The Itzbeen Infant Baby Timer is one of those weird products that could only come out of the mind of a marketing Mom. Who else would create a product that makes sure you don’t forget to feed baby? You what? Have you ever tried forgetting to feed baby? With six pairs of ear plugs in and barricaded behind a solid steel door you can still hear the howls. Anyway, who are we to question? After all it’s only $24.95.
This is the only digital infant timer with an easy to read LCD that displays the elapsed time since your infant’s last feeding, diaper change, nap, or when your child was last medicated, eliminating the need for tracking child care needs by memory or using a chart. The cell phone-sized device has four separate timers (diaper, feed, sleep, and a miscellaneous timer) that reset at a touch of a button and commence counting up from zero. When the preset time interval is reached, an audible alarm sounds and the corresponding button lights up to remind you or a baby-sitter that your infant requires attention.
Hi Red,
Hi! My name is Greg, and I invented the ITZBEEN [the mind of a stay-at-home marketing dad!]. I just came across your post and was hoping you wouldn’t mind my two cents! For starters, please know that I am always very open to any and all criticism and feedback. As this product enters the market, I am doing all that I can to ensure the proper message is getting out.
The purpose of ITZBEEN is not about making sure that parents don’t forget to feed their little ones. As you said, babies are pretty good about letting you know when they are hungry. The main purpose of the ITZBEEN is to let parents know how long ago basic things (i.e. last diaper, feeding, medication, etc) took place. As new parents, both equally taking care of our baby, my wife and I were constantly asking each other, “How long ago did you do change the diaper?”, “How long ago did you feed him?”, or “How long ago did you give him Tylenol”. The ITZBEEN is just a simple tool to help parents remember some of the little things that are so easy to forget when you are deprived of sleep. Yes, the ITZBEEN does have optional reminder alarms that you can program to remind someone to feed the baby or change a diaper at certain intervals. However, this is really a secondary feature intended to be used when someone who is not so accustom to infants is in charge (i.e. nervous dad or babysitter).
In today’s world, it is not just mom taking care of the baby on her own; dads are more involved than ever. This product is just a simple way for them to communicate who is doing what. Yeah, yeah,… we tried note pads… but who wants to do math at 2:30 in the morning? (Did you see the cool little flashlight built into the top? That’s for changing midnight diapers and finding dropped pacifiers in the dark!) Whenever we were changing shifts (i.e. I came home from work, and my wife left to go to the gym) I knew all the basic info was on the display.
It’s a great product for first-time parents too. Many new parents just don’t know what to do, and have not received the ‘hand-me-down guidance’ from their parents. When a baby cries, you go down a mental list when the baby starts crying: how long ago did I feed him?, How long ago did I change him?, How long has he been awake? Not only does the ITZBEEN prompt new parents to think about these thinks, it provides them with the answers so that they can make a better decision on how to console the baby.
Anyway, thanks for the opportunity to share my view. I don’t expect that everyone will like or want the ITZBEEN. However, I have received emails from many sleepy new parents that appreciate the product.
Best Regards,
Greg
Thanks for the comprehensive explanation Greg, we retract our snarky comments completely and wish all your happy users a full and glorious night’s sleep. :-)