Thread: Baby Tech Talk

Cloth diapers, yes if you have a service.
No bottles, what a time waste. Your kids are small and need to nurse for such a short time(a year isn't that long when you consider the benefits, it's your child) nursing only is the best, cheapest and easiest way.
When the infant is small just take it to bed with you, your wife will learn to nurse while nearly asleep, everyone will get more rest and be happier. Your kid wants to be with you.
Do everything for your wife, cleaning, cooking, laundry and going to the store, everything to make up for the time she needs to spend with your child.
A year and a half will be gone before you know it and your kid will be happy well adjusted and you will have the satisfaction of knowing that you did a great job and made the sacrifice to be a great parent.
And no, I'm not a hippy, I just hate the commercialization of babies. You don't need any of the crap. A simple blanket on the floor and a couple toys and some face time are all you need. Carry the baby everywhere instead of using a stroller, use a sling, baby bjorn or backpack when they get older. Strollers are a pain in my opinion.
People make it way more complicated than it needs to be and this adds stress for everyone.

My 2 1/2 year old is on metal edged skis with bindings now, but last year at 1 1/2 we bought a pair of those plastic skis with strap bindings, lets you use snow boots with them. They had scales on the bottom, so actually cross country skis. But she got used to having skis strapped to her feet and could walk around in them. Sometimes she'd do 15 minutes at at time, sometimes 15 seconds. As soon as she got fussy and wanted them off, we took them off.

A few weeks ago, she said "I want to ski, it will may you happy" Uh oh

aaronwright - read about co-sleeping but not so sure i want to try it. there are cons to it as well. main one - me crushing my baby. i don't want a house full of "baby crap" but my wife is tiny and there is no way she'll be able to carry that baby everywhere, all the time. i plan on carrying him whenever i'm around but that won't be all the time. we want a stroller.

detrusor - good call on the post partum massage.

Had one in September last year. Jury's out though as she looks a bit like my neighbor. Anyway, haven't read any responses so apologies if this is repetitive.

Buy/ask for 6-12 month clothes sooner than later. Everyone gives you the small shit and your kid is in and out of it before you know it. They can always wear something bigger but wont fit into something too small.

I am SURE someone mentioned alcohol. Get some. Lots of some. If your lady plans on breast feeding, it can also help her milk come in.

Don't let them play in their crib. We had a co-sleeper next to the bed for the first X months where she slept and then tossed her in the crib to play once in awhile with the mobile overhead. When we transitioned her to the crib to sleep, no dice. Just wanted to play. And as far as co-sleeping goes, we had one of these and it was awesome. Kid has own space but is close.

Once they strap on a few months, some sort of bouncing apparatus. Mine loves those things.

In-laws: set some boundaries early. Nothing worse than grandma who constantly tells you how you MUST do this or MUST do that. Kids are resilient and they are yours. Take what makes intuitive sense and leave the rest.

Buy more alcohol in case you run out.

Babies cry when they should be sleeping. They do this because they're assholes.

Learn to let them sleep when they should be sleeping, even if that means a few minutes of crying before they write you off as an uncaring, neglectful sack of shit parent and just go to sleep.

Originally Posted by nobueno

aaronwright - read about co-sleeping but not so sure i want to try it. there are cons to it as well. main one - me crushing my baby. i don't want a house full of "baby crap" but my wife is tiny and there is no way she'll be able to carry that baby everywhere, all the time. i plan on carrying him whenever i'm around but that won't be all the time. we want a stroller.

detrusor - good call on the post partum massage.

you won't crush the baby, instinct won't allow it. Just don't get stinking drunk, if you do sleep on the couch or guest bed.
My wife is tiny 5' 1" 100#, she carried the kids everywhere in a Mayan Sling and I used a back pack or the sling at home. Women are sturdier than you think. I'd carry them when they were infants while cooking, they like the contact.
I don't judge people who use all the gadgets, I just think it makes it complicated and is unnatural.

Just relax, breath, and you will sort it out..Little g is now 17 months and through chance, luck, and some good parenting she is doing great. You will drop them, you will not sleep, you will cry, you will drink, but in the end you just end up doing great things that making you a father. The main thing is to enjoy! Kids feed off you so try and chill and it will all work out.

On a side get one of those spongy bath things and do some research on the cloth vs. Disposable debate.

All 3 of our slept in the bed with us so Mrs. Cruiser could nurse. After the first baby we got rid of the queen and bought a king. That ended up being one of the best single purchases we ever made. Don't worry about crushing the baby man. After the first few weeks you'll be so tired that you won't move a muscle in your sleep any more.

The trick is getting them into their own bed once it is time to ween them. We're not big "cry it out" believers (though we're not afraid to let them go for several minutes at a time when it's warranted), and we had a fairly difficult time getting the older 2 into their own beds. That said they never ask to sleep with us any more at 5 and 3 so I guess we're good to go there. But it was fairly tedious to get them used to sleeping through the night in their own beds after they were so used to sleeping in ours.

we sorta co sleep. on the weekends, my wife brings him em to lay down nurse and lets him sleep with us. it is kind of nervewracking but i haven;t crushed him yet.

though we kept the pack and play in our room so thats where he slept until he outgrew the bassinet part

Originally Posted by wooley12

Wish I had read this with ours. It works.

http://www.happiestbaby.com/

Hell yeah.

A swing is invaluable. Battery powered, plays music, keeps baby asleep.

Sleep sheep.

Originally Posted by Beyond

Specifically on breast feeding, he'll be OK with a bottle once in a while if he's already accustomed to the breast. But if you start bottles too early, he'll reject the breast as too much effort; his buccinator muscles won't develop enough to handle the real deal. Some of this is about patience; young infants tend to reduce sucking or just doze off at the breast when they're only about half full, so someone will have to keep them going, or they'll be awake in 45 minutes for another sip. At 3 am that's a PITA. With a bottle, they'll get more faster, which you like and they learn to like, but it'll reduce their interest in the breast. The other side of it is that as long as your wife uses a pump, you can freeze the milk for at least 6 months. But women start to decline in milk volume if they go for more than 16-24 hours without nursing or using a pump, so keep that in mind.

every kid is different. Our kid had a bottle in the first few minutes of her life. Low blood sugar and mom was still in the OR. She breast fed and bottle fed from day one. We managed. Still, waiting till baby has developed a good latch before introducing the bottle is a great idea.

Another tip: amazon mom. Get discounts on baby stuff and prime shipping included. We use amazon a lot, having stuff show up on your door 2 days after ordering is great, no tax and free shipping.

Use a condom. Even if she's on the pill.

Originally Posted by AaronWright

...
I don't judge people who use all the gadgets, I just think it makes it complicated and is unnatural.

I judge you for being a hippy, hippy.

Originally Posted by Hugh Conway

Use a condom. Even if she's on the pill.

Dude, where have you been? This thread has been around for like nearly four days?!?!?

Planned to go military style, but the little guy talked me out of the plywood bed

We have three strollers from our purchases and friends.
- bugaboo like stroller called a Uppababy vista - super nice and we use it a lot, works well on trails and everything else. Negatives: long jogs, airplanes, weak arms, small trunk space, and high price, but I think it's worth the price tag. comes with a lot of extras that we use(d) and carries all our stuff on urban hikes and walks. I like to drag this beast around for our use. The price to value on the bugaboo wasn't there.
- old school 3 wheel jogging "ironman" stroller - awesome for jogging but not much else.
- umbrella style stroller - use for trips, going with friends and to give to our folks while watching the kid

I would at a minimum get a bob/jogging style and an umbrella style stroller.

Car seats will be a common big ticket purchase.

Our second hand high chair has crannies that easily collect food so if you are buying, look at a close to seamless version and one with a couple replaceable tops/trays so one can be cleaned while the other is in use.

Costco for diapers and clothes among other vitals.

We were super paranoid the first week or so about the whole feeding thing as we didn't think he was getting the concept and enough food, but he figured it out. We are lucky in that our guy has slept 12-14 hour night since he was only a few months old I fully expect #2 to be a case though.

My little dude was born 3 days ago hence the being awake at 330am. I think i am going to appreciate my iPad a whole lot more these coming months.

If anyone is in the market, IKEA has very functional cheap highchairs. We had a monstrosity for the first 2 babies and then got rid of it and bought a nice cheap IKEA model. It's every bit as functional but it's much more compact and easy to clean up.

It been a long time ago but I really liked having kids in a good baby back pack as soon as they were post snuggly sized, even in a shopping center it was nice not having to geal with a stroller and kids really like being up that high where they can see everything

I would forget they were back there and then they would pull stuff off the shelves if i got too close to one

This thread is awesome. i got a baby on the way due in mid july and feel pretty clueless (been pretty self absorbed with a shattered leg -and hoping I can walk by the time the baby is born).
My wife and mother in law have been pretty shocked and impressed the past couple days as I discuss the pros and cons of boppy pillows and cloth diapers, etc. with them. Pretty funny to see their draw drop as I feign expertise in this stuff. Definitely scoring some points.

By the way - isn't beer good for milk production? -something to do with the hops... just another reason to keep the fridge stacked.

Originally Posted by himavan

This thread is awesome. i got a baby on the way due in mid july and feel pretty clueless (been pretty self absorbed with a shattered leg -and hoping I can walk by the time the baby is born).
My wife and mother in law have been pretty shocked and impressed the past couple days as I discuss the pros and cons of boppy pillows and cloth diapers, etc. with them. Pretty funny to see their draw drop as I feign expertise in this stuff. Definitely scoring some points.

By the way - isn't beer good for milk production? -something to do with the hops... just another reason to keep the fridge stacked.

Congrats. My understanding is the British recommended pregnant and nursing women drink the odd Guinness during WW2 because of iron and nutrients it provides!

I just told people during my wife's pregnancy I was drinking for two

Originally Posted by Poz

My little dude was born 3 days ago hence the being awake at 330am. I think i am going to appreciate my iPad a whole lot more these coming months.

In a week or two he'll be flipping through your IPad screens like a pro.

Originally Posted by himavan

By the way - isn't beer good for milk production? -something to do with the hops... just another reason to keep the fridge stacked.

See my post above. Not sure if it was correlation or causation, but my wife's milk just wasn't coming in and she was getting pretty frantic. Our neighbor, a certified lactation specialist stopped by with a six pack midday. By 6pm, the milk arrived. And I went to the store to get more beer.

Originally Posted by himavan

... Pretty funny to see their draw drop as I feign expertise in this stuff...

thinking you meant to say "jaw" or "jaws" but draw(s) is perhaps an interesting freudian slip?

Another quick tip. If your wife is going back to work or you just want a little more freedom and want to avoid formula you'll need a pump. They're expensive but you can usually get insurance to pay for it if it's considered necessary (the kid isn't into the boob yet). Befriend a nurse and even if everything is going smoothly they'll probably vouch for you so insurance pays.

yeah, meant 'jaws' not 'draws'. Not sure i'd want to see my mother-in-law with her panties down...and a threesome with her would be pretty weird. But then again, that could be interesting.