Maybe visual aids aren't that bad after all, Abajian thought in reconsidering her earlier parental snobbery. But she soon discovered it wasn't easy to find something she felt good about letting her son, Adam, and later, his little sister, Ani, watch.

"I didn't want to put them in front of the TV just for the sake of it," the Fresno woman said.

Now Abajian has teamed up with sister-in-law Laureen Mgrdichian, a new mother of triplets, and, with the help of their husbands, they created a video called "Calm Baby."

The video is being sold on Amazon.com and Fig Garden Bookstore, and it could be distributed nationally by the end of the year. It retails for $14.95 and includes an audio CD.

The couples are getting praise for their effort. They received a big boost this month when Parenting magazine endorsed the video.

Parenting's Bruce Kluger, who recommends only seven of the hundreds of videos he receives each month, described it as "a perfect blend of brain stimulation and chill-out viewing" for babies.

From his home in New York, Kluger said it's difficult to find videos for the newborn-to-18-month-old category. (The creators of "Calm Baby" recommend it for children up to 36 months.) These parents have come up "with the perfect images and perfect sounds to help parents but not replace them" in their efforts to soothe their babies, he said.

The 30-minute video features visuals of simple, brightly colored toys, including a yellow duck hand puppet and blue and green water wheel. It is replete with relaxing water sights and sounds. The video is set to music, ranging from traditional nursery rhymes to classical composers such as Johann Sebastian Bach.

The title is the first clue that the new parents were seeking some quiet time when they set out on their creative journey two years ago. Mgrdichian and her husband, Tom, were first-time parents of triplets -- Jenna, Alyse and Sam -- and Abajian and her husband, Paul, were getting accustomed to life with first child, Adam, now 3.

Abajian said she and her sister-in-law wanted to create a video that would captivate and calm their babies or, at the very least, soothe them for a short time so their moms could relax or take a shower.

The women say they saw an opportunity because most children's videos are directed at toddlers or preschoolers, not small babies.

Deciding to make a video wasn't all that far-fetched. "We have the talent in our family to do it," Abajian said.

Paul Abajian produces commercials and corporate videos. Tom Mgrdichian is a composer and arranger who has worked on several Hollywood films, most recently, Adam Sandler's film, "Mr. Deeds." Ann Abajian and Laureen Mgrdichian have backgrounds in marketing.

The couples were living in the Los Angeles area when they began work on the video. The Abajians have since moved back to Fresno, where Ann Abajian was raised.

With Tom Mgrdichian between movies, the couples began poring over ideas. Some worked, some didn't.

There were no fancy production gimmicks, no computer-generated effects; straight camera shots were used, he said. The production took about eight months. The husbands also composed two original songs for the video.

The reactions of their children were instrumental in helping the parents decide what worked. The toughest part was getting the children to understand they couldn't play with the new toys because they were for the video shoot.

Laureen Mgrdichian said the husbands enjoyed the family project. "Even though they were working, it was fun for them ... kind of a release for them to shoot waterfalls and toys."

The families invested between $15,000 to $25,000 on the video, mostly for packaging and marketing. They created a Web site called calmbaby.tv to promote the video.

And recently, they signed agreements with two major distributors -- Tapeworm and Fast Forward Marketing -- to get the video on store shelves in the next few months.

About 1,000 copies of "Calm Baby" have been produced so far, and an estimated 100 have been sold.

Jean Shore, owner of Fig Garden Bookstore said she has sold at least a dozen videos and expects more sales as people hear about it.

The bookstore doesn't sell many videos, but Shore opted to take a chance and stock it.

"I felt it was good enough to be displayed in my store and wanted to support a local product," she said.

The families hope the first video is successful enough to help jump-start an entire "Calm Baby" series of videos.

Laureen Mgrdichian said the hope is for "Calm Baby" to become a successful business venture. At the very least, said the mother of triplets, "We would love to have their college education paid for."

The reporter can be reached at tcorrea@fresnobee.com or 441-6378.