Babies are big business. There is a product out there for just about everything a mom could need. Don't want your tot straying away -- get a baby leash. There is even a blouse designed so that you can carry your infant inside of it, close to your heart. However, some of these inventions are almost too strange to be true. Check out the most bizarre baby gear out there.

What is the weirdest baby product that you've come across?

Image via mommyessentials.com

At one of my recent hair appointments, I walked into the salon, sat down in the chair to have my color done, looked at the woman seated in the chair next to me, and immediately cringed. No, my reaction had nothing to do with whatever the stylist was doing to her hair. It was the fact that she had her baby sitting in her lap that made me want to get up, walk over to the reception desk, and reschedule my appointment for another time. Because babies have no business being in a hair salon -- period.

Hold on, let me explain. Yes, babies are cute and I love babies just as much as anyone, but like every other mom I know, I value my "me" time, because I don't get very much of it, and I need to relax and unwind just as much as any parent. And I consider a trip to the salon highly coveted "me" time, so the last thing I want to see when I enter the salon is a baby, regardless of whose baby it is.

There is nothing we parents love more than making our kids do cute stuff. From wearing silly, ruffled, or furry outfits (I dressed my son as a pea pod once and it wasn't even Halloween) to making them pose with pets -- we just can't get enough. Which is why I completely, totally, and unquestionably understand why this dad makes his infant do a Tom Cruise a la Mission Impossible impersonation. Get ready for a ridiculous dose of cuteness!

Moms with new babies are known to get a LITTLE silly from time to time. It's all those late nights, early mornings, and baby love drunkenness, I guess. Seriously, is there anything more delirium-inducing than those early weeks with a brand new munchkin? I think not.

When I had a new baby, I was all about listening to music. I rocked her to Amy Winehouse and lullaby CDs. I held her and listened to the radio and nursed her while listening to Nina Simone. And the more we did this, the more I started to realize that every dang song was about her!

Seriously, how many songs have "baby" in them? To me, it seemed like they all did. And they were all about me. And my baby! Even the dirty lyrics were suddenly not dirty at all. "Come, baby come baby baby come, come" is much cuter when you think it's about a crawling child, is it not? With that in mind, here are 8 other songs about "babies" that aren't really about babies at all:

InnoTab 2 BabyThis morning I opened my email to find exciting news! The first-ever tablet specially designed for babies is out for the holidays, and it's selling for the low, low price of nearly 90 bucks. Glory, glory, hallelujah! Another piece of crap babies don't really need to lure parents into the baby commerce trap!

Moms! Dads! You're going to need to learn the following phrase once your kid hits the toddler years anyway, so listen up: just because it's there doesn't mean you need it.

Hayrides, apple picking, pumpkin picking, trick or treating! Fall is all about the outdoor activities -- as it should be; autumn's weather is delightful. But, sometimes, when you have a new baby (hi!), you really don't feel like bundling yourself and your little one up and going outside. Sometimes, you just want to stay inside where it's warm and toasty.

But staying in doesn't mean boring. No, friend, not at all. Staying indoors can be the perfect fall activity when you have kids. Here are five ways to have quality family time without leaving home.

Call me a naive new mom, but when a friend told me you're actually allowed to bring your children into the voting booth with you, I was mildly stunned. It hadn't even occurred to me to drag my baby with me to the polls when I vote for President on Election Day. I couldn't picture waiting in that long line with the poor girl, who at 11 months is very squirmy and itching to crawl everywhere, then pushing her stroller into the cramped booth, pulling the curtain closed (we cast votes behind dark curtains here in New York), and yanking the rickety old lever once I'd ticked off my picks. My guess is it would scare her, there would be tears (but enough about me), and we'd come away from the electoral experience a hot mother-daughter mess.

That said, plenty of moms -- and dads! -- don't have the choice of leaving their kids at home because they have no one to watch them. For many parents, it comes down to bringing the children to the polls or not voting at all.

Even Tinker Bell can't believe these costumesAh, fall. You can hear the crunch of the leaves. You can smell the apple cider being pressed. And you can see the absolutely ridiculous Halloween costumes people are pulling out for their babies.

I just don't get it. There are hundreds of adorable options for parents out there, and still, every year there has to be at least one idiot in the neighborhood who decides to dress their infant like Christian Grey ... or worse. 

Think you've seen some really bad baby costumes? Just you wait. We've got some of the worst.