Parental Thread
 

I think it's about time we have one of these here as we're all growing up (at least some of us) we have little ones running/crawling around let's share some of our best practices and help each other out.

I'm currently looking for a better video monitoring device. Purchased an Angel care before my kid was born and now that I'm using it I just find the viewing angle to suck. I have to find a way to mount it far enough away from him to see the entire crib.

Good thread, I was thinking about this lately. My boys 8.5m and when walking around yesterday, I realized he has never seen another baby.

If you were a dog owner and never socialized your puppy or went to the dog park, you’d be a horrible dog owner. So how do you think I feel being a new parent :(

With the way the pandemic has been, there is very little we can do about that.

My kid has not been going to daycare, and I keep thinking that the little person is just going to turn into an anti-social dumb dumb going forward. FailFish

For Aznboi128, have you considered just moving the crib into your bedroom next to your bed? That's what we ultimately ended up doing, and it was much easier than having to get up, go to the baby's room, try to pacify the little person, and go back to our own room to sleep. I swear these little guys have a 24/7 proximity sensor that triggers the crying / screaming mode as soon as you walk out of his room. But at least that's better than the not-carry-him-anymore sensor... FailFish

My dog doesn't like other dogs so... it's perfect LOL but I hear ya

We've been letting him nap in his own room lately and its been working well. The wife would like to help build that independence. Besides I don't have much space within the master for his bed lol.

We're using this one because vtec yo.
https://www.amazon.ca/VTech-VM3252-2...y%2C232&sr=1-4
It works pretty well, multiple angles so we can see if shes burying her face.

Any suggestions on baby nail clippers? We got a rotary type but its difficult to get into the corners of those little fingers. She keeps scratching her face so we really gotta keep on top of it.

Get or make some baby mittens. It doesn't have to be anything fancy at all. In the simplest form, it can literally be a tiny little rounded soft cloth bag with an elastic sewed around the opening to loosely hold it in place over her hand.

We have those but shes now starting to suck on her fingers a lot so its gets damp and smelly.

Socks dude, that’s what we use. But he rips them off fast (anything in his hands, he’s good with em) I gotta slip socks on his hands for diaper change time. He knows he has nuts and all he wants to do is grab em lol.

Apple doesn’t fall far from the tree

This the monitor we've got, it has a few minor annoyances but overall it's been solid: https://www.londondrugs.com/vtech-di.../L0219482.html

You can get onsies that have built-in mitts too. Past a certain age they're hard to find but that's because you want their hands free so they can find their thumb.

Thanks I'll take a look.
We just got some baby 1st clippers. They work better than the rotary ones so far.


Does anyone use the wifi ones? Was looking into Nanit etc but they seem more money for more crap that one doesn't need.

If there's anyone with newborns, I highly recommend this - https://www.nestedbean.com/products/zen-swaddle-classic
Our son has been sleeping much better with it.
We came from SwaddleMe Luxe so we kinda miss the bottom zipper and silent velcro for easy night time changing

Has anyone looked into Daycares? I know some are looking before their kid is born so I'm a bit late to the party but just curious what you guys are doing.

In terms of day care, they're a pain in the ass when it comes to waiting lists.

I've been on a waiting list at Collingwood Neighborhood House for 3 plus years now and still am.

But I placed mines in a different location from a referral. Little bit more of a distance but at least they're in.

When do you guys know when you're ready for kids?

fuckkkkk

Honestly, you never know. You just do it. I wanted to get married and have a year at least to us before we have kids. Our friends are about the same age and we all kinda decided it's about time.

Great thread. And I think we will probably share the Dad’s perspective given it’s a car forum. Quite interesting for RS to move towards Minivans, getting old, parenting threads.

Baby monitor: Nest cameras + voice bb monitor. It’s been reliable for 3.5 years, and now using it for a 6 month old. We have about 6 indoor nest cameras set up at our place for all areas that kids roam around.

We had 2 motorola video ones and they both broke less than 1 year. Video quality sucked.


Question: what activities you do during Covid to keep toddlers active? We have been going to different playgrounds around town when the weather is nice. Got desparate one time and we took our 3.5 year old to bike in an empty covered parking lot for 45 mins.

Jesus, I don’t know there is an answer for that. You know, we don’t. You’re bringing a human into this world, so you got to make sure you have your shit in order. And I don’t mean make 100+k a year and own your own home, that has nothing to do with raising a child.

Have a partner you love and trust, have a stable home life that can provide a safe loving environment for a child to flourish. Broken homes often lead to broken people. No one is perfect, *life* isn’t perfect. But you do the best you can and offer everything you have.

Prevoiusly, at least in all the "good" daycares that my SO told me to register our kid for -- I think I ended up pre-registered at about 6 or 7 places -- getting a spot was exceedingly difficult. We started putting the baby's name down at those day care when my SO was about 6 months pregnant. Well guess what? Not a single one of those places had spots by the time our kid hit 2.5 yrs old, and then she aged out of the infant daycare group.

The 3+ yrs old daycare was much easier, and we got lucky with a new place that has just expanded into a 2nd location. As I understood it, the much greater ease was due to provincial childcare legislations that required a higher care provider to child ratio than the 3+ yrs old daycare.

A number of places that we have previously registered for started calling us back to offer us a spot after our kid turned 2.5. But by then we had already found a place.

But all of that was before COVID hit, and it is a totally different world now. Also, my above experience was also before Horgan / NDP announced their additional childcare support, and things did get at least a bit easier with the NDP expanded childcare support.

I would say that since maybe about May / June 2020, once the daycare places started figuring out what they needed to do to keep operating, it has become significantly easier to put a child into daycare, and this continues to be true right now. Another friend with an under 3 yrs old kid got an offer from one of the places that we waited (in vain) for 3+ years without getting a spot, and it pretty much only took a few days for them to confirm that they had a spot available. When we pulled our child out of daycare since March 2020, between May / June 2020 to maybe about Oct 2020, we were getting more than a few calls from the places we were previously waitlisting on to see whether we'd be interested to put our kid back into daycare with them.

With everything that is happening (and continuing to happen and change), it is probably quite difficult to predict how easy / difficult the daycare situation would become.

320icar already gave you a terrific reply. I am just going to add that in some cases, it is the female partner approaching that big THIRTY-FIVE psychological / biological magic number that pushes a couple to make a decision on whether they'd still want kids or not.

I have 35+ yrs old friends have been trying, and trying to conceive, be it naturally or through IVF, but it just wouldn't happen. It makes for a sad and difficult situaiton. And then I haven't even start talking about the elevated pregnancy risks -- I really don't want to go there.

I know I would have been a terrible and totally unqualified dad had the baby come in my early 30's. I was too hot tempered and inpatient back then. But the question that I could never answer is -- did I become a dad because I have settled down and matured? or did I settle down and got more mature because I became a dad?

Good point about age. I’m 31, my wife is 41. We tried for over a year and had one miscarriage. Thankfully our successful pregnancy was healthy, though he did come 5 weeks early. Age is less of a factor now since older first time mothers is so common, but from what I experienced on the sidelines is that it will only get harder the older you get.

Definitely not a decision to rush, but age is an important conversation to have especially when the quality of egg/sperm is concerned.

Also, this is a hard thing to talk about but sit down and have a talk with your partner about quality of life choices. There are many in-utero tests that can be done to the fetus to check for future development problems or possible handicaps. It’s important to be on the same page. Are you pro-life 100%, or if you know the fetus will have Down’s syndrome, maybe abortion and trying again is a better option for you and the next 50 years of life. Important talk to have

What do you guys have set up in the event both you & your SO pass away? I'm just changing my life insurance to add kid #2 as a contingent beneficiary but so far that's all that's in place.

You don't need daycare. Just commit elderly abuse and dump the kid with your parents. :ilied:

I went the nanny route with my little one after my wife went back to work from mat leave. Best decision ever because we can still continue to have childcare and feel safe since our nanny aligns with the same safety covid 19 protocols.

Update the will, determine guardianship of the kids, trustee for the family assets. Set up of a trust for the kids of the assets. Your guardian/trustee is typically family, but you want to guarantee your kids are cared for.

also for guardianship you may want to pick a 2nd or 3rd...
chances are your 1st is the closest family and lets say you're on a big family trip and God forbid just the kids survive...then #2 will have to step up...

all a bit morbid but necessary IMO...

^ There's so much to think about here. If something was to happen you don't want all of this additional responsibility to be added on to someone. What if they have kids already how can they take care of one more?