Stay-at-home dad throws out pen and paper for his own invention

Greg Sheldon, an engineer turned stay-at-home-dad, decided there had to be something more effective than scribbling on a notepad at 2:30 in the morning to keep track of his new baby's feeding, sleeping and nappy changing times, so he invented the ITZBEEN™ Baby Care Timer™ .


Sheldon created a simple, cell phone size device with four timers that allowed he and his wife to recall how long ago they changed a nappy, fed the baby, put the baby down to sleep, or gave the baby medication. Whenever they performed a task, like changing a nappy, they simply pressed the correct button; that timer would reset to zero and start counting up again. Any time of the day or night, they would always know how long ago something was done. His timer proved to be so useful, that he filed for a patent and turned it into a real product.



The ITZBEEN (pronounced “it’s been”, as in it’s been two hours since a nappy change) turned out to be more than his original four-in-one timer. Sheldon and his wife added other useful features such as reminder alarms, a nursing reminder switch for breastfeeding mums, a soft night glow light, even a belt clip to create a genuinely useful parenting product.



Sheldon’s new company, Coast Innovations are the US manufacturers of the ITZBEEN. Now the ITZBEEN is available in NZ through distributors Small Requirements Limited. The ITZBEEN RRP is $49.99 (GST inc) and is available nationally through select retailers and online stores. A detailed stockist listing is available online at www.srlimited.co.nz.