Support NeoGAF

[matt360]

Hey Gaffers, my wife and I had our first kid on January 31st. We are in Japan and her labor was insane. Over 60 hours of contractions and they refused to induce. It was a private birthing clinic but I didn't realize how much of a naturalistic approach they take. My wife specifically chose that place based on her research though.

I've been in Japan for most of my adult life so I'm more familiar with the way they do things here more so than I am with the way they do things in the states, but all of my family back home were fucking flipping out when I was giving them the play by play. "Why aren't they inducing!?" "They're letting her eat even though her water broke?!" "Why don't they just do a C-section?!" It was pretty nerve wracking. My wife was an absolute champ though. And my wife and little dude are both just fine.

Maybe we are being karmically rewarded for the hard labor, because our son barely cries. We actually have to go and wake him up at night for his feedings most of the time. If we don't he'll sleep straight from 10pm to 6am. He mostly cries during bath time or when we change his clothes in the morning, but even then it's mostly just whimpers. I feel incredibly lucky in that regard.

 

[mrkgoo]

Hey Gaffers, my wife and I had our first kid on January 31st. We are in Japan and her labor was insane. Over 60 hours of contractions and they refused to induce. It was a private birthing clinic but I didn't realize how much of a naturalistic approach they take. My wife specifically chose that place based on her research though.

I've been in Japan for most of my adult life so I'm more familiar with the way they do things here more so than I am with the way they do things in the states, but all of my family back home were fucking flipping out when I was giving them the play by play. "Why aren't they inducing!?" "They're letting her eat even though her water broke?!" "Why don't they just do a C-section?!" It was pretty nerve wracking. My wife was an absolute champ though. And my wife and little dude are both just fine.

Maybe we are being karmically rewarded for the hard labor, because our son barely cries. We actually have to go and wake him up at night for his feedings most of the time. If we don't he'll sleep straight from 10pm to 6am. He mostly cries during bath time or when we change his clothes in the morning, but even then it's mostly just whimpers. I feel incredibly lucky in that regard.

Congrats!

Don't count your blessings just yet though. Babies constantly change, and suddenly without warning. It freaks you out because maybe something iS wrong. Maybe nothing.

 

[Deleted member 17706]

Maybe we are being karmically rewarded for the hard labor, because our son barely cries. We actually have to go and wake him up at night for his feedings most of the time. If we don't he'll sleep straight from 10pm to 6am. He mostly cries during bath time or when we change his clothes in the morning, but even then it's mostly just whimpers. I feel incredibly lucky in that regard.

Congratulations on the birth!

Don't take those conveniences as a blessing, as they may actually be problems. I don't want to get you worried over nothing, which it most likely is, but definitely mention behavior that you weren't expecting to your pediatrician when you see them just in case it's cause for concern.

 

[statham]

Hey Gaffers, my wife and I had our first kid on January 31st. We are in Japan and her labor was insane. Over 60 hours of contractions and they refused to induce. It was a private birthing clinic but I didn't realize how much of a naturalistic approach they take. My wife specifically chose that place based on her research though.

I've been in Japan for most of my adult life so I'm more familiar with the way they do things here more so than I am with the way they do things in the states, but all of my family back home were fucking flipping out when I was giving them the play by play. "Why aren't they inducing!?" "They're letting her eat even though her water broke?!" "Why don't they just do a C-section?!" It was pretty nerve wracking. My wife was an absolute champ though. And my wife and little dude are both just fine.

Maybe we are being karmically rewarded for the hard labor, because our son barely cries. We actually have to go and wake him up at night for his feedings most of the time. If we don't he'll sleep straight from 10pm to 6am. He mostly cries during bath time or when we change his clothes in the morning, but even then it's mostly just whimpers. I feel incredibly lucky in that regard.

We had a midwife that wanted to induce a week before date, when actual date arrived, nurses started the inducement, but midwife never appeared until close to the end when we were having issues, said some nice words then disappeared again when we needed a doctor to clear some more drugs because of difficulty with inducement, luckily we found another doctor on another floor to give the okay and our son is alright, but we don't believe it was in best interest to induce a week early and for the midwife to be not present. The nurses were awesome tho, but whenever we have our second baby, that midwife will not be delivering.

 

[Mammoth Jones]

First time here as my wife and I just had our first child this past Tuesday. Healthy girl! Our second night home from the hospital and it seems every time I put her down in the bassinet she wakes up within 10 minutes crying. I know sleeping with her in our arms is a no-no. I'm wondering do I just keep trying until she stays sleep out or am I doing something wrong?

 

[mrkgoo]

First time here as my wife and I just had our first child this past Tuesday. Healthy girl! Our second night home from the hospital and it seems every time I put her down in the bassinet she wakes up within 10 minutes crying. I know sleeping with her in our arms is a no-no. I'm wondering do I just keep trying until she stays sleep out or am I doing something wrong?

Unfortunately there aren't any hard and fast rules. Every baby is different, and on top of that you have to find what you as parents are comfortable with.

Try different things, swaddling, singing, a little rocking (not TO sleep if you can help it, just to calm her down)...


But, congrats, it's the start of a long and possibly hard road, but rest assured you WILL find your place.

 

[Captain Tuttle]

First time here as my wife and I just had our first child this past Tuesday. Healthy girl! Our second night home from the hospital and it seems every time I put her down in the bassinet she wakes up within 10 minutes crying. I know sleeping with her in our arms is a no-no. I'm wondering do I just keep trying until she stays sleep out or am I doing something wrong?

Congratulations!

Are you swaddling? That was a big help for us

 

[Marky Mark]

Posting in this thread as I didn't realise it existed. Our son is 3m2w old and we're still feeling our way through new things as they arise. The hospital sent us home 5h after my wife gave birth and we've been pretty ok since then but I'm sure an easier start would have made things easier for us now as well.

I'll be back to this thread in due course now that I know it exists. I'm actually going to bed now because I'm too tired from the weekend. lol

 

[Mammoth Jones]

Unfortunately there aren't any hard and fast rules. Every baby is different, and on top of that you have to find what you as parents are comfortable with.

Try different things, swaddling, singing, a little rocking (not TO sleep if you can help it, just to calm her down)...


But, congrats, it's the start of a long and possibly hard road, but rest assured you WILL find your place.

Congratulations!

Are you swaddling? That was a big help for us

Thanks! Yea we're definitely going through some trial and error but it's fun so far. The swaddling absolutely helped. But I didn't like the cloth we initially tried with as it was a bit too loose.

But we had a swaddleme as a gift and it worked wonders.

 

[GillaTheGorilla]

Thanks! Yea we're definitely going through some trial and error but it's fun so far. The swaddling absolutely helped. But I didn't like the cloth we initially tried with as it was a bit too loose.

But we had a swaddleme as a gift and it worked wonders.

We found it was going from warm arms to a cold bed made our son cry, so we started keeping it warm with a water bottle before putting him down.

 

[Adam Prime]

You know, what;s crazy? I made this thread two years ago. Since that time... I've had another child!

I now have another daughter, she's going to be 2 months next week. Amazing this thread has kept going since the birth of my last child!

 

[Icefire1424]

Very cool, congrats man! I still can't get over the fact that my little one is now one herself.

And everything I've ever heard about the first year being the hardest? Absolutely true.

 

[kitch9]

Its terrible to see them in pain though, and we know for a fact that he has tummy trouble. He gets calm after passing gas but then its the same thing all over again. I've done numerous exercises with him during nappy change as well, from bicycling, to tummy massage to circling legs, and pushing them back (turning them into a ball position). It helps maybe 60% of the time. What I've come up with is more crazy. I turn him into a superman on my shoulder, move his legs inside and outside (from butt), rotate him sideways, move him up and down while doing so etc etc. All these gymnastics helped him burp as well as relieve gas.

The paedetrician is very matter of factly, clinical and non-chalant, which pisses me off greatly. Her thing is that babies are awesome and can take care of their internal systems without external help, and they only cry to seek attention when doing so. Well I'm sure there is a truth to that sentiment, but our guy is a helpless little ball of misery when its happening and without us intervening, we might as well be torturing him. If I tell her all the exercises I do to him in order to relieve his gas, she will kill me.

Waifu cut dairy, beans, pizza (which has gratuitous cheese) and red meat from the diet. It doesn't seem to make any difference. Like icefire mentioned, we are in the process of supplementing formula and see how that will turn out.

Edit: He does not like the taste of formula by the way, and loves drinking breast milk. It's just horrible to see him suffer for it.

Nature is cruel to babies but they eventually get over most things. Teething is a bitch and it's hard to pin down when it's happening. My lad used to arch his back and bring his knees up with it, we thought it was gas at one point.

They won't remember any of this don't forget it will be like it has never happened, the only people who suffer are us parents.

 

[Adam Prime]

Very cool, congrats man! I still can't get over the fact that my little one is now one herself.

And everything I've ever heard about the first year being the hardest? Absolutely true.

Nah, third year. Terrible threes. Ones and twos are great - they're so cute.

When they're 3 they learn how argue, be defiant, throw tantrums, etc. That's where you really have to buckle down and PARENT LIKE HELL. If you make it through teaching your kids it's NOT OKAY to whine to get what they want, they'll be great again ~5 years old. You'll notice a difference. Most parents give up parenting and cave in to their kids at 3 years old... you can't. It's the toughest year, follow through and everything you say and teach them like hell how to behave, reward them, punish them, etc.

You start to notice around Kindergarten who gave up on parenting their kids at 3, and who soldiered on.

 

[Icefire1424]

Nah, third year. Terrible threes. Ones and twos are great - they're so cute.

When they're 3 they learn how argue, be defiant, throw tantrums, etc. That's where you really have to buckle down and PARENT LIKE HELL. If you make it through teaching your kids it's NOT OKAY to whine to get what they want, they'll be great again ~5 years old. You'll notice a difference. Most parents give up parenting and cave in to their kids at 3 years old... you can't. It's the toughest year, follow through and everything you say and teach them like hell how to behave, reward them, punish them, etc.

You start to notice around Kindergarten who gave up on parenting their kids at 3, and who soldiered on.

Fun fact, I happen to be married to an elementary school teacher who is exceptionally talented at dealing with whiny kids. Hopefully her "experiences" within the classroom will translate well into being a parent, but we shall see.

And yes, they are particularly cute, but difficult from the perspective of us lacking sleep, lacking any freedom, and the feeling of being "alienated" from my wife throughout the first year. That was a tough hurdle to overcome. It became somewhat easier as she began to sleep better, knowing that when I put my daughter in her crib at night, most of the time we would get at least a few hours of rest, instead of wondering (and knowing) when the next awakening would occur, and whether or not we would get any sleep that night.

 

[Adam Prime]

Fun fact, I happen to be married to an elementary school teacher who is exceptionally talented at dealing with whiny kids. Hopefully her "experiences" within the classroom will translate well into being a parent, but we shall see.

My wife is a preschool teacher, and YES. Those skills are incredible. Basically you get good because you spend your whole day practicing on other kids, and you have your own kid to practice on. I am a middle school teacher, definitely helps there too. I use many of the same... "techniques" that I use on my own daughters (7 and 3, and now NB) on them and vice versa. After all, EVERY parent is a teacher.

And yes, they are particularly cute, but difficult from the perspective of us lacking sleep, lacking any freedom, and the feeling of being "alienated" from my wife throughout the first year. That was a tough hurdle to overcome. It became somewhat easier as she began to sleep better, knowing that when I put my daughter in her crib at night, most of the time we would get at least a few hours of rest, instead of wondering (and knowing) when the next awakening would occur, and whether or not we would get any sleep that night.

That's all true. Best advice: do whatever you can to set date nights. You and your wife need time away. My wife and I are going through it all as well. A newborn with two other younger kids, leaves us with little time alone. It does get better, eventually the baby sleeps in a crib and you get your time alone in the evening. Definitely take time to structure date nights.

 

[Icefire1424]

That's all true. Best advice: do whatever you can to set date nights. You and your wife need time away. My wife and I are going through it all as well. A newborn with two other younger kids, leaves us with little time alone. It does get better, eventually the baby sleeps in a crib and you get your time alone in the evening. Definitely take time to structure date nights.

Sound advice there, and so very important. Our particular case was made more difficult as we really don't have family in the immediate area that's able to help out, and the last six months have been incredibly difficult due to some unexpected health and personal issues within the family (a cancer diagnosis and a young family member becoming pregnant, surprise!). All that coupled with the challenges of us raising our fist child resulted in more than a few stressful moments, and admittedly, several occasions where I felt either unappreciated, undervalued or in some cases, neglected. Further proof of how absolutely vital communication is to maintain a relationship through moments like these.

 

[Adam Prime]

Sound advice there, and so very important. Our particular case was made more difficult as we really don't have family in the immediate area that's able to help out, and the last six months have been incredibly difficult due to some unexpected health and personal issues within the family (a cancer diagnosis and a young family member becoming pregnant, surprise!). All that coupled with the challenges of us raising our fist child resulted in more than a few stressful moments, and admittedly, several occasions where I felt either unappreciated, undervalued or in some cases, neglected. Further proof of how absolutely vital communication is to maintain a relationship through moments like these.

We don't have any immeidate family in the area either.

Not sure if you're a church-going person, but many churches offer "Parents Night Out" where it's drop-on babysitting, for FREE. I know my church does, and not just for members for ANYONE in the community. They just require you to sign up ahead of time. My wife and I take advantage of them every month.

 

[Icefire1424]

We don't have any immeidate family in the area either.

Not sure if you're a church-going person, but many churches offer "Parents Night Out" where it's drop-on babysitting, for FREE. I know my church does, and not just for members for ANYONE in the community. They just require you to sign up ahead of time. My wife and I take advantage of them every month.

Never thought of that, I'll have to check it out. We are fortunate to live in a pretty small neighborhood with quite a few children our daughters age, and have spoken with the neighbors about alternating babysitting once the kids get a bit older (couple across the street has a newborn and is still in the "nesting" phase) - so that's something we can likely take advantage of in the near future.

 

[BlackGoku03]

My daughter was born on the 7th, finally! We get to go home tomorrow. She's so beautiful and she looks just like a light skinned version of me, especially me as a baby.

It's so eerie to see myself in her. The first thing my wife said after delivering her was "she looks just like Fred!" It's one of the proudest moments in my life seeing her come into this world. Her name is Aria (I picked it too).

And the thread title wasn't kidding with the sleepless nights... 11pm to 5am is her prime time.

Here's one of many pics... I haven't edited any of the pictures I took with the Nikon and my Canon yet.

 

[statham]

My daughter was born on the 7th, finally! We get to go home tomorrow. She's so beautiful and she looks just like a light skinned version of me, especially me as a baby.

It's so eerie to see myself in her. The first thing my wife said after delivering her was "she looks just like Fred!" It's one of the proudest moments in my life seeing her come into this world. Her name is Aria (I picked it too).

And the thread title wasn't kidding with the sleepless nights... 11pm to 5am is her prime time.

Here's one of many pics... I haven't edited any of the pictures I took with the Nikon and my Canon yet.

Congrats! The next several months are going to fly by, take many pictures/movies.

 

[soepje]

Congrats BlackGoku!!

Congrats! The next several months are going to fly by, take many pictures/movies.

Man, people really aren't kidding when they say that! My little boy turned 7 weeks today, the changes he's made are crazy when i think about it. Smiling, he's 'talking' to us and he started rolling from his belly to back already !

 

[Icefire1424]

Congrats man!

 

[Adam Prime]

My daughter was born on the 7th, finally! We get to go home tomorrow. She's so beautiful and she looks just like a light skinned version of me, especially me as a baby.

It's so eerie to see myself in her. The first thing my wife said after delivering her was "she looks just like Fred!" It's one of the proudest moments in my life seeing her come into this world. Her name is Aria (I picked it too).

And the thread title wasn't kidding with the sleepless nights... 11pm to 5am is her prime time.

Here's one of many pics... I haven't edited any of the pictures I took with the Nikon and my Canon yet.

Congrats bro! In case you haven't already invested in a 3DS or Vita now's the perfect chance! I do lots of late night gaming sessions with my baby!!

What's really funny: With my middle child she was born 2 years ago and I played lots of DKC Returns with her laying on me. Two years later with this baby we've played a lot of DKC Tropical Freeze! I owe Retro Studios a thank you!

 

[BlackGoku03]

Congrats! The next several months are going to fly by, take many pictures/movies.

Thanks! I will. Photography is my side job/hobby so I'll be taking plenty of pics.

Congrats BlackGoku!!


Man, people really aren't kidding when they say that! My little boy turned 7 weeks today, the changes he's made are crazy when i think about it. Smiling, he's 'talking' to us and he started rolling from his belly to back already !

Can't wait for her to start smiling at us. We just got home 30 min ago and she's knocked out. We are soooo glad to be home.

Congrats bro! In case you haven't already invested in a 3DS or Vita now's the perfect chance! I do lots of late night gaming sessions with my baby!!

What's really funny: With my middle child she was born 2 years ago and I played lots of DKC Returns with her laying on me. Two years later with this baby we've played a lot of DKC Tropical Freeze! I owe Retro Studios a thank you!

Thanks! Yeah I've got a PSTV but I think I'll try playing the PS4 with one earbud so I don't wake her up. I'm going to have to refrain from my normal "fucks and shits" that I exclaim when gaming. That'll be a fun experience.

If the PS4 doesn't work out, I'll get a Vita.

 

[JaseMath]

New baby. Sleep is an issue. Need advice.

So...tired.

 

[dubc35]

New baby. Sleep is an issue. Need advice.

So...tired.

Congrats! The beginning is rough. You just have to get sleep when you can. The "sleep while they sleep" is great and all but I found I mostly was cleaning/prepping stuff while she was sleeping.

After a couple months my wife and I started rotating nights so at least every other night was a "completed" rest. This was after she was on a bottle so if she is nursing it may not be as easy to do. It gets better, hang in there!

 

[BFIB]

New baby. Sleep is an issue. Need advice.

So...tired.

Beginning is rough my friend. I wish I had better news. As others have said, you have to work together and set up a schedule. Their day/night cycle is reversed at first, so if your baby naps in the evening, then you nap. If you are bottle feeding, rotate shifts.

But don't worry, that stage doesn't last too long, but I can tell you now that my daughter is just over a year old now, you never truly get sleep like you used to.

 

[JaseMath]

Beginning is rough my friend. I wish I had better news. As others have said, you have to work together and set up a schedule. Their day/night cycle is reversed at first, so if your baby naps in the evening, then you nap. If you are bottle feeding, rotate shifts.

But don't worry, that stage doesn't last too long, but I can tell you now that my daughter is just over a year old now, you never truly get sleep like you used to.

My wife is nursing, so I can't help there, at least not yet (she is pumping). Half the time he cries because of gas or seemingly for no real reason...may try Mylicon to see if it helps.

 

[AkuMifune]

Oh hah, I'm here too. Two weeks in.

We have a 6-year old too. I thought I remembered all the tricks and that i was prepared for it. I was not prepared.

I've started drinking Monster after work just so I won't crash, it's terrible. She sleeps all day and fusses all night. Fine for mom, terrible for me.

 

[poppabk]

My wife and I would divide between easy and difficult. I would go in first, check/change diaper, feed, burp. If that didn't work, I would go back to bed and my wife would take over.
I actually found the later stages when they were sleeping through the night more difficult. When they woke up all the time my body was expecting it. When I was expecting a full nights sleep and instead my kids woke up at 3am and then 5am, that was a real struggle.

 

[Icefire1424]

Agreed that the first few weeks are particularly tough, but it doesn't last too long. Like dubc35 said, I got into the habit of using kiddo's naptime to clean up and organize, and probably did get less sleep as a result. Scary thing is after a couple weeks your body will actually become somewhat accustomed to broken sleep.

Either way, your kid's sleep duration overnight will get longer until one day your alarm will go off, and you will run to the nursery to make sure everything is okay. My little one is 13 months old now, and we've got a pretty good routine going now. She's usually asleep in her crib by 7-7:30, and we actually get a few hours to relax, watch some TV, or (gasp!) get some gametime in. She'll occasionally wake up overnight for a feeding still, but for the most part she'll stay in her crib until 6 or so the next morning. Hang in there, you'll get there soon.

Oh, and I noticed a significant improvement in her sleep around 6 months, then again around a year - definitely started sleeping better once solid foods were introduced, think it kept her fuller longer.

 

[AkuMifune]

Man, this baby is fussy. Her sister would go down to sleep and be out. I took it for granted I guess. This one wants to eat every two hours and has periods up to 3 hours long of fussing and grunting. Growth spurt? She's 3 weeks tomorrow.

Last night everyone was passed out except for her in her swing and me playing Witcher. Was the first time it looked like she was actually looking at the TV. I had to cover her eyes a few times.

 

[kitch9]

New baby. Sleep is an issue. Need advice.

So...tired.

This bits rough.

Be all normal in 5 years or so.

Not long.

 

[DJ_Lae]

Had our third last week - so far she's a relatively calm baby (which is a massive improvement from the first and about on par with the last) although she tested positive for hypothyroidism so that part is completely new. Will be crushing pills into breast milk for a while, then juice, until she can swallow them on her own and it'll continue for the rest of her life.

Just an adjustment to make, as it seems there are no complications so long as it's treated properly. And could be a lot worse.

It was also our first home birth and first water birth, which my wife wanted to try. We really enjoyed having the birth at home (easier as there were few relatives around to watch the kids) but the water birth was apparently nothing special, as my wife didn't enjoy being confined to the pool during labour. I didn't enjoy emptying the pool afterward.

Neither previous daughter had so much hair either.

 

[Dot Matrix]

Some of you may have seen my thread in the main OT section but for those who haven’t:

I have recently joined the ranks of the sleepless. Mrs Matrix gave birth to twin girls on the 28th April by an emergency caesarean. Her labour was so fast she went from waters breaking to 9cm dilated after only 20 minutes and 2 contractions. We only just made it to the operating theatre and they were born 15 minutes later.

They are now 5 weeks old and one of them is suffering quite badly with colic. Makes getting more than a few hours of sleep a night almost impossible, and those hours are never in a row. Apparently they grow out of colic after a few months so I guess we just have to power through to the end of the summer.

I took a month off on paternity leave but I’m back to work now. My work schedule is quite flexible so I can almost choose what days I work, but the days I do work are 12 hour shifts.

At what age do they start to go for more than 3 hours between feeding?



Autumn is on the right, Aria is on the left.

 

[Icefire1424]

Congrats Matrix, your girls are beautiful! Sounds like labor was a particularly, erm..."exciting" ordeal for you guys, glad to hear everyone is doing well. And yes, get used to broken, interrupted sleep for awhile. It's pretty tough, but I promise it does get better. Keep telling yourself to take things one day at a time, and you guys will get through it.

At what age do they start to go for more than 3 hours between feeding?

From what I understand, it varies widely. I've heard stories of newborns who sleep through the night without feedings right out of Hospital, and some who are on a three hour (or even more frequent) feeding schedule 24 hours a day for up to their first year. For us, it seemed we hit milestones almost every three months. From the day she was born until about 3 months old, two to three wakings overnight for a feeding was common. From three to six months it seemed one or two wakings was the average, six to nine months she maybe woke once, and at around a year (and especially after she started eating more solids), she rarely awoke overnight for a feeding.

Our daughter is now at 14 months and starting to establish a more "regular" feeding routine - breakfast around 6:30, snack around 9, lunch at noon, another snack at 2:30 - 3pm, and supper around 6pm. She still takes a 6oz bottle of supplemental formula before bed to make sure she's getting everything she needs nutrition wise, but she has fallen into that routine well.

Remember that a newborns stomach is tiny! Can't really hold much, but you'll be amazed how fast they are able to take in more food. Mothers milk and formula is also very easy to digest, so tends to not keep them full as long either.

 

[Joba62x]

Hi parents! Thanks for keeping the species going.

I need some help with a gift for my niece who is turning 1 year old. What was the toy or object that was the biggest hit with your child? Something semi-educational would be nice, she is standing and walking 5-6 feet at times, she has at least 3 teeth and lives in Miami.


She has a little white teething Giraffe from France that she loves, something like that fun and functional but for a 1 year old. Thanks for the help.

 

[Icefire1424]

Hi parents! Thanks for keeping the species going.

I need some help with a gift for my niece who is turning 1 year old. What was the toy or object that was the biggest hit with your child? Something semi-educational would be nice, she is standing and walking 5-6 feet at times, she has at least 3 teeth and lives in Miami.


She has a little white teething Giraffe from France that she loves, something like that fun and functional but for a 1 year old. Thanks for the help.

I have a 16 month old daughter, and she absolutely loves this Fisher Price dog...thing.

http://www.amazon.com/Fisher-Price-Laugh-Learn-Love-Play/dp/B00AJE1CY0/ref=pd_sim_21_5?ie=UTF8&refRID=0Z40QEJ56FXT6BYEQ4H8

Plays music, counts, sings the alphabet, stuff like that.

She is also a fan of this ball popper toy:

http://www.amazon.com/Playskool-Busy-Ball-Popper-Pink/dp/B002B555RU/ref=sr_1_1?s=toys-and-games&ie=UTF8&qid=1438088206&sr=1-1&keywords=ball+popper+toy

 

[AndyD]

Ditto on the ball popper. Our twins love theirs even now at 2. They figured out how to block the vent so it shoots the balls about 6 feet away so they use it as a mini cannon.

Also they love the Lettersaurus: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00RYWHH3K/?tag=neogaf0e-20

 

[mrkgoo]

Beautiful kids, matrix. Congrats!

 

[AndyD]

At what age do they start to go for more than 3 hours between feeding?



Autumn is on the right, Aria is on the left.

Congrats Matrix. Missed the announcement.

With our twins they started eating every 4-5 hours around 10-12 weeks, so that we slept the night in two chunks divided by one feeding. Ate at 8, bedtime, woke at 12-1 to eat, back in bed til 5-6 and morning. Then my 4-5 months they slept through the night without eating so it was incredibly amazing. That said everyone we have talked to says the timing is dependent on their weight. Essentially once their stomachs are big and mature enough to hold enough food to last them through the night, that's when it will happen regardless of age.

 

[Mr. Luchador]

We're expecting our first child in January - what do we need? I mean we're looking at all this stuff and there's a ton of it, but what do we actually need?

 

[Soulfire]

.

 

[Mr. Luchador]

WebMD has a pretty comprehensive list and lets you know what's essential and what's just nice to have.
http://www.webmd.com/baby/guide/what-to-buy-pregnancy

Were you looking for anything in particular? Recommendations on stuff?

Yeah, I'm UK based, but I'm sure that list can help. We're looking at buggies/pushchairs/prams, etc and have no idea what we're actually looking for other than 'will it fit in the boot'.

 

[phisheep]

We're expecting our first child in January - what do we need? I mean we're looking at all this stuff and there's a ton of it, but what do we actually need?

You really don't need very much at all. We did exactly the same as all first-time parents and bought way too much stuff, most of which turned out to be completely unnecessary. Second and third time round was much easier.

Absolute essentials to start with:
- nappies of some sort and a big pot of Sudocreem (you'll probably get a box of these given to you anyway)
- a proper car seat with a carry handle
- a few babygros and a couple of blankets
- one of those babysling things, or maybe two just in case
- more kitchen towels and babywipes than you can possibly imagine
- make sure your washing machine is working, you will use it a lot

... and that is basically it.

The car seat doubles up as a day cot. Don't bother buying one that slots into a buggy, because by the time you need a buggy it is way easier to leave the car seat in the car. You don't need to babyproof the house until he/she/it can move around and the best time to do that is after the baby is born so you can chat to the baby while doing it.

Feeding is basically the baby's call. Breastfeeding is best and easiest if the baby/wife take to it, and besides, you get loads of free formula to start with. If and only if breastfeeding don't work do you need to do the bottle thing.

Strollers/cribs/cots etc can wait. January is a long time away, and except for the essentials above everything else can wait. Most of it can wait forever, because babies just love cardboard boxes to play with.

You absolutely DO NOT need swank nurseries, toys, prams etc.

What you absolutely DO NEED is a load of time and attention. And that's difficult. Having a baby is like being invaded by a friendly intelligent life form that you do not (yet) know how to communicate with. You make the effort, baby makes the effort back and everything works out fine.

You absolutely do not need to stock up on stuff now.

WebMD has a pretty comprehensive list and lets you know what's essential and what's just nice to have.

Do not read this list! Or, if you do, cross off it everything that can't be bought at a day or two's notice IF you need it.

 

[Mr. Luchador]

Thanks Phisheep!

We had a little stroll around Mothercare this Evening and looked at Prams, as my Wife's Mother has claimed that as her gift. I didn't like the feel of the 3 wheel prams (2 big wheels at back, with 2 small central wheels), they felt sluggish to push and turn. Blown away by the prices on them though. WOW.

 

[phisheep]

Thanks Phisheep!

We had a little stroll around Mothercare this Evening and looked at Prams, as my Wife's Mother has claimed that as her gift. I didn't like the feel of the 3 wheel prams (2 big wheels at back, with 2 small central wheels), they felt sluggish to push and turn. Blown away by the prices on them though. WOW.

They are horribly expensive for sure.

Whatever you get, get something that folds up. And something that fits through shop doors.

Yeah, I know all the arguments - it's sturdy/stylish/will survive a collision with a volvo truck etc - but actually babies don't need all that sturdiness. They will quite happily sit in any cheapo fold-up stroller you can find. And as for being run over by a volvo truck ... well, you wouldn't survive it so what's the baby going to do if you don't, huh?

Chill out, relax, there's nothing that you need to get now AT ALL.

But if people do insist on buying you things like prams, make sure you try them for real first. Go up to people in the street with babies in prams and ask them how they find the pram (they'll appreciate that, for a change, you asked about the pram rather than the baby in it!), ask if you can try it out. Try getting onto a bus with it (with the mother's permission of course). You'll soon find out which way is up.

The big-rear-wheels thing is easy enough to do - it works more like a hospital trolley than like a Sainsbury's trolley. Fine once you get the hang of it.

Oh, and get one where the baby can face backwards to see you. You are the parent and the baby *wants* to see you! Get a reversible one if you must.

 

[Mr. Luchador]

We had a little trip around Mothercare and played with some prams/buggies and there really is no difference between a £200 one and £800 one - at least from what I can tell. The only requirements I have currently are:

4 wheels
Bar for one hand driving
Cup Holder

 

[Icefire1424]

The only suggestion I can impart from my experience is to "try out" the strollers before you buy, including breaking them down, setting 'em back up, and ensuring the weight and size is appropriate. We ended up replacing our first stroller after 16 months, opting for one that was lighter, and takes up significantly less room (which proved to be pretty essential when we had to load up the car).

We ended up going for a Britax as it met all of our requirements, and my wife (who's pretty little - 4'11") found it much easier to move around. It's also pretty nice that the thing doesn't take up the entire trunk of our car when it's broken down, as our other did.

https://us.britax.com/strollers/b-agile-3/