Big World, Little People

Staying Literary with Baby in Tow

December 26, 2009 at 11:16 am Leave a comment

When Oliver was born, I’m pretty sure I spent upwards of 80% of the day feeding him. The rest of the time, I held him while he slept. And I tried to record every feeding/diaper change/nap, too. And occasionally ate myself. And carried around much-needed water. And was sleep-deprived.

Needless to say, there was no way to carry a book around, too. Even if I had one, often it was just too dark to read and I’d have gone crazy trying to remember where I put my book light the night before. But oh, how I needed some entertainment while I fed and fed and fed! And how I needed to feel a bit intellectually stimulated and like my old self.

I’d already used my iPhone for recording contractions (carrying just one device you always need anyway instead of a pen and paper was brilliant!). And then found another awesome app for recording all baby-related events (feeding, diapers, naps, my own Ibuprofen intake). Life was almost simple!

And then a very clever woman told me about Amazon Kindle for the iPhone, and all was well with the world again. Because now I could combine two of my favorite pastimes – being with Oliver and reading – with no extra effort. All I ever had to have with me was my son, my phone – and, occasionally, water.

Since then, I’ve read The Help, The Invisible Man, Juliet, Naked – and have sampled a whole load of other books for free. You can read in the dark (a major plus with a baby). You can read on the train. You can read any time you’re with your baby and he’s asleep and you don’t want to disturb him – or let go.

I just saw an ad for Barnes & Nobles new reading gadget and it seems like total nonsense – at least for moms. That thing is so expensive – you could buy an iPhone and about a hundred books, I’m pretty sure. And the whole point is to minimize the amount of stuff we carry. Who needs another electronic doo-dad to worry about?

Entry filed under: iPhone.