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The Pit Parenting Thread

Agree with bmoney on the nice clothes being unnecessary for the most part.

It sucks that you don't get into your parenting routine until after the shower and gifts because, at least in our experience, you don't really know what you do and don't need until you actually start parenting. For us, one of the most important things was a white noise machine/toy, because it seemed to calm him and help him sleep. But I'm sure that wouldn't work for everyone. Agree there are basic necessities, like a crib, diapers, sheets, blankets, etc.

The other things that we loved were the Bjorn, Moby baby wrap, etc. If you've got a baby that wants to be snuggled, those things can make it still possible to get a few things done around the house while still having him/her close to you.
 
Awesome - congrats! First ultrasound was amazing - makes it so much more real. We got out of the room and were waiting to see the next doctor, and talking about how great it all was, and Chic says "Plus, it's only one - not twins!"

Thanks. Twins actually run in both of our families, so we were quite relieved to see just one heartbeat.
 
Agree with bmoney on the nice clothes being unnecessary for the most part.

It sucks that you don't get into your parenting routine until after the shower and gifts because, at least in our experience, you don't really know what you do and don't need until you actually start parenting. For us, one of the most important things was a white noise machine/toy, because it seemed to calm him and help him sleep. But I'm sure that wouldn't work for everyone. Agree there are basic necessities, like a crib, diapers, sheets, blankets, etc.

The other things that we loved were the Bjorn, Moby baby wrap, etc. If you've got a baby that wants to be snuggled, those things can make it still possible to get a few things done around the house while still having him/her close to you.

my wife used the bjorn a lot with great success. i used it one time while vacuuming and about swung birdie into the door frame. that was it for me.
 
Every kid is different obv. One of ours loved the bouncy seat. Another the swing on full speed. Last little guy only wanted the crib. Really sucks to buy all that expensive stuff, put it together, and then sell it on craigs for $.50 on the $1.
 
Every kid is different obv. One of ours loved the bouncy seat. Another the swing on full speed. Last little guy only wanted the crib. Really sucks to buy all that expensive stuff, put it together, and then sell it on craigs for $.50 on the $1.


What was amazing for us us what worked for kid #1 (bouncy chair) was hated by kid #2. And vice versa.

And I will say 2 is a lot harder than 1. A lot. There are negative economies of scale.
 
bumping this one to the top.

let's talk about grandparents. is it a foregone conclusion that one set of grandparents is pretty much always going to be more involved? my dad isn't exactly warm and fuzzy with grandkids while my FIL loves nothing more than to roll around on the floor and play with my daughter. this leads to my daughter looking at my inlaws more favorably than my folks. plus, they just make every effort in the world to see her while my dad can go a month or two without seeing us and it doesn't really seem to bother him. i'm worried about this being a long-term issue where visits to inlaws are viewed as fun trips and visits to my parents are mandatory visits, at least from the kids' standpoint.

i do think my dad is going to be much more effective when she gets old enough to really have conversations so hopefully there will be improvement made then. also, as a side note, my mom and dad separated about 18 months ago and my mom cannot drive due to some health issues so she's 100% reliant on us taking birdie to visit her. i will say that she has been great playing with her and they have a pretty good connection. just hard to make visits happen too often when we are the ones driving a couple hours each time.

any advice/tidbits on relationships with grandfolks?

I know very little about kids so I have no idea what I'm talking about...but I'd keep a cool toy (doll house) exclusively at your dad's house. The cool grandparents have the cool toys.
 
I know very little about kids so I have no idea what I'm talking about...but I'd keep a cool toy (doll house) exclusively at your dad's house. The cool grandparents have the cool toys.

This. One set of grandparents lived in the country and I could ride the tractor with my grandad, swim in the creek, pick blueberries with my grandmother, climb trees in the yard, etc. etc. The other set lived in fayettenam in a townhome with no yard for playing and a few toys that were never updated/replinished/repaired. Guess where I wanted to spend more time, and what side of the family I'm now closer to as an adult.
 
The other things that we loved were the Bjorn, Moby baby wrap, etc. If you've got a baby that wants to be snuggled, those things can make it still possible to get a few things done around the house while still having him/her close to you.

That thing is the bomb. We bought one after seeing you guys use one with E. It's been ultra great for football games. Sadly, Webb has outgrown it already, as he has pretty much anything else toddler related.
 
A noise machine to help the baby self-soothe to sleep is a great must-have. Avoid the "heart beat" setting; very harsh and irritating. The "water fall" or "rain" settings are much more relaxing.
 
a hands free pumping bra is great if you are going back to work (and I got a great milk organizer for the freezer that helped a bunch), the meitai and moby like Matt said, we didn't get a video monitor and I haven't missed it. If anyone wants to cloth diaper ever, let me know, I have a ton of info on what you do and don't need, etc and would talk about it at great length.

Grandparents: I know full well that E will end up closer to my inlaws. He's the first on all 3 sides and so everyone loves him and is very interactive with him but since Matt's parents are retired and live closer, his exposure to them is greater, but it's also that he just seems to really connect with them. He clearly enjoys my parents but he asks for "Nina and Bopbop" and he interacts with them in a more playful way. I was very very very close to my dad's mom though even though my mom's parents were the fun ones with horses, etc. sometimes connections just happen. As an adult I have/had great relationships with all my grandparents and great-grandparents though they were all different. It'll work out.
 
Just like how you get along with some people more than others, your kids may click with one grandparent more than others. As a parent, you just have to encourage them to love each other and get to know each other. Over time, your kids and parents/in-law will develop their own relationships.

We have a tough situation in that my MIL doesn't speak English and my FIL has had some major health problems (i.e. almost died twice) and both are in their early 70s. Thankfully, they live closer so we see them every month or so. My parents are in NC and the boys generally react better to them, but don't get to see them as much.

Had a great moment yesterday. My oldest (3.5) referred to the baby (6.5 mo) as his best friend. This is a title usually reserved for our dog, so it's a big breakthrough.
 
Just like how you get along with some people more than others, your kids may click with one grandparent more than others. As a parent, you just have to encourage them to love each other and get to know each other. Over time, your kids and parents/in-law will develop their own relationships.

We have a tough situation in that my MIL doesn't speak English and my FIL has had some major health problems (i.e. almost died twice) and both are in their early 70s. Thankfully, they live closer so we see them every month or so. My parents are in NC and the boys generally react better to them, but don't get to see them as much.

Had a great moment yesterday. My oldest (3.5) referred to the baby (6.5 mo) as his best friend. This is a title usually reserved for our dog, so it's a big breakthrough.

that's pretty awesome. birdie is finally understanding this whole there is another person in mama's belly thing. she keeps talking about baby brudda.

this may not resonate well being retold via a message board post, but she said the sweetest thing not too long ago that just made my heart melt for some reason. we were doing puzzles and we told her that you always start with the corners. i was trying to encourage her to find the corners herself by acting like i couldn't find them, so i said "birdie, i can't find the corners." she just calmly walked up to me and started patting me on the shoulder and said, "don't worry daddy, i'll help you find the corners."

again, probably not as effective just being typed out, but i'm sure all parents have these little moments that just melt them.
 
that's pretty awesome. birdie is finally understanding this whole there is another person in mama's belly thing. she keeps talking about baby brudda.

this may not resonate well being retold via a message board post, but she said the sweetest thing not too long ago that just made my heart melt for some reason. we were doing puzzles and we told her that you always start with the corners. i was trying to encourage her to find the corners herself by acting like i couldn't find them, so i said "birdie, i can't find the corners." she just calmly walked up to me and started patting me on the shoulder and said, "don't worry daddy, i'll help you find the corners."

again, probably not as effective just being typed out, but i'm sure all parents have these little moments that just melt them.

:) that's adorable
 
Bumping this for a question. Anyone have experience with flat spots and misshaped baby domes? Or torticollis (stiff neck)? Baby Harvey is now 4.5 months old. He's got a lopsided dome because he always sleeps,lays with his head turned to one side.

We started physical therapy today and we aren't supposed to ever have him laying down on his back when he is awake.
 
Bumping this for a question. Anyone have experience with flat spots and misshaped baby domes? Or torticollis (stiff neck)? Baby Harvey is now 4.5 months old. He's got a lopsided dome because he always sleeps,lays with his head turned to one side.

We started physical therapy today and we aren't supposed to ever have him laying down on his back when he is awake.

BabyRev preferred sleeping on her right side (on back), the doc just told us to try to move it when we noticed. But she would often just move back to her preferred side. But the doc said that unless it's a huge flat spot, we all have mishaped heads, that's why we grow hair to cover it. Now she sleeps on her stomach, so no longer an issue.

sent via Tapatalk on Galaxy Note II
 
The youngest Incandenza had to go to PT for torticullis, but I think it was kind of BS. We basically just made him look every direction in several positions once a day to stretch out the muscles. We brought him back in a couple weeks later and they acted like there was never anything wrong.

I like our pediatrician, but I think she was being overly cautious on that.
 
A friend's kiddo had to go to PT and a cranial sacral therapist fro torticollis. They did it for like 6 months and at one point they were going to have to do a helmet, but being vigilant about turning him over, etc. they were able to avoid it.
 
So baby Rambo is now a month old. He's a much easier baby than Birdie was. He's sleeping 5-6 hours at a time at night and is generally a happy baby. By this point with Birdie, she was sleeping no more than 2-3 hours at a time and every evening between 5 and 7 PM she would cry non-stop. That was not fun.
 
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