swingding Juniper is already more alert than when she was born. She smiles at you, as opposed to towards you, and she is starting to respond to zerberts and finger puppets, etc. However, I still caught her smiling and holding a baby conversation with the netting on the side of her swing today. Who knows, maybe she sees something I don't see. This swing, by the way. Not that I don't appreciate it greatly for all that it has done for this family. I can finally have the use of both of my hands for more than 5 minutes at a time. However, it is equipped, as is every other baby device, with a host of electronic functions that cause me to grate my teeth and question my existence. This particular swing has both music and lights. The music includes a mix of bland songs: "You are My Sunshine", Pachabel's Canon in D, Minuet in G by Bach, etc. all played in this tinky electronic tone with a choppy, anal beat in time with the swinging. The lights, shaped as smiley celestial bodies, flash monotonously along with the music. Taken as a whole, it says "Welcome to the world, Baby. Now you must sit through the worst show ever. Worse than the Def Leppard Laser Blastoff Extravaganza". The Monkey, however, seems to find it somewhat pleasant, when I condescend to turn it on in moments of desperation. That's cool, though, it just means she can get down no matter what the circumstances. I wonder: in fifty years or so, will these baby devices play Nirvana and White Stripes songs in the same tinky tone? Maybe techno music would be a better bet, or Brittney Spears or whatever, because it has that metronomic thumpy whitey beat. Notice how she must be strapped in to an extent that would make you think the swing was going to take off flying around the room, doing flips and such. |