MUNICH - People notice you when you’re with a baby – and not only when it’s screaming its lungs out in the supermarket.
Just being pregnant earns a woman kudos for having a special kind of radiance. Once the child is born of course parental beauty is not usually the thing others remark on – dark circles around the eyes, pasty complexion, and a slightly spaced out look from lack of sleep usually puts an end to compliments about how great you look.
Still, it’s the whole package that counts, and being with a gurgling little bundle of joy earns most young parents not only attention but sympathy points. "Who’s a pretty boy (or girl) then,” old ladies coo at the bus stop stroking the little one on the head. Many a younger woman, biological clock ticking loudly, can’t help noticing babies either – or casting longing looks at young men, who are suddenly all the more attractive for being dads.
Celebrities have also discovered the baby’s potential – as an accessory. Instead of Prada or Louis Vuitton, they carry a Maddox-Pax-Knox or perhaps a Harper Seven around, either in a baby carrier or strategically clamped between mom’s hipbone and underarm.
And anybody who thinks that’s the extent of infants being used as the latest must-have accessory is wrong. A new carrier from the U.S. opens unsuspected possibilities. The Babykeeper Basic is available at www.mommysentials.com for a mere $40 – a real bargain if you consider what a groundbreaking invention it is, allowing you with the help of two hooks to hang your baby on the wall.
Parents can now simply hang their kids up if for example they have to go to the toilet, are trying clothes on in a boutique or emptying out the dishwasher – in short, if they need both hands free for any one of myriad other activities or tasks. Maybe now fitness studios will stop providing a nursery space with a babysitter and replace them with a solid wall outfitted with the relevant fixtures where all those little Pauls, Emmas and Sophies can be suspended. And that’s just the practical part of it.
Endless possibilities
Where the Babykeeper gets really exciting is in interior design, an ever more important aspect of life if you base yourself on all the fashion magazines that have started regular sections devoted to it. If a baby bump, or an infant on your back or arm, gets you attention just imagine the impact on your guests when they walk into your living room and see you’ve got twins as wall decorations!
You will of course want to make sure that the carriers, and the little darlings’ outfits, harmonize with the color and texture of the wall and go well with the furniture. Optional extras include designer rattles or stylish toys attached to the carriers. Possibilities during the holiday season are limitless: you could decorate the carriers with tinsel and tree decorations, or dress baby up as a mini-Santa Claus or little angel, even Rudolf the Red-Nosed Reindeer with an adorable little set of cloth antlers.
In fact that’s the real charm of the Babykeeper: if you put up hooks in enough places around the house, you can hang baby wherever he or she looks best at that moment. Faced smeared with the remains of carrot puree? How about in here, that’s a nice contrast with the orange curtains. Place near the brown sofa if it’s chocolate, or in the room with yellow walls if it’s banana.
When the child is a little older (and by the way, a word to the wise, make a habit of checking regularly that the hooks are strong enough to hold baby’s weight!) you could train it to hold some pretty flowers or branches, fall leaves maybe. The right combo could really enhance the ambiance of your home.
