted by Brandon Green - 09/09/2009

    Looks like it’s straight out of the SkyMall catalog.

37. Posted by Jill - 09/09/2009

    As the mother of 2 month old twins, I LOVE my Itzbeens. LOVE LOVE LOVE! We tried writing everything down and it was ridiculous having notebooks everywhere with random notations. Keeping track of two babies is tough. This little device is great for determining if one baby is constipated or not tolerating the formula that we are giving her.

    I’m not saying that these are necessary items, but I wouldn’t give mine up.

38. Posted by Brandi - 09/09/2009

    As a mother of two, with #3 on the way, I will be borrowing one of these from a friend this time around. I struggled with breastfeeding through both of my children, one of them ending up getting jaundice. Keeping track in an easy way, of when they fed last and when they peed last will help tremendously. Like many have said, paper and pen would do the same thing, but when your brain is fried from going through labor and taking care of 2 other children, just needing to push a button seems like an easy way to keep track of that information. For me this device will reduce the clutter in my head, not add to it.

39. Posted by empty - 09/09/2009

    When you’re sleep-deprived enough, as we were with my first, who cried for about 20 hours/day and wanted to be in constant motion while held in our arms no matter what else we did, something like this would be extremely handy. We had about enough energy after a couple of weeks to continue staggering around with him while leaning against the walls, which was successful in reducing ear-splitting wails down to a survivable level of howling. But we had to remind each other to do things like feed him and change him (not that he cared much, but it prevented diaper rash).

    Our second is much more mellow and is responsive to appropriate care–she stops crying when she is fed, changed, or whatever–so I wouldn’t bother. But with another one like my first, I’d buy it in an instant.

    I think calling this a unitasker encourages parents of easy babies to be cruel to parents with difficult babies by calling them bad parents. As if there weren’t enough of that going around already. Isn’t it enough that you got an easy baby?

40. Posted by Michael - 09/09/2009

    @Dawn F

    Why so sanctimonious and judgmental? My wife had difficulty but wante to breast feed. Things weren’t going well. Our infant dropped birth weight significantly.

    It is VERY HARD to find out how much your baby is feeding when you don’t have a more expensive scale — also a bigger unitasker.

    Our baby goes almost unconscious for a long time after feeding with forumla. Not so much with breast milk.

    THIS IS A LOT of information to keep track of.

    Congrautlations to you are are better than I am. Congratulations to you that your breasts produce milk better than my wife’s do. Congratulations for being a better per parent.

    The world must look nice atop the horse you are sitting so high upon.

    I feel bad that your kid has such a condescending person for a parent.

    I’m inadequate. I need help. Great for you that you don’t.

    Its still not a “unitasker” and its not “clutter” as even this page defines it.

41. Posted by momofthree - 09/09/2009

    didn’t read any comments before posting, so bear with me…
    what a piece of hoo-ey!!
    How on earth did we all survive if our parents/grandparents/great grandparents didn’t have this thing? Simple rule I followed: baby cries: change a wet/dirty diaper, offer the breast, offer comfort, offer closeness, offer a ride in the rocker, and if that didn’t work, repeat the process, sometimes including the diaper…

42. Posted by Dawn F - 09/09/2009

    @Michael

    Wow, I have never had anybody talk about my breasts on a blog – cool – I feel so special!

    No horse for me – just standing on my own 2 feet on solid ground.

    Seriously though, best wishes for a happy, healthy baby, Michael. I hope your baby gets stronger and healthier in the coming weeks and months.

43. Posted by Daffodil - 09/09/2009

    I have a three-year-old, and wish I’d had one of these when he was small. It’s important information when you hand off care of the child from Mom to Dad or parents to sitter or grandparents to parents. But on top of all the other information you want to transmit — “he’s cranky today” or “he learned how to roll over!” or “he’s been having a lot of fun with the green elephant toy” — sometimes this basic but important info gets overlooked. I agree with everyone who says having this info in the middle of the night when would be a gift. I agree with everyone who says using this tool does not make you an unfit parent.

    EVERYTHING about parenting is enormously subjective. Use what works for you, ignore the rest, and don’t begrudge another parent what works for him or her.

    @Erin — “Unitaskers are JUST FOR FUN. We don’t care if you or anyone else own them. They’re to make you laugh.” But you DO care if people own Unitaskers. Your intro says you don’t want anyone to buy these products. But if this helps someone deal with the craziness and insanity of parenting a baby, how is it your place to announce that people everywhere should not own this device? If this is, as your intro says, “a joke,” it’s a cruel one. Taunting parents for finding a system that works for their families is grossly unfair and inappropriate.

44. Posted by Krisha - 09/09/2009

    i can absolutely see the need to track and make sure things are duplicated or forgotten when there’s more than one person caring for the child, but does it record the information or simply reset the timer? if it’s not recording, won’t you have to go to the device, check the time, and log it yourself? in that case, i can see this as being a bit extra.

45. Posted by Erin Doland - 09/09/2009

    I’m closing comments. Everyone seems to be REALLY riled up today about this unitasker. I’m adding “baby unitaskers” to my list of things never to write about again … like Rachel Ray, Pottery Barn, and Semi-homemade Meals. Moderating the comments is now taking up too much of my time, and there are only so many minutes in a day.

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