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ParentGaf OT: Birth, Bib and Beyond

MikeRahl

Member
Last Update (I promise): My sister had her third CT scan today and they're moving her from the ICU down to the high risk maternity area. The brain bleed was smaller than it was yesterday and they've taken her off the super powerful pain drugs and down to Percocet. Because they did a contrast CT scan she had to take something and wasn't able to breastfeed so she's been pumping, so far her milk hasn't come in which is normal considering everything that's going on. I've been able to provide breastmilk though so I'm pretty happy about that, getting to be useful. I got to see her last night and she was really out of it, the drugs and she was exhausted, it was shocking at first but once I got use to it, she didn't seem as bad as I had imagined.
I'm concerned how she's going to cope emotionally once she's actually able to think again. She really wanted a home birth and everything she didn't want to happen did, if her milk continues to be an issue it might make things worse. She's normally pretty logical but she's hormonal so I don't know how she's going to react. No one in the family is going to bring up the fact that none of this would have happened if she'd gone to a doctor, we'll probably give her a few months/years before we let her know how terrified we all were.
The 15th was easily the worst day of my life, which only says good things about my life, but I feel like I've aged ten years. I want to be home with my husband, but I don't want to leave until she's at home, also not looking forward to another 12 hour car ride.

Just quoting the last update but this whole scenario is terrifying.

My wife and I had a midwife and we chose to do a water birth not at the hospital. We were essentially fear mongered into reconsidering not having our baby at the hospital and told exactly what kind of things could happen if we weren't at the hospital.

Not giving birth at the hospital was only an option for a 'low-risk' birth which was constantly monitored until the moment came. When my wife was in labor baby's heart-rate was as a little bit high and that almost sent us to the hospital. Something like 2 weeks overdue and adding 100 lbs definitely does not point to low risk in my opinion. And the midwife giving herbs... I don't even know what to think about that.
 

MikeRahl

Member
Yeah, it was supposed to be a low risk birth, but...
I asked my sister if she'd seen the midwife since all of this happened and apparently she visited them at their home. She basically told my sister that it was her bodies fault that all that happened to her, that there was no way for her (midwife) to have been prepared for what happened. My sister has accepted that answer, which I find complete bullshit. I have no idea how my sister is coping emotionally, I've talked to her a few times, but apart from the normal newborn exhaustion I haven't noticed anything. The family hasn't let her know just how furious we are at the midwife and have just tried to be as calm and supportive as possible. I've told her I'm here if she needs to talk, but she tends to internalize her emotions and doesn't share, at least not with family. Because of the seizures she doesn't remember the birth at all so I honestly don't know if she realized just how close she came to dying.
She got her first bill in the mail from the EMT's for the ambulance ride, it was $1200, she's hoping her insurance will cover some of that. She's got a $4k out of pocket family maximum and I told her more than likely she's going to end up having to pay the full $4k. What's infuriating, for me, is she paid the midwife somewhere around $2k or more at the very beginning for this whole thing and none of that will go towards her out of pocket.

This is just baffling to me. I am guessing midwives are more regulated where I am compared to where you are.

We had I think... 4 home visits postpartum in the first 2 weeks, and then weekly visits at their office for the next 4.

Our midwife, while obviously not a doctor was trained in a few diagnostic tools for mom and baby. One of the main points they went over was that there is only so much they can do when things start going sideways because they aren't a doctor at the hospital and it would obviously take time to get there in case of an emergency. That and the fact they can only go up to Nitrous when dealing with the pain.

I would think that the total weight gain, plus being 2 weeks over due, PLUS an irregular pattern of BP would be enough to move the needle off low-risk but who knows.

Stories like this are why I think I get a sidelong glance whenever I mention we used a midwife sometimes!
 

Grug

Member
Man, I had the best of intentions to be a high functioning dad and raise my kid right but fuck it's hard to know if you're doing a good job or not. Parenting websites are so insanely ideological about everything and have ridiculously different metrics and fundamentals of how to raise a kid so it's so hard to ensure you're measuring up.

For context my boy is a couple of weeks short of 18 months. I've also had a couple of beers on a worknight (which is normally not something I do) so I am feeling a bit introspective.

I'll give one example of a topic that's worrying me with no clear way for me to know what's genuinely ideal/normal/abnormal.

FOOD

... Jesus is this hard! When he first started eating solids at like 4 months I was blown away about how he'd try everything but people were like "Lol just wait!" and they were right.. he's so goddamn fussy with stuff now. And people are like "ÿou just have to keep putting things in front of them and be relaxed and calm about it etc..." man, I've tried. But 98 percent of times when I try to give him something like carrots, pumpkin, salad, etc he just recoils and gets really upset if I calmly but clearly try to encourage him to try it and ends up crying his eyes out and will just get more and more worked up. I hate seeing him like that. So over time, without me realising it as it happened, he has basically conditioned and trained us to feed him the food he wants to eat all the time. Does that make sense to anyone else here?

I'll give an example of what a typical day of consumption is like for him (as we have become trained)

Breakfast:
200mls of full cream milk
Half a slice of peanut butter on toast

Lunch:
Sandwich (multigrain bread) - vegemite or honey
- boiled egg or some sliced ham
- water

Snacks throughout day:
One of those Babybel cheese things
Banana
Kid's Yoghurt
One of these fruit bar things
Air-popped popcorn (lightly salted)
Water

Dinner:
This is where the fun begins. I will cook a whole wide range of reasonably "balanced meals" (i.e. a protein, green vegetables, and a carb like potato or pasta) but he will basically show interest in the carbiest thing there (he would eat fries all day if he could) and basically ignores the rest, except for maybe the meat.
- maybe a fruit cocktail if he wont eat anything else
Then 200mls of milk again before bed

Like I said, I had originally planned to be way more elite about this stuff but I feel like slid into this type of food pattern.

So according to various parent websites the presumed reaction to my situation would generally fall into 3 categories...

- "Dude, stop worrying - you're doing great - things will totally get better, it's a phase etc"
- The seemingly rational scientific approach: "hmm, watch the sugar levels on those snacks... and maybe a bit less sodium"
- The terrifying: "How can you give your child that processed crap. That is disgusting. White bread is the devil. Enjoy them getting Type 2 Diabetes!"

GAF feels like family to me, and I'd much rather here some thoughts from those on here.

Where are you guys at with your kids and food? Would also love the hear what changes people witnessed with their kids and food over time - are there phases or do I need to change shit up in a hurry?
 

MikeRahl

Member
My daughter is 16 months and has always been pretty reasonable with food. That being said, it is very stressful for my wife so I am the head food giver.

Breakfast is typically buttered toast + some kind of fruit. This goes through phases but Mango, Blueberries, Strawberries, Oranges, Apples, Bears, Kiwi's and Bananas have all been a hit, but they go through their lulls as well. On weekends or when I have a lot of time on a weekday will be panckes (sometimes chocolate chips) or eggs.

Lunch is leftovers from the previous day. Not always up to date on what daycare gives her for snacks but I don't hear many complaints.

Snack when she gets home is another fruit and cheerios.

Supper is whatever we eat. What you mentioned with carbs is very true. Potatoes are always good, rice and pasta also work. The last couple months she has been using cutlery which makes a huge mess but is adorable.

There has been a few things that she hasn't been too keen on (most veggies honestly, and chili last night) but if she will eat it given enough time, or if I look like I am having lots of fun eating it.
 
He says, "I eat the A-hole, dada." You sure did, bud. You sure did.

*This* is parenting success, haha.

Our food "system" is informed from the experience of good friends with a child with a very odd relationship with food due to being born with Hirschsprung's disease.

1) They eat whatever we're eating, modulo spiciness. No notion of a separate kids meal exists.
2) We don't fight about food at the table, beyond asking that they try something and showing it's okay not to eat it if they don't like it. I will break this rule by indulging in some privilege shaming because my wife is an amazing cook (I'm not bad myself) and I'll remind them of this occasionally.
3) We don't provide an alternative meal if they don't like it. They can be hungry, whatever.
4) There is no extrinsic reward, e.g. dessert. We only do dessert once a week, and it's a part of the meal so it's provided regardless of them completing their main portion. As they've become older, this has morphed into them making the dessert themselves occasionally.

Your listed food intake sounds fine to me outside of the possible sugar bomb in the kids yogurt (in US it's like that, maybe .au is better), but whatever, not a big deal. Lots of protein and fat, some fiber, looks like a good mix to me.
 
Hello, rookie parents!

I'm here if you have any questions as I have raised 3 children that are now 17, 22 and 25. I like to say that this is the only job that you don't if you did well until after you retire. But ask away, I'm ere to help.
 
Grug, you're doing just fine, really. A lot of this parenting gig seems to be just surviving (you, not the baby, though that's probably a must too), and to still strive for something balanced and healthy after work/lack of sleep/the demoralizing affair that is your child refusing everything you spend your precious free time preparing for them is GOLD territory.

I try for a bit of every group when I sit her down for a meal, but some days she just wants Mom's lamb Saag and other times nothing at all but hummus. It's hard after having such success when they're baby-babies (like yours, mine would eat EVERYTHING back then), but I think as long as you're trying to work some veg in there and keep the processed stuff/sugar to a minimum, then you're doing good. Kid's alive and doesn't have scurvy, right? :D Don't be too hard on yourself.

I do think some basic rules like Briareos are good to have. We also don't do 'reward' food (yet), and if she's not eating what I've made her, I don't go crazy trying to prepare alternatives. When she's older we'll be doing the 'she eats whatever we're eating thing' too.


Exposure to food is part of the process, even if they don't eat. Don't feel like you're failing because he won't try everything you put in front of him. Let him play with the food, feel its texture, smell it, hear what sound it makes when it falls or collides with something. Around 18 months we would mold food into face or letter shapes for Logan, and that relaxed him if he was feeling too pressured to eat it. It also lead to some fun situations. Once we were out at dinner with some friends, and I made an "A" with sweet potato fries. He laughed, and scooped the top part into his mouth. He says, "I eat the A-hole, dada." You sure did, bud. You sure did.

Yesssssssssssss.
 
Yeah, I'm in the same boat as you guys regarding feeding. Sometimes we can trick him, where we put something he likes right up to his mouth but then sneak in something else. Of course, once he catches on, he accepts nothing for the rest of the meal.
 

theaface

Member
Hey ParentGaf. It's been a while since I posted, so thought I'd check in.

Sullivan turned 4 months old today, and he's just a little joy. Of course he has his fussy moments and it's not to say being parents isn't challenging but man, the rewards far outweigh any hardships. He laughs all of the time and every day seems to become more and more interested in the world around him.

We recently went on our first family holiday to Cyprus (from the UK) and he was as good as gold the whole time. He also seems to be fairly happy in his own room now. A little way to go to nail the sleep patterns, but at least his habits now aren't that bad and are very predictable.

So yeah, one third of a year down (too quickly) and can't wait to see what's next.

jqBaEGU.jpg

How are the other January babies doing?
 

Grug

Member
Thanks for the food related advice. Trying to relax a little bit more about it.

I did get Charlie to eat carrot last night so that was a win.
 

Grug

Member
Hey ParentGaf. It's been a while since I posted, so thought I'd check in.

Sullivan turned 4 months old today, and he's just a little joy. Of course he has his fussy moments and it's not to say being parents isn't challenging but man, the rewards far outweigh any hardships. He laughs all of the time and every day seems to become more and more interested in the world around him.

We recently went on our first family holiday to Cyprus (from the UK) and he was as good as gold the whole time. He also seems to be fairly happy in his own room now. A little way to go to nail the sleep patterns, but at least his habits now aren't that bad and are very predictable.

So yeah, one third of a year down (too quickly) and can't wait to see what's next.



How are the other January babies doing?

Charming little fellow. :)

I bet that little chin gets pinched by a lot of people. :p
 

JoeNut

Member
Hey ParentGaf. It's been a while since I posted, so thought I'd check in.

Sullivan turned 4 months old today, and he's just a little joy. Of course he has his fussy moments and it's not to say being parents isn't challenging but man, the rewards far outweigh any hardships. He laughs all of the time and every day seems to become more and more interested in the world around him.

We recently went on our first family holiday to Cyprus (from the UK) and he was as good as gold the whole time. He also seems to be fairly happy in his own room now. A little way to go to nail the sleep patterns, but at least his habits now aren't that bad and are very predictable.

So yeah, one third of a year down (too quickly) and can't wait to see what's next.

How are the other January babies doing?

Hey, glad it's going well, and you've braved a holiday already!!

Leo is great, we're really lucky too that he's sleeping in his own room (since last week) and more or less sleeps through 7 till 7, sometimes wanting a feed at 2ish.
He's a right little fatty now, and makes me laugh every day with the little things he does.
 
I somehow just discovered this thread for the first time.

Our due date is June 4th, but I think she'll be coming a little early because we stay active. Can't wait to join the ranks!
 
I have a ? Due november 29th, still a ways to go but am excited and sure to be visiting this thread often :)


Wife wants a nuna stroller but everyones got an uppababy, any reason for this? We are wondering if its because uppababy can hold two seats but nuna can only do one? Can anyone comment about this? Thanks!
 

zbarron

Member
We just had the ultrasound gender reveal today. I'm having a boy! Please give me some raising a boy advice GAF.

When you go to change them and their dicks get exposed to air it triggers a reflex for them to start pissing. Put a wipe over them unless you want to get pissed on.

The rest is pretty easy. Congrats by the way.
 
Yesterday, I discovered my daughter is well on her way to being a prohibition-era gangster, albeit with homemade slime instead of liquor.

She's literally smuggling it into school inside a hollowed-out book to sell during lunch.
 

JoeNut

Member
We just had the ultrasound gender reveal today. I'm having a boy! Please give me some raising a boy advice GAF.

congrats!

my favourite boy specific product is the peepee teepee, a little fabric cone you put over their junk so they don't pee on you, as you change the nappy you slip it over, and it seems to either stop him doing it, or at least stop it going all over me

https://www.amazon.co.uk/d/kbe/Peep...coding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=HNQF4RP88FYRRWXF78SS

They're great.
 

theaface

Member
I somehow just discovered this thread for the first time.

Our due date is June 4th, but I think she'll be coming a little early because we stay active. Can't wait to join the ranks!

Congrats!

We just had the ultrasound gender reveal today. I'm having a boy! Please give me some raising a boy advice GAF.

And more congrats! Mine's only 4 months old so not much gender-specific advice to offer yet other than watch out for rogue pee going everywhere. It'll happen and you'll laugh, covered in pee.


Today is a special day for me as it was one year ago exactly that we found out we were expecting after a fairly long fertility struggle. Sully's always felt like a miracle but it seems especially poignant today on the anniversary of depression and despair turning to nervous, cautious euphoria. The past 12 months seems to have absolutely flown by and there hasn't been a day since we found out that we haven't felt so fortunate for having the gift of our little man.

To anyone who's experienced fertility issues or is currently, my thoughts are with you. You're not alone and it's ok to not be ok.
 
Hey parenting GAF! I will soon join you, my first child is due this saturday! While my GF is chilled af, I am on the edge the last few weeks...
 

ColdPizza

Banned
Anyone else have a stubborn kid when it comes to bottle to sippy cup transition? My 20 month old son refuses sippy cups so we decided to go the cold turkey route. The standoff is on Day 8. He gets most of his fluids now from fruits, and occasional milk from a spoon with cereal. But other than that he hasn't actually sat down to take more than 1 sip from a sippy cup.
 
Anyone else have a stubborn kid when it comes to bottle to sippy cup transition? My 20 month old son refuses sippy cups so we decided to go the cold turkey route. The standoff is on Day 8. He gets most of his fluids now from fruits, and occasional milk from a spoon with cereal. But other than that he hasn't actually sat down to take more than 1 sip from a sippy cup.

Maybe take him out and let him pick his own? We did that with my son and it worked
 

zbarron

Member
We're going through it right now. We kind of skipped most sippy cups and are going straight to ones with straws. He can drink out of a juice box, though it's not something we want to do often. Our biggest problem is most of the straw sippy cups have a valve in the straw so it doesn't leak when he turns it upside down. That added resistance is confusing him since he can't get the milk like he could get the juice so he gets frustrated and gives up. I'm probably going to take a drill bit to the valve tonight.

Edit: Drill bit alone did not cut it, but after using my blow torch on the drill bit until it was red hot I was able to melt the plastic and make a hole. I washed it thoroughly and now he's drinking from it.
 

emag

Member
Anyone else have a stubborn kid when it comes to bottle to sippy cup transition? My 20 month old son refuses sippy cups so we decided to go the cold turkey route. The standoff is on Day 8. He gets most of his fluids now from fruits, and occasional milk from a spoon with cereal. But other than that he hasn't actually sat down to take more than 1 sip from a sippy cup.

Have you tried offering regular (kid sized) cups? He might make a bit of a mess at first, but may just surprise you at how quickly he adjusts.
 

ColdPizza

Banned
Have you tried offering regular (kid sized) cups? He might make a bit of a mess at first, but may just surprise you at how quickly he adjusts.

Yup. Even Dixie cups. He will try it and then sort of just give up after a sip or so. He's just a tough nut to crack.
 
We're going through it right now. We kind of skipped most sippy cups and are going straight to ones with straws. He can drink out of a juice box, though it's not something we want to do often. Our biggest problem is most of the straw sippy cups have a valve in the straw so it doesn't leak when he turns it upside down. That added resistance is confusing him since he can't get the milk like he could get the juice so he gets frustrated and gives up. I'm probably going to take a drill bit to the valve tonight.

Edit: Drill bit alone did not cut it, but after using my blow torch on the drill bit until it was red hot I was able to melt the plastic and make a hole. I washed it thoroughly and now he's drinking from it.
We had an easier time with straw cups first, too. I think it's worth trying.
 
It was our noodle's 1st birthday yesterday. Where the fuck has the last year gone!?!!

I'll post a "then and now" piccie when I get home from work.
 

Media

Member
Anyone else have a stubborn kid when it comes to bottle to sippy cup transition? My 20 month old son refuses sippy cups so we decided to go the cold turkey route. The standoff is on Day 8. He gets most of his fluids now from fruits, and occasional milk from a spoon with cereal. But other than that he hasn't actually sat down to take more than 1 sip from a sippy cup.

I had one of those, and found these sippy cups that had soft, nipple like nubs for the sipping part, worked wonders. Then transitioned her to the hard plastic kind.

I don't know of they make those anymore it's been like 6 years...
 

The Kid

Member
Hi ParentGaf! My wife and I are expecting our first child, a boy, in early August. I am anxiously awaiting the kid and am hoping that he does not inherit my huge head for my wife's sake.

Reading this thread has been a huge relief for me. Not only are my wife and I the first to have a kid in both of our immediate families, we are almost the first among our close non-work friends to do so. So having a community like this to vent and ask a bunch of questions will be a great help. I look forward to posting a bunch!
 
Uh anyone else have to deal with night terrors? For the past three weeks my daughter has regularly been waking up a couple hours after going to sleep and with inconsolable crying and screaming. It was pretty freaky the first couple times.
 

kswiston

Member
About 3 weeks ago, I got to experience that first time as a parent when your kid seriously hurts herself. My 3-year old daughter tripped face first into the edge of my parent's coffee table, splitting her eyebrow open.

It required four stitches, and I think I lost a few weeks of lifespan, but she is fine now. Kids heal amazingly fast. The stitches were out in 4 days, and the steri-strips about a week after that. The cut is already a pink scar, with no traces of scabs or anything else. It follows the upper contour of her eyebrow, so hopefully it is not all that noticeable when it fades.
 
Uh anyone else have to deal with night terrors? For the past three weeks my daughter has regularly been waking up a couple hours after going to sleep and with inconsolable crying and screaming. It was pretty freaky the first couple times.

I had this problem with my daughter for a little bit and it led us to buying this: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B012CG961I/?tag=neogaf0e-20

It turns on when enough noise is made and it would almost instantly calm her down when it turned on. She's past it now and only wakes up crying once in awhile these days. Might be worth a try if she keeps waking you up every night.
 

JoeNut

Member
Henry had his 4 month check up today. He's 17lbs, 12oz 26.5 inches long. He's in the 89th percentile in weight and the 95th in height. He's a big boy. His testicle has dropped so that's good. He also surprised us on Mother's Day with his first tooth, the second one is trying to push its way out too. The doctor says he's doing everything he can to be a six month old, he's already hitting most of those milestones too. It kind of makes me sad.
My daughter has been doing a little better this last week. There for a time she was pitching fits almost hourly, it was exhausting, but she seems to have settled down and we get about one a day. Pre-school is almost out for her and then we'll see about letting her stay with the grandparents for a time. That will be interesting if we end up doing it, just having Henry at home.

Having two kids is a ton of work and the best way I can describe how difficult it is, is with these stories.

Both kids were relatively chill so my husband decided to go lift weights he told our daughter when he got back they'd go get hot dogs. I changed Henry's diaper as my daughter ran to her room in protest over daddy leaving. She wasn't pitching a fit and didn't seem to be destroying anything so I let her go. I put Henry into his jumperoo as I started to straighten up some of my her mess, I planned on leaving part of it so that she could finish cleaning up before she went to bed. As I was putting away her figures I heard my son poop and I told him I'd change his diaper as soon as I was done. I finished picking up her blocks and putting the container away and went to grab my son. Lifting him out of the jumperoo I noticed too late that he had poop dripping off his foot and onto the carpet. One side of the seat was bright yellow where his diaper had leaked. Racing him to his room, trying to not let anymore drip but also not let it touch me I noticed my daughter standing in the middle of her room with her shirt off and she screamed at me she didn't want hot dogs as I rushed past to his room.

Another story would be from earlier today. Sometimes Henry prefers to have short meals frequently and today has been like that. He was fussing, starting to cry, because he was hungry even though I'd literally fed him less than an hour ago. I had just sat down to feed him when I hear a thump and my daughter start to cry. I immediately put him down and go to her, she's in the hallway between their rooms trying to crawl to me as she cries over being hurt. I pick her up and take her to her bed to make sure she's fine, she is, but I comfort her untilshe calms down. All the while Henry gets madder and madder and is screaming for me to come feed him.

Sometimes it's like being torn in two and I can feel like neither child is getting my best. Other times it can be pretty awesome when he's playing on the floor and she goes to show him the picture she drew of him.

Kids man.

I'm sure it's fulfilling but this is exactly why i won't have another - i don't think i or my Mrs would cope with this at all.
You must be very patient!!
 
Well, hello there fellow gaming parents. My little one is now 3 months old and what better way to celebrate than joining a forum!

We are trying to establish a sleep pattern for her. Which means missing social events and each other's company. Hopefully not forever.

We start at 8, all electronics off, bath, change and feed but she currently won't sleep in her cot. So my wife co sleeps with me on the couch. I miss my bed!Once the routine in established we plan on trying to move her into the cot.
 

Grug

Member
GAF, it's happening! Her waters broke 1,5hours ago. We're getting ready for the hospital right now! Excited (and a little bit scared)!

God speed! I wish I could live the first few days all over again. It's absolutely magic.

The doctors and midwives will be doing their thing on autopilot, Your job is to listen to your partner and advocate for her needs. Everything will be fine though.
 
So, this morning, I was listening to the new Invisibilia, and there was a story about a toddler who was killed in a car accident. Normally, before I became a parent, I would probably have had a "damn, that sucks" reaction and moved on, but today I heard that and started thinking about my son, and I almost teared up (which would have been bad on the freeway).

Like, damn, it's like an emotional switch was secretly flipped.
 
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