Parental Thread

[!Aznboi128]

Originally Posted by AzNightmare

Anyone have ear protection headphones for their babies?
I bought one from Amazon the other day, but found the headband so tight, I didn't even want to put it on my baby. I'm worried it may deform his head since it's still so soft.

Do you think that's a legit concern or if there's some good ones out there that you recommend?

I had a set of Banz for my kid but he didn't really like them. We got it for our plane ride but he fell asleep without them anyways sooooo waste of time/money.

[Eff-1]

Has anyone taken a long flight with an enfant? I'm looking at the possibilty of a 6 or 7 hr flight with a 1 year old who is restless AF generally speaking. Wondering how I'm going to survive and keep him calm, entertained and not wanting to crawl around the cabin.

[inv4zn]

1 year old, I've never done it, but you really have no control if they cry or not. Altitude and cabin pressure can hurt their ears, at which point they'll cry - because they're only 1.

The good thing is at 1 they also sleep more, so if timing works out and you can get them to fall asleep (bottle, booby, etc.) then it'll be ok.

Good luck, lol

[Eff-1]

Thanks. Booked it last night. I'm admittedly super anxious about this lol. 6 hrs one way, 7 hrs on the return.

He's not the best daytime napper. And a very fussy eater. Perfect combo. lol.

At least the return will cross over into his bedtime with a 5pm departure. But the outbound flight is an 830am departure which is going to absolutely destroy his morning routine with naps etc.

[inv4zn]

Originally Posted by Eff-1

Thanks. Booked it last night. I'm admittedly super anxious about this lol. 6 hrs one way, 7 hrs on the return.

He's not the best daytime napper. And a very fussy eater. Perfect combo. lol.

At least the return will cross over into his bedtime with a 5pm departure. But the outbound flight is an 830am departure which is going to absolutely destroy his morning routine with naps etc.

So we took our 2.5 year on an 11 hour flight last year.

She cried a bit not because she was uncomfortable, but because we told her she had to sleep and stop watching TV lol. I didn't want to piss off other passengers so I took her to the back of the plane in the galley and lulled her to sleep. At least it's far from most passengers and the flight attendants didn't care as long as seat belt sign isn't on.

I know a bunch of people that took infants on long haul flights, and the stories range from never again to it was better than I thought.

I think because babies also read off of parents a lot at that age, if you're acting all anxious and strange then it'll make them more fussy. If you kinda play it cool and let the kid do its own thing for a bit then there's a better chance of success. You're still going to be tired AF at the end of it though lol

[supafamous]

It's been spring break for my kid's daycare this week and while it was great to spend so much time with her I also can't wait for her to go back to school. Bike camp, Science World, Aquarium, Maplewood Farms, Granville Island, etc. I'm exhausted. I should have just parked her in front of the TV on a couple of the days.

[Tapioca]

My wife and I spent the weekend in Southern California, which was our first multi-evening/airplane vacation away from our kids since we became parents almost 8 years ago.

It was awesome - we had a great time just being spontaenous like we were in our early 30s and we also really missed our kids by the end of the weekend. As there are so many parents with younger kids/toddlers/babies in this thread, it does get better.

[EvoFire]

I don't think my wife can be away from the kids for more than 24 hours. At least not both of us away. She was gonna have an anxiety attack when she was at the hospital giving birth to the second one, and again when she was at the hospital for 4 days when the little one got RSV.

It'll be a long time before we can leave the kids behind for some alone time.

[JqC]

Originally Posted by 320icar

I think what I find most frustrating is that it feels like it takes away my ability to help, you know? My wife works hard and more hours than I do (manager life y0) so I do a lot of the cooking/cleaning etc and all the physical stuff like dog walks and whatever. But if I’m home and she finally comes in the door, I don’t want her to get screamed at by a toddler to have a diaper changed

I’ll ask him 10x if it’s okay if I can do it, if I can give him a bath etc. I just feel bad for my wife.

It does get way better soon. Especially as their independence takes off around kindergarten.
My wife and I actually miss the days when our boys needed us to do all the dumb little things for them like change their diaper or get them their water bottle off the counter lol.

Also, the following perspective might help.
Sometimes we'd remind ourselves that boys will naturally bond a bit easier with dad cause of similar interests (sports, video games, cars). My wife and I are really seeing it take place now because they're now so much more interested sports or whatever, and they already know that I'm more enthusiastic or knowledgeable about certain topics going through their little minds.
Once this phase where it's always "mommy mommy mommy" passes, you might find yourselves missing it as well. Friends years ago shared this perspective with us, and it did help me personally when I also felt like my sons didn't want anything to do with me at all lol.

[JqC]

Where do you all go on for childless getaways?
Our 10-year anniversary is later this year, so we've been thinking about finally going somewhere without kids. It's been so long, we don't even know where to go or what to do. Not sure if we can even pull it off , we've never spent more than half a day away from them together.

[hud 91gt]

Originally Posted by Eff-1

Has anyone taken a long flight with an enfant? I'm looking at the possibilty of a 6 or 7 hr flight with a 1 year old who is restless AF generally speaking. Wondering how I'm going to survive and keep him calm, entertained and not wanting to crawl around the cabin.

We travelled with our 6 month old to Mexico (5 hours) a few months back. He’s bottle fed only, but purely breast milk so the pumping to go along with the travelling added a lot of complexity (not to mention the Mexican water!).

Be prepared. Bring toys for the kid in the plane. You’ve likely got a pretty regimented nap schedule already, but at least make it not happen during boarding/deplaning. Get them to suck on a bottle, soother etc during climb/descent for their ears. Try and get a little more space. Go for the “premium” seats with an extra inch or two. You’ll need it!

Flight home was a late night departure. Planned a terminal nap walking in the stroller, but he wouldn’t go down. The first couple hours were “delightful” (sarcasm engage) despite being bedtime. Luckily the flight was smooth and just soothed/rocked him walking up and down the aisle for a couple hours. Past out for the rest. Had compliments from passengers afterwards. Lol!

I’m pretty good at “airport”ing. But we were short time on our initial departure due to check in lines (despite going waaaay early). Tried to squeeze in a feeding (he’s a pain in the arse to feed, and a pump for my wife didn’t happen). Just don’t stress, they really do feed off of you.

I didn’t let him crawl until we got home from vacation… which basiclly happened the next day. So can’t help you there… but the movement is a whole other problem. Bring a blanket so they can move around on the floor. Trust me, the carpets are gross. Lol

[blkgsr]

my wife is pregant and due at the end of aug.

her mom is planning a family trip over christmas. looks like it's going to be costa rica. should be fun with a 4 month old

[EvoFire]

So we are planning a cruise to San Diego in the end of Sept with Royal Carribbean.
The itinerary is as following.
Vancouver -> Victoria -> Seattle -> Astoria -> LA -> San Diego
Then we plan to stay in San Diego for a few days to see the zoo and stuff then fly back. We are going to haul our car seats to either rent a car or Turo in San Diego. Taxi and Uber is kind of out of the question with car seats.

We'll be hauling our then 4yr old and 9 month old. Anything we should be aware of? Anything special we should bring? We've never been on a cruise before.

[Mikoyan]

Originally Posted by blkgsr

my wife is pregant and due at the end of aug.

her mom is planning a family trip over christmas. looks like it's going to be costa rica. should be fun with a 4 month old

At that age, it's not too bad as they're in the eat/sleep/poop phase still. They're not mobile at all. We flew with a 4 mth old to Florida for my wife's conference. I took the kid on my own to Legoland and the Kennedy Space Center. We did Disneyworld after.

Originally Posted by EvoFire

So we are planning a cruise to San Diego in the end of Sept with Royal Carribbean.
The itinerary is as following.
Vancouver -> Victoria -> Seattle -> Astoria -> LA -> San Diego
Then we plan to stay in San Diego for a few days to see the zoo and stuff then fly back. We are going to haul our car seats to either rent a car or Turo in San Diego. Taxi and Uber is kind of out of the question with car seats.

We'll be hauling our then 4yr old and 9 month old. Anything we should be aware of? Anything special we should bring? We've never been on a cruise before.

Cruise ships aren't really equipped for severe medical issues with under 1s. We did Vancouver to Hawaii and had to leave the 8 month old with grandparents as we were going to be more than 500mi from land. It was in the fine print, likely to do with medical evacuation. I guess they aren't set up for With you going down the coast it won't be an issue. Kiddie meds, for pediatric emergencies. Formula and diapers. Kiddie gravol for nausea just in case.

[Eff-1]

Originally Posted by hud 91gt

We travelled with our 6 month old to Mexico (5 hours) a few months back. He’s bottle fed only, but purely breast milk so the pumping to go along with the travelling added a lot of complexity (not to mention the Mexican water!).

Be prepared. Bring toys for the kid in the plane. You’ve likely got a pretty regimented nap schedule already, but at least make it not happen during boarding/deplaning. Get them to suck on a bottle, soother etc during climb/descent for their ears. Try and get a little more space. Go for the “premium” seats with an extra inch or two. You’ll need it!

Flight home was a late night departure. Planned a terminal nap walking in the stroller, but he wouldn’t go down. The first couple hours were “delightful” (sarcasm engage) despite being bedtime. Luckily the flight was smooth and just soothed/rocked him walking up and down the aisle for a couple hours. Past out for the rest. Had compliments from passengers afterwards. Lol!

I’m pretty good at “airport”ing. But we were short time on our initial departure due to check in lines (despite going waaaay early). Tried to squeeze in a feeding (he’s a pain in the arse to feed, and a pump for my wife didn’t happen). Just don’t stress, they really do feed off of you.

I didn’t let him crawl until we got home from vacation… which basiclly happened the next day. So can’t help you there… but the movement is a whole other problem. Bring a blanket so they can move around on the floor. Trust me, the carpets are gross. Lol

Great advice. Where in Mexico? We are going to Cancun.

We have some new toys picked out and some videos downloaded. We are going to lean hard on Ms Rachel to keep him entertained. But yeah, trying to keep him from wanting to crawl the whole cabin is going to be a mighty struggle haha.

[Eff-1]

Originally Posted by EvoFire

So we are planning a cruise to San Diego in the end of Sept with Royal Carribbean.
The itinerary is as following.
Vancouver -> Victoria -> Seattle -> Astoria -> LA -> San Diego
Then we plan to stay in San Diego for a few days to see the zoo and stuff then fly back. We are going to haul our car seats to either rent a car or Turo in San Diego. Taxi and Uber is kind of out of the question with car seats.

We'll be hauling our then 4yr old and 9 month old. Anything we should be aware of? Anything special we should bring? We've never been on a cruise before.

We talked about doing a cruise with our 1 year old but decided against it because his bedtime is around 7 or 8pm, meaning we'd be stuck in our cabin while he sleeps and would be missing out all the evening activities and shows.

So I guess my best advice is bring something to keep yourselves occupied in the evenings after the kids are in bed. The cabins are tiny (unless you booked a large suite) so just plan for that as well. There is a TV in the cabins but the signal sometimes when you're out at sea is choppy and the channels are limited, so plan on having your own downloaded entertainment.

Bring EVERYTHING. Don't assume you'll be able to buy missing items on board like diapers. They might have it, but maybe not the kind you like, or the size you need, etc.

When it comes to eating, cruise lines are pretty good if you tell them your needs in advance (i.e. high chair, booster seat, allergies, kids menu etc)

If you use a car rental agency, you can add a car seat to your rental. Save yourself from bringing your own.

If you use Turo, remember that ICBC won't cover you. You have to buy the Turo insurance and check with your credit card for any coverage.

If you are bringing the car seats, pack them well! Get a travel bag. The cargo handlers won't treat it kindly.

If the 9 month old still qualifies and isn't too big and can't sit up on his/her own, you can request the bulkhead seat and bassinet from the airline. If not, you'll have him/her on your lap the entire flight. If you choose to book an additional seat for the enfant to give yourself more space, Air Canada requires you bring the car seat into the cabin and strap him/her into it. Check with your airline.

[supafamous]

As I understand it if I'm traveling with a child under 5 years of ago airlines have to seat at least 1 parent with them - how does that work when you're booking tickets? Can I buy the ticket that doesn't have seat selection then? Does it seat both parents with the kid or do I have to do seat selection for one of the seats? Does it vary by airlines?

I'm looking at flights to Sydney and the price difference for picking a seat is substantial ($250 each way) with most airlines.

[inv4zn]

Originally Posted by supafamous

As I understand it if I'm traveling with a child under 5 years of ago airlines have to seat at least 1 parent with them - how does that work when you're booking tickets? Can I buy the ticket that doesn't have seat selection then? Does it seat both parents with the kid or do I have to do seat selection for one of the seats? Does it vary by airlines?

I'm looking at flights to Sydney and the price difference for picking a seat is substantial ($250 each way) with most airlines.

Generally you should book, and then immediately call the airline. This is one of those things that isn't worth winging it.

All those stories you see about parents being separated from children, is 99% due to poor planning with a sprinkling of entitlement. Call and confirm, then call a few days later to confirm again.

[Eff-1]

I personally wouldn't risk it and pay for the confirmed seats. That's just me.

The CTA policy is children under 5 must be seated next to their parent.

But if the flight is full and the airline isn't able to shuffle other people around, you'll be hooped.

I'd just pay for the peace of mind and then you can choose a row near the front for example, or a window, or whatever you want.

[Hakkaboy]

I went on a trip recently flying on Westjet using Costco Travel. Not sure if their costs include the extra charge for picking a seat or not, but I was able to pick the seats for free.

When picking seats, it looks like they charged extra for parent seats being closer to the front, but for the kids tickets it was free. Not that I paid extra just to sit closer to the front or anything, but just what I found

[blkgsr]

do you guys not try to get the bulkheads when flying with babies? isn't there a basinet attachment? maybe just on longer flights?


now the next question, talk to me about vasectomies. i'm only having one kid and don't want some idiot chopping in my dick area. Dr Pollock still the guy?

[Gumby]

Originally Posted by blkgsr

do you guys not try to get the bulkheads when flying with babies? isn't there a basinet attachment? maybe just on longer flights?


now the next question, talk to me about vasectomies. i'm only having one kid and don't want some idiot chopping in my dick area. Dr Pollock still the guy?

Pollock is still the guy... With that said, don't rush into it. Your kid isn't even born yet! I'd wait until they are a bit older, make sure they are healthy, etc. before considering a vasectomy.

[Liquid_o2]

Speaking of traveling. We are taking our kids on their first road trip to Kelowna next week. 6 months old. We have no idea how they will react to sleeping outside of their cribs and in a different environment. We have two pack-and-plays for them to sleep in that we will be hauling with us.

Any tips to make the transition go smoothly?

[JqC]

Originally Posted by blkgsr

do you guys not try to get the bulkheads when flying with babies? isn't there a basinet attachment? maybe just on longer flights?


now the next question, talk to me about vasectomies. i'm only having one kid and don't want some idiot chopping in my dick area. Dr Pollock still the guy?

Dr Pollock doesn't bill to MSP, so you'll be paying out of pocket.
My GP initially referred me to him, but when I realized that I'd have to pay out of pocket, I went back to my GP and asked him to refer me to a urologist that would bill to MSP.
Longer wait to get it done that way, but I was in no rush. Ended up paying $0, vs close to $1000 (probably more now) if I gone to Pollock.

[inv4zn]

Originally Posted by Liquid_o2

Speaking of traveling. We are taking our kids on their first road trip to Kelowna next week. 6 months old. We have no idea how they will react to sleeping outside of their cribs and in a different environment. We have two pack-and-plays for them to sleep in that we will be hauling with us.

Any tips to make the transition go smoothly?

Unless you're unlucky enough to hit a sleep regression, and they're decent sleepers, you'll be fine.

Kids that young are dumb (lol), and will adapt very easily. I found it's the 1~2 year mark where it gets tough.