A little bundle of joy is here. Or impending. Below are some suggestions on how to help your anxious, sleep-deprived, suddenly beleaguered friends or family deal with the smallest biggest change in their lives.

WITHINGS BABY MONITOR

The most pressing question on new parents' minds: What's junior doing when we're not looking? Is he awake? Asleep? How about now? Now? What about now? This handy app-enabled Wi-Fi camera puts round-the-clock audio and video surveillance into mom or dad's pocket by turning an iPhone or Android phone into a remote monitor, complete with motion alerts and temperature and humidity readouts. There's even the possibility to pipe in a soothing lullaby on command, or thanks to the infrared camera, keep an eye on junior through the night. This way, they can coo from afar when he's sleeping like an angel. And catch him before he paints his crib with the contents of his diaper. $250 • Radio Shack (via ship-to-store) • 4750 N. Division

MOMMA GOOSE BALTIC AMBER TEETHING NECKLACE

As stylish as it is functional, this teething necklace outfits baby in New Age fashion long before he can say "healing energy vortex" — all while deriving a palliative benefit. Amber contains succinic acid, which is supposed to have natural anti-inflammatory and analgesic properties that can help soothe tender areas when worn against the skin. Around $20 and up • Bella Cova • 905 N. Washington

PACIFIER THERMOMETER

Time becomes an increasingly precious commodity when the stork arrives. Imagine if it were possible to provide a baby with the most tried-and-tested form of oral comfort while taking her temperature at the very same time? The pacifier thermometer makes that almost inconceivable scenario a reality, ultimately saving parents seconds — nay, entire minutes — over the course of a baby's infancy. $8 • Babies "R" Us • 6104 N. Division

YOGA & MASSAGE TRAINING

The days of new or soon-to-be parents turning to laudanum to help them relax are pretty much at an end. Fortunately, you can book them a joint session in pre- or postnatal yoga and massage training for a morphine-free alternative. Mom will learn comforting poses to help ease the pain before, during and after labor, and her partner will learn how to appear a little less helpless. $25; other classes (such as breastfeeding) free • Bella Cova • 905 N. Washington

MOBY WRAP

Experts know there's no better way to lug your child around than tightly bound to your chest in a sweltering cocoon of parental love. Hence the ultra-trendy Moby Wrap. This designer strip of fabric can be folded origami-like to accommodate a variety of carrying positions. If Dad fears for his masculinity, they even come in Major League Baseball varieties. Around $50 • Mother's Haven • 2112 N. Government Way, Coeur d'Alene

THE WHEEL OF RESPONSIBILITY

How many marriages have been brought to the brink over a soiled diaper? How many relationships threatened by whose turn it is to read Goodnight Moon? The Wheel of Responsibility turns every interrupted slumber, every bottle feed into a night in Vegas, leaving parental responsibilities to the blind justice of Lady Luck. If a 50/50 chance is still too risky, there are Sanity Checks, which can be cashed for a one-time reprieve from chores. $11 • perpetualkid.com

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E.J. Iannelli

E.J. Iannelli has been a contributing writer for the Inlander since 2010. In that time, he's had the opportunity to cover a wide range of topics for the paper (among them steamboating, derelict buildings and creative resiliency during COVID), typically with an emphasis on arts and culture. He also contributes...