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ParentGaf OT: Birth, Bib and Beyond

Breastfeeding advice needed. The lactation consultant told us to feed our son every 3 hours. Other parents have said they feed their kid when they're hungry. How often have you guys fed your kids when they were newborns?
 
When my son was a newborn I was feeding him about every 2 hours because that's how often he was hungry. Feed them when they're hungry, for some that will be every 2 hours for others 3 or magical unicorn babies it might be longer. Also, and this was news to me, the timer between feedings starts when the feeding begins, not when it ends.

Awesome. Thank you much.
 

Keri

Member
Breastfeeding advice needed. The lactation consultant told us to feed our son every 3 hours. Other parents have said they feed their kid when they're hungry. How often have you guys fed your kids when they were newborns?

It already feels like this was a long time ago for me (my son is 15 months), but we definitely fed him a minimum of every 3 hours. I also offered him food whenever he cried (to see if it was hunger). So, I would say make sure you're offering food at least every 3 hours, but if he's hungry in between, feed him when he's hungry. Offering the boob every 3 hours will help establish your wife's supply and keep it up.
 
It already feels like this was a long time ago for me (my son is 15 months), but we definitely fed him a minimum of every 3 hours. I also offered him food whenever he cried (to see if it was hunger). So, I would say make sure you're offering food at least every 3 hours, but if he's hungry in between, feed him when he's hungry. Offering the boob every 3 hours will help establish your wife's supply and keep it up.

Also appreciate the advice. Thanks.
 
Hope she gets better soon. Just wait til her first ear infection. My guy had a 104 fever and the only thing he wanted to do was hug me.
Ear infections do suck. When I was 6-8 I would get them so bad and so often my parents put me through surgery to get tubes in to stop it. Even with the risk involved, it turned out fine on my end. I do really sympathize with dealing with ear infections as a kid. Head always feeling so lob sided.
 
Man I don't understand the parents who accidentally get my kids stuff sent home to them from daycare and don't return it. What are you doing with my sons beat up milk cup and the bottom half of a Tupperware container???
 
Breastfeeding advice needed. The lactation consultant told us to feed our son every 3 hours. Other parents have said they feed their kid when they're hungry. How often have you guys fed your kids when they were newborns?

We let our daughter eat when she was hungry and we ended up underfeeding her between weeks 2-4— apparently "let them eat when they're hungry" is only true when they're eating enough. We moved to feeding her every three hours on the clock for a few weeks and now we track how much she's eating but mostly let her eat when she's hungry.
 

Podge293

Member
So it's just 3 weeks to go till d-day and Jesus we're both being wrecked with nerves

Primarily it's cuz the wife goes in for her weekly check up, her BP is slightly elevated when they check so then we're told we've to wait around as they check for signs of preeclampsia. Shit is terrifying but each time her BP drops to normal on all subsequent checks over the 7 hours she's kept in, baby movements are fine and all's well.

Still exciting times ahead. Can't wait to meet the lil boy/girl

Probably be back here asking for advice soon enough ha
 
So it's just 3 weeks to go till d-day and Jesus we're both being wrecked with nerves

Primarily it's cuz the wife goes in for her weekly check up, her BP is slightly elevated when they check so then we're told we've to wait around as they check for signs of preeclampsia. Shit is terrifying but each time her BP drops to normal on all subsequent checks over the 7 hours she's kept in, baby movements are fine and all's well.

Still exciting times ahead. Can't wait to meet the lil boy/girl

Probably be back here asking for advice soon enough ha
Almost there...first baby?
 
So it's just 3 weeks to go till d-day and Jesus we're both being wrecked with nerves

Primarily it's cuz the wife goes in for her weekly check up, her BP is slightly elevated when they check so then we're told we've to wait around as they check for signs of preeclampsia. Shit is terrifying but each time her BP drops to normal on all subsequent checks over the 7 hours she's kept in, baby movements are fine and all's well.

Still exciting times ahead. Can't wait to meet the lil boy/girl

Probably be back here asking for advice soon enough ha

Same thing just happened to my wife. You might get an earlier visit from your kid than you might expect. If she starts complaining about intense pain in her upper abdomen, have her call her doctor immediately.

Oh, and catch up on whatever sleep you can.
 

AudioNoir

Banned
Man, our four year-old is in the greatest stage right now. No matter what we take away from him, he won't listen to us. We could tell him four times to go put his shoes on, and he just wanders away. Don't touch the cat, he touches the cat. It's time to get dressed = it's time to nope.

We tried not taking things away and instead relating to him -- "I know it's hard to listen and I know it's hard to get up and dressed in the morning sometimes. I know you're mad. Let's just do this and go have some breakfast." Nope.

We try to reward him when he has good days, but do it without bribing. We try not to yell, but sometimes raise our voices when we're on the third "please sit in your chair". Bad choices mean he doesn't get dessert or something. We're consistent and stick to our guns, but... wow. It's like talking to a wall sometimes.

I feel like this is normal, but at the same time, I'm worried we're completely missing something or doing this 100% wrong.
 

Keri

Member
So it's just 3 weeks to go till d-day and Jesus we're both being wrecked with nerves

Primarily it's cuz the wife goes in for her weekly check up, her BP is slightly elevated when they check so then we're told we've to wait around as they check for signs of preeclampsia. Shit is terrifying but each time her BP drops to normal on all subsequent checks over the 7 hours she's kept in, baby movements are fine and all's well.

Still exciting times ahead. Can't wait to meet the lil boy/girl

Probably be back here asking for advice soon enough ha

I had high blood pressure at the end of my pregnancy too. It's not all that uncommon, which means most doctors and nursing staff are really well trained and vigilant about it. So, even though it's stressful and scary, you'll be OK! Just remember to go in ASAP if she has sudden massive swelling or a headache with spotted vision. Also, as Hollywood Duo said, your child is already fully developed and could come at any time! So they'll be OK too. My son was born 3 weeks early and he's fine.

Actually, it's crazy to think I was in your shoes just 15 months ago and now my son is currently walking in circles around the living room, holding an old Nintendo 64 controller and alternating between saying "no no no" and "MROW" (we have cats and I guess he wants them to stop doing something?)
 
Just found out today I'm going to have a daughter.. I have three boys already so kinda crazy to think I'm going to have a little girl next year...!
 
Just returned from the second cross-world trip (UK to OZ) with Mia (now 18 months). Don't know how I escaped without a broken nose or black eyes or how baby #2 survived being crushed and kneed for 30+ hours. Sweet cheesus.


Pro tip for new parents: Zipper jammies are the only type worth buying.

Zipper jammies from Bonds (Wondersuit?) that have the two zipper ends! That way you can just do the feet and leave the top as-is.

And as HD said, fuck whoever thought buttons of any sort are good for baby clothes. They're so tiny and the slits to get them through barely big enough. -_-
 
Well GAF. My son (first and only child, vasectomy later this year) just turned 7 months old.


It's been a pretty exciting and interesting experience thus far. When I met my wife 11 years ago, I did not want children, but I knew that she absolutely would one day. I told myself that by our 1 year anniversary I would have to make a decision on whether I was willing to have that life with her or not. I did tell her that I wasn't willing to have children before age 30 though. So here we are 10 years later with our Son.

It's.. a lot different than anyone seemed to make it out to be. How many times did I hear something like "The first time you hold them, everything will change?" etc etc? Was not at all the case for me. There was no magic moment. No change at all. I didn't feel anything other than intense love/relief for my wife when my son was finally born. I was proud of her, happy for her. I honestly didn't feel one way or another about my Son, other than a sense of responsibility.

Don't get me wrong, I had no fear of not being able to love my child, I just realized it would be a "grow to love/fall in love with him" sort of thing (Much like with women, I have never felt anything remotely close to love at first sight), which caught me by surprise. I was really expecting some "WOW" moment since it's all any parent ever seems to talk about.

Fast forward to now, I've most certainly fallen in love with him. After speaking with parents (And reading this thread, honestly), I've also come to think my wife and I are incredibly lucky. This kid has been a fucking angel so far!

He had a 3 week period around the 3 month point where he had a little bit of colic, but he got over it very fast. He has had no problems what so ever with breast feeding or sleeping. He is in the 90th Percentile size wise for his age (very large baby!).

He hardly ever cries for any length of time, and when he does start up, it is super easy to get him to stop. Vast majority of the time he just wants a change in location, diaper change, or to be fed. Hell sometimes he just wanted to be sitting up instead of laying down. We can take him to restaurants and he has yet to have a crying fit. He's always super happy

The most incredibly thing I have learned is that all of his cries are unique. I can almost always tell the difference between any given fuss/cry. His fuss for a wet diaper is different than his fuss when he's bored. His fuss when he is lonely or just wants to see either myself or mommy is very different than his fuss when he's sleepy. His fuss for pain is as unique as his his fuss for food.

Definitely looking forward to the future with this kid. I'm very excited for the day I can actually have a conversation with him. So far it's been infinitely easier/less stressful than I imagined it would be, but that may be due to luck! I know not ever parent has it so easy.

Anyhow, if you've made it this far, thanks for reading my little book! Will be sure to keep this thread updated. Here are some pictures for your patience !


Hopefully this one isn't against any rules! This is his very first day here, already giving me the finger for interrupting his meal!
P19uTLnm.jpg


Holding Daddies Finger.
pyzM6ntm.jpg


My Dog is already super protective!
pHTRPQUm.jpg


More recent photos of him with my dog :)
jqOyanrm.jpg


Even my cat likes to sleep in the crib with him.
NMdbD6em.jpg


And finally just him being super cute.
ad4Wuckm.jpg
 

theaface

Member
We're probably a bit mad for doing it, but we've taken Sullivan (8 and a half months) for a little holiday to Reykjavik. Few days in so far and it's been so lovely. He's been an angel and the people are incredibly friendly and welcoming of babies. It's obviously pretty cold here, but nothing that a bit of sensible prep and some extra layers can't handle.

Yesterday we went to the Blue Lagoon (geothermal spa), which was really special. Children are supposed to be 2 years and up to go in to the lagoon, but we snuck him in anyway and he absolutely loved it.


 

Dynamite Shikoku

Congratulations, you really deserve it!
Man, our four year-old is in the greatest stage right now. No matter what we take away from him, he won't listen to us. We could tell him four times to go put his shoes on, and he just wanders away. Don't touch the cat, he touches the cat. It's time to get dressed = it's time to nope.

We tried not taking things away and instead relating to him -- "I know it's hard to listen and I know it's hard to get up and dressed in the morning sometimes. I know you're mad. Let's just do this and go have some breakfast." Nope.

We try to reward him when he has good days, but do it without bribing. We try not to yell, but sometimes raise our voices when we're on the third "please sit in your chair". Bad choices mean he doesn't get dessert or something. We're consistent and stick to our guns, but... wow. It's like talking to a wall sometimes.

I feel like this is normal, but at the same time, I'm worried we're completely missing something or doing this 100% wrong.

My three year old daughter is the same way at the moment. Very exhausting with juggling a one-year old who has just started walking too, and is moving all over the place.
 

witness

Member
Our adoptive placement of only 2 months has already fallen apart. The child has suicidal ideations and he only just turned 10. This was never documented, we aren't the best people to handle that since my wife gets triggered since she struggled through similar issues, and this was only our first. So now he has to go back to his home state since he isn't legally adopted. His case worker is picking him up tomorrow and flying him back, she at least found a new family for him near her so she will be very involved. Unfortunately this kid would not open up to us or his therapist here so no one could help him. He also has learning disabilities with reading that cause him not to try at school or homework. So he instead shuts down or gets furious, every fucking time. We can only hope for the best for him, his story is so tragic. Fuck this kids meth addict parents. Its devastating for us because we've tried for so many years to have kids and be parents and after 6 years we are and this happens. Its devastating 😟

Next step is infant adoption and paying ridiculous amounts of money to make it happen. We are taking a break though for a year from all of this to reconnect.
 
We're probably a bit mad for doing it, but we've taken Sullivan (8 and a half months) for a little holiday to Reykjavik. Few days in so far and it's been so lovely. He's been an angel and the people are incredibly friendly and welcoming of babies. It's obviously pretty cold here, but nothing that a bit of sensible prep and some extra layers can't handle.

Yesterday we went to the Blue Lagoon (geothermal spa), which was really special. Children are supposed to be 2 years and up to go in to the lagoon, but we snuck him in anyway and he absolutely loved it.
Looks like Sully is having a great time. We've taken Pete on a bunch of holidays and he does well. I think the key is starting them early.
 
We just had our second daughter, my wife is 41 (she had our first the day after her 40th birthday) - it's hard work but certainly not too late :) All the screening stuff is normal and nothing to worry about - usually they'll want to do more screening and keep a closer eye on the mother if she's over 40. Best of luck to you and your wife, I hope it all goes well for you.

Thanks for the support.

This pregnancy is going to be stressful as hell for me. She's already experienced some unusual bleeding and she's already convinced it's a looming miscarriage. It's a daunting task to keep her spirits up.
First ultrasound is tomorrow. Hoping for the best but fearing the worst.
 

GodofWine

Member
Lots of new gaf babies being born - congrats to all - my advice - 6 years from now - AVOID THE TEMPTATION TO COACH 1st GRADE FLAG FOOTBALL...ITS HELL...KIDS ARE TERRIBLE PEOPLE WHO WILL LIE TO YOUR FACE THAT 'YES WE UNDERSTAND THE PLAY DIAGRAM' WHEN THEY OBVIOUSLY DO NOT WHEN THE QB SAYS HIKE.
 

Keri

Member
Baby Ian is here. Came 6:25pm, 7#14oz. ��

Congratulations!

Thanks for the support.

This pregnancy is going to be stressful as hell for me. She's already experienced some unusual bleeding and she's already convinced it's a looming miscarriage. It's a daunting task to keep her spirits up.
First ultrasound is tomorrow. Hoping for the best but fearing the worst.

Bleeding in the early weeks of pregnancy isn't that uncommon. It may just be implantation bleeding. I went through something similar in the beginning of my pregnancy. I'm not sure how far along your wife is but if it's still early, it may not be possible to hear the heartbeat, regardless. If that's the case, they'll want to test her hormones twice, spanning a couple of days probably, to see if its going up.
 

Grug

Member
Congrats to all the new parents.

Staring right down the barrel of the terrible twos here and getting plenty of sneak previews.
 
Yeah, you're back! I was wondering just the other day if you'd made it and everything was alright. Glad to hear everyone survived.

Henry had his third ultrasound today and I'm currently waiting to hear from the pediatrician. I really hate that radiologist office and if they say we have to go back I'm going to go someplace else, we were told they were the only infant radiologist in the area but I'll fucking drive to Durham or Charlotte if I have too.

We survived, mostly. :D The trip back went better than the one there. Fought hard to get Mia to sleep and actually got ~7 hours (in pieces), but it's tough doing almost two full days with no sleep at this stage of pregnancy. #2 is way harder than I recall #1 being, fatigue-wise. I still remember when you were about to pop with Henry and still somehow getting writing out. Don't know how you did it. I'm in serious struggle town. And, it seems I've missed a bit while away. Is everything all right with H? Hoping your ultrasounds are just precautionary.


Our adoptive placement of only 2 months has already fallen apart. The child has suicidal ideations and he only just turned 10. This was never documented, we aren't the best people to handle that since my wife gets triggered since she struggled through similar issues, and this was only our first. So now he has to go back to his home state since he isn't legally adopted. His case worker is picking him up tomorrow and flying him back, she at least found a new family for him near her so she will be very involved. Unfortunately this kid would not open up to us or his therapist here so no one could help him. He also has learning disabilities with reading that cause him not to try at school or homework. So he instead shuts down or gets furious, every fucking time. We can only hope for the best for him, his story is so tragic. Fuck this kids meth addict parents. Its devastating for us because we've tried for so many years to have kids and be parents and after 6 years we are and this happens. Its devastating 😟

Next step is infant adoption and paying ridiculous amounts of money to make it happen. We are taking a break though for a year from all of this to reconnect.

I'm really, really sorry to hear that, witness. It's such a huge thing to take on in the first place, and for it to not work out like that is heart-rending. Definitely give yourselves a break, and feel free to come back and tell us more about about it if that would help process it. I think there are a few on GAF in a similar boat and looking to explore adoption issues (from some threads I remember), so maybe starting a thread about it would be cathartic as well. Anyway, wishing you both the best.

Baby Ian is here. Came 6:25pm, 7#14oz. 😀

Congrats, yo~ Welcome to the 4AM club (unless you get a level 0-1 potato baby that magically sleeps right off the bat)!


And I'm loving all the new baby pictures in here. Super cute, theaface and Teren_Kanan!
 

flozuki

Member
Our adoptive placement of only 2 months has already fallen apart. The child has suicidal ideations and he only just turned 10. This was never documented, we aren't the best people to handle that since my wife gets triggered since she struggled through similar issues, and this was only our first. So now he has to go back to his home state since he isn't legally adopted. His case worker is picking him up tomorrow and flying him back, she at least found a new family for him near her so she will be very involved. Unfortunately this kid would not open up to us or his therapist here so no one could help him. He also has learning disabilities with reading that cause him not to try at school or homework. So he instead shuts down or gets furious, every fucking time. We can only hope for the best for him, his story is so tragic. Fuck this kids meth addict parents. Its devastating for us because we've tried for so many years to have kids and be parents and after 6 years we are and this happens. Its devastating ��

Next step is infant adoption and paying ridiculous amounts of money to make it happen. We are taking a break though for a year from all of this to reconnect.

I am so sorry to hear that and wish all of you the best!

I have to share a small experience I made last weekend and that still bothers me. My son is 2 and last weekend we went to a fair. He had a lot of fun and in the end we went to a caroussel. There was a (probably about 4 years old) disabled kid in a wheelchair and his parents offered him to have some fun in the caroussel too. It somehow made me sad that he had to drive alone and so I sat our baby boy on the seat next to him. Everything was fine but after a few rounds (it was a very slow carousel) the boy lost his balance and kind of fell halfway out of the carousel and hurt his head on a safety fence. Instead of helping him other people directly critised the parents. I still have to force myself not to cry about the situation. The parents just wanted to offer their son some fun, the kid was probably shocked (my son hasn't really realized what happened) and the first thing people do is not helping and beeing a smart ass :-(.

Fortunately it seemed that he was ok. I couldn't check because the parents left directly with him which is no suprise when people give them the feeling of not beeing welcome somehow :-/


On a positive note: welcome to all the newborn GAF babys =)
 

Stop It

Perfectly able to grasp the inherent value of the fishing game.
Congrats to all the new parents.

Staring right down the barrel of the terrible twos here and getting plenty of sneak previews.
Terrible twos? Terrible 13 months here!

I exaggerate but only a bit. My daughter is already stubborn, can't talk yet but already has literally argued with me and her mum and uses baby groups as an excuse to run around and shout a lot. Try to put her in her buggy when she doesn't want to = angry baby.

She also has an obession with hand soap. We had to go to hospital recently and I had to spend 5 minutes at the sink so she could wash her hands under a very slowly running tap. When I took her away from it she ran under the sink and tried to hold on to it.

That, and while she gets to sleep usually before 7:30pm, wants to wake up before 5am, requiring me to give her a cuddle to get back to sleep. On a positive note, she doesn't cry, she just gets up on her cot and shouts "bah!" in order to wake up up.

She's also a complete daddies girl and I'm already indoctrinating her in the ways of the petrol head. We took her to the BTCC racing at Silverstone a few weeks ago and aside from a brief fight over ear defenders (they kept on coming off until she heard the noise at Luffield full force, and kept them on after that) she loved it.
 

Stop It

Perfectly able to grasp the inherent value of the fishing game.
Thanks for the support.

This pregnancy is going to be stressful as hell for me. She's already experienced some unusual bleeding and she's already convinced it's a looming miscarriage. It's a daunting task to keep her spirits up.
First ultrasound is tomorrow. Hoping for the best but fearing the worst.
Good luck for the scan.

As someone who has consoled my partner through an early stage miscarriage, an ectopic pregnancy before a successful one, you can only be there to support your partner.

Be optimistic but not unrealistic, and remember some parents bleed all through the pregnancy. Have you had blood tests to confirm hormone levels are tracking ok? If so then you likely have nothing to worry about and you'll see a tiny speck with potentially a tiny heart beat if you're approaching 7 weeks +.
 
Good luck for the scan.

As someone who has consoled my partner through an early stage miscarriage, an ectopic pregnancy before a successful one, you can only be there to support your partner.

Bleeding in the early weeks of pregnancy isn't that uncommon. It may just be implantation bleeding. I went through something similar in the beginning of my pregnancy. I'm not sure how far along your wife is but if it's still early, it may not be possible to hear the heartbeat, regardless. If that's the case, they'll want to test her hormones twice, spanning a couple of days probably, to see if its going up.

Thanks for the support everyone!

Felt like it was over this morning as she had a lot of bleeding and told me it's over:(

Still we went to the ultrasound. I held my breath for what felt like an eternity but it looks like we got one baby at 6w5d! (thought we were almost at 8). Got to hear the heartbeat as well.

Hopefully we can sleep at night now.
 

malfcn

Member
Super stressed.

About to go home and we haven't agreed on the middle name, Maxwell or Hunter. He was born on the day of a hunter's moon. (Didn't think we'd be those gaf parents).

He's stuffy, and keeps breathing fast. They say everything is fine with him though. He isn't latching super well. The fast breathing and lack of eating is causing him to have low sugar and high bilirubin. And because he got winked today he hasn't been in a great mood. Barely would take formula.

😥
 
About to go home and we haven't agreed on the middle name, Maxwell or Hunter. He was born on the day of a hunter's moon. (Didn't think we'd be those gaf parents).

My daughter didn't have a name for a week. We tried a few and they didn't work for us.

He's stuffy, and keeps breathing fast. They say everything is fine with him though. He isn't latching super well. The fast breathing and lack of eating is causing him to have low sugar and high bilirubin.

If nobody warned you: baby breathing is weird and stress inducing. Just wait until he stops breathing for a moment or two— hilariously fun good times.

And because he got winked today he hasn't been in a great mood. Barely would take formula.

Winked?
 

malfcn

Member
My daughter didn't have a name for a week. We tried a few and they didn't work for us.



If nobody warned you: baby breathing is weird and stress inducing. Just wait until he stops breathing for a moment or two— hilariously fun good times.



Winked?

He's been breathing so fast, they think he's burning more energy than he's eating. Last check he slowed down a bit. Sorry, winked was circumcision.
 
Been wide awake for 3 hrs. (5:27am).

Colic is a bitch.

Super stressed.

About to go home and we haven't agreed on the middle name, Maxwell or Hunter. He was born on the day of a hunter's moon. (Didn't think we'd be those gaf parents).

He's stuffy, and keeps breathing fast. They say everything is fine with him though. He isn't latching super well. The fast breathing and lack of eating is causing him to have low sugar and high bilirubin. And because he got winked today he hasn't been in a great mood. Barely would take formula.

��


You're not alone. Our guy was born on the 16th of last month and finally had his name on the 25th when he was dismissed.
 

NewFresh

Member
Anyone ever reach out to the ultrasound imaging center to find out the gender if you didn't find out at the time of the ultrasound?

We are debating it since we are having a hard time with names.
 
Anyone ever reach out to the ultrasound imaging center to find out the gender if you didn't find out at the time of the ultrasound?

We are debating it since we are having a hard time with names.
That is very strange they didn’t mention it. Was it the 20 week anatomy scan?
Super stressed.

About to go home and we haven't agreed on the middle name, Maxwell or Hunter. He was born on the day of a hunter's moon. (Didn't think we'd be those gaf parents).

He's stuffy, and keeps breathing fast. They say everything is fine with him though. He isn't latching super well. The fast breathing and lack of eating is causing him to have low sugar and high bilirubin. And because he got winked today he hasn't been in a great mood. Barely would take formula.

😥
Go with Max. Problem solved :). Trust in the medical professionals. They are incredibly cautious with newborns so if they say everything is fine it’s most likely true.
 
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