Besides physical growth spurts, babies go through mental leaps as well. The book The Wonder Weeks has really helped me through these spurts. It is great and was completely accurate for my first and is holding up well with my second (10 weeks).
I have given it as a gift to friends that are becoming dads and they are all thanking me for it when I see them. Gives some logic when there appears to be none.
Of course! It's been a great buy, it's extremely sturdy and comes with little detachable handles that go along the top so the babies can pull themselves up. We fill it with his toys and stuff and he plays and plays. It's big enough for me, my wife, and my son to get into and he can crawl all over us.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07H4NFB6R/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o06_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
First Aid & CPR Instructor here. Everybody should have this app on their phone (in addition to taking a local class)! https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.cube.arc.fa "First Aid: American Red Cross"
Great job Dad! 😊
This happened to us at about 3 months for each of our kids, it'll get better soon but they're just crying because that's their only means of communicating. Try making eye contact and smiling at him. Talk to him and engage him, they really like that and if you can engage and communicate with them, it'll help them develop communication and cry less.
Your baby is trying to tell you something and if he's got a fresh diaper, been fed and isn't tired, a lot of times they're just bored and want attention.
If you don't have a play time mat, they're a great investment at this age something like this:
Babies do get frustrated when they aren't getting what they want and they can sense your frustration, try to force your outward body language to be positive and just hang in there, it'll get better.
Love it! Any self-respecting dad who adores snuggles NEEDS the book, Dad by My Side, illustrated by Soosh.
Here's a cute YouTube read-aloud of it: https://youtu.be/TIRfxkrt4iY
Here's the actual book: Dad By My Side https://www.amazon.com/dp/0316438081/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_vbz6BbKQ03HHD
You don't need to hire a moat builder. A simple toddler-proof moat can be dug over the weekend, faster if you get some friends to help. If you don't mind going artificial, Amazon has a great deal on patrol alligators that ought to get the job done.
They are absolutely the most comfortable pants I own. I have 3 pairs and wear them all the time when I'm home. They have 1 pocket on the side and a tie on the top. Seriously, order some and thank me later.
An ardiuno kit would be a fun start for her.
EDIT to add link: Something like this. She can code and program the unit to make it do a very wide variety things.
Arduino Starter Kit - English Official Kit With 170 Page Book - K000007 https://www.amazon.com/dp/B009UKZV0A/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_Jmq3BbTC4G6E5
Only $52.99 for the paperback collection on Amazon ($105 for hardcover)
One of the hard things about babies is that screaming is literally the only means of communication they have. They scream if they’re hungry, gassy, poopy, tired, waking up, etc. If everything seems fine, sometimes they just need soothed even!
We swaddled our kids as long as we could. When they could regularly get out of the swaddle (he’s probably past that!), we got starfish sleep sack swaddles like this one. Babies are used to not having room in the womb so a swaddle pinning their arms is soothing to them. But the sleep sack is room and restricting, so they get to move around but still have safe boundaries.
Just an idea. Parenting is still largely a mystery to me on any given day. At the very least, get him on stage with a good backup band and start making money!
Found shrink wrap designed for remotes to seal them up...
Bonus... Easier to wipe them down if the kids decide to grab them with sticky hands.
Just in case some people may not be aware, a lot of the absorbent pads geared towards dogs have an added chemical coating for absorbency or sometimes scents for the ultra potent puppy pee smell. You’ll want to make sure the ones you buy don’t have this and are geared for human use. Chux is the “brand name” of these type of pads, also called underpads.
These fit exactly on the pad that came with my diaper bag. A box of 100 lasts me months. Amazon Disposable Underpads
I appreciate you owning your part of the problem. A relationship is a boat and we all gotta paddle. You being able to self-recognize is a great trait in a parent.
If you both use Google, use keep - https://keep.google.com. we have shared lists for groceries, another for household supplies needed, and another for "honey-do" items. If there's a big event or something we'll make one just for that. It's not timely like a calendar reminder but it keeps the list right by you and you can both see it - and both add to it and check off items.
There are more complex systems, but for my distractable self this has been the most consistently usable because it's just a simple list.
For some people a paper list or chalkboard works - if that is easier, do it. We tried a chalkboard in the kitchen but I never remembered to copy the list before I went to the store. It did work well for chore-type things.
One more thing. It's tough to be a parent, and sometimes it feels like everything has to be done at once or you'll irrecoverably mess up. Just remember - some balls are rubber, and some balls are glass. Rubber balls bounce. I say it to myself, and to my spouse, and my parent friends all the time.
We use a play yard enclosure around the steps instead of a gate. Here is a link to one like it and no it is not an affiliate link play yard gate
Oh my dude you guys need to have these on top of your changing pad cover - a washable changing pad liner: https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B075ZMCBLG/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_i1M-Fb0HFD8NB
Absorbs spills, easily washable, comes in packs of 3 (buy two sets). Even if it can't handle a mess like this they're cheap enough that tossing one out occasionally isn't the worst thing.
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Target... But here is an amazon link!
We used these pigeon branded ones they were great... keep your head up it’s hard but plastic surgery today is simply amazing.
My daughter is 9 now and I hadn’t thought about it all in a while till seeing your post
Lol simple way to get them excited for bed is to make it a race. “I bet i can get to the bathroom before you” “i bet i can get my teeth cleaner than your!!” last one to the beds a rotten egg!!!
Turn it into a game. Its fun and gets them excited for bed.
Edit: also check out this book
How To Talk So Kids Will Listen and Listen So Kids Will Talk (The How To Talk Series) https://www.amazon.com/dp/1451663889/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_glt_i_XVA43WTYNB3BQRGG7YQ7
Insurance should cover a new one for most people as part of the ACA. We got a nice Medela one with more supplies than we'll use for nothing out of pocket.
https://www.healthcare.gov/coverage/breast-feeding-benefits/
We got the Ubbi Baby Diaper Pail. I think it works great. Our daughter is almost 2 and it conceals the smell very well.
We line the pail with a trash bag and it conceals it. You can tell the difference of the smells it keeps inside -- when you open it up to put a diaper in, goodness gracious it smells horridly. Once it gets really full, naturally, it struggles to contain all the smells, so just empty it out at that point.
Something like this. My mom had one for washing cocker spaniel in the wash tub growing up.
My first comment on reddit: just search for "Counting Bears"! I had these too growing up in the early 2000s in primary school Link on Amazon
Nice job! Congratulations. Since I have been in your situation, I want to offer some additional tips with hope they'll help. First, you can subscribe to the excellent /r/personalfinance subreddit. And then, some specific advice from that subreddit:
1) Build up an emergency fund of 3-6mo expenses
2) Vacations should be something you save up and budget for, not something you put on a credit card; you'll pay either up front or later--at a higher cost--so why not start planning and starting to save now?
3) Start saving up now to pay cash for your next car; or even better, sell your highest value car and buy something used with cash; then start paying that payment to yourself, toward a savings account to pay for a better car when you're ready to upgrade again.
4) The tool to accomplish the above is a budget. Make a budget and stick to it; there are a few different ways to do this, one that is really popular is called YNAB; My wife and I use a method based on Dave Ramsey's Financial Peace University, which is a fantastic class and from what I hear it covers the same or similar material to "Total Money Makeover". Basically it's a zero-based budget. All incoming money represents available money to spend, and every dollar goes to a category for that pay period. I can't explain the whole thing here but it's the right way to do budgeting.
Hopefully that's helpful to you and your children as they journey with you!
Yes, I got better at it. Fantastically better. My suggestion for you is to read the book Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance by Robert Pirsig. The book includes a story of a student with a writing assignment who can't get started, and a professor who gives her an alternative assignment which seems completely impossible -- but which she ends up completing, mystified.
Until you get a chance to read ZatAoMM, though, I'm going to tell you to turn off that thing in your head that stops you from saying stupid stuff. Just make up the most ridiculous thing you can, the goofier the better. Corny jokes are always appreciated. Make a little man out of Lego and have him say he's feeling blue. Or have Lego man 1 ask Lego man 2 for a hand, and Lego man 2 gives him one. Also: use big words the kids don't know and they'll ask you to explain them.
New words for songs is also a good choice; get in touch with your Inner Weird Al and make up ridiculous lyrics and have the animals sing.
For example, to settle a long-running family dispute over whether it was an "itsy-bitsy" spider or an "eensy-weensy" spider (I didn't know of my wife's heresy on this point until after we'd gotten married), I rewrote the lyrics as follows:
The Rather Small Arachnid scaled the water spout Precipitating liquid rinsed the spider out. The wind moved the clouds and the sun dried up the rain. And the Rather Small Arachnid scaled the spout again.
Not only does this avoid the entire itsy-bitsy/eensy-weensy dispute, it has the advantage of being more precise ("the sun came out and dried up all the rain" gives a phenomenological perspective but is scientifically inaccurate).
The kids thought it was hilarious, and of course demanded that I explain what all the big words meant.
Baby swing... and I must say follow this link and save hundreds on batteries, I know oyu have an old phone charger you don't use anymore and that's about all you'll ever need. We ended up getting the swing at a garage sale, and this invention alone, allows us to make dinner, eat dinner, let's wife sleep in for another hour in the morning when I leave for work. And also allows her to work from home, she pops him in the swing and then does work at her table.
Here is the link... http://www.instructables.com/id/Convert-a-Baby-Swing-from-Batteries-to-AC-wall-P/
My boys favorite is Duck on a Bike.
The wonderful things you will be just breaks me up each time I try to read it to them, though. https://www.amazon.com/Wonderful-Things-You-Will-Be/dp/0385376715/ref=nodl_
My 6 mo old son also has severe reflux. He's been taking the baby zantac and it works like a charm. What age did she grow out of it? Also, Costco has free shipping on their diapers and formula, so you don't even have to leave the house.
Alright, spaghetti.
I think that's about elephant.
Be careful with being too strict about "screen time". My focus is on whether the kids are engaged or not-engaged.
I limit them watching TV, YouTube, or playing simple/trivial games, since these activities don't keep them thinking. I don't limit their time with complex games or things like Scratch (my 5 yr old girl loves Scratch).
The best thing is that when they're aware that it's not the device but rather the activity that's the issue, they stop seeing the device as a 'reward' and instead just treat it as a part of life. It's there and gets used, but so do the bikes (when it's warmer outside), puzzles, board games, books, and lots of other non-screen things.
First off, a disclaimer: I'm a network/security geek. This is what I do for my home. You may find it to be too much work for you.
I've got multiple systems in place. For starters, I've got a hosted box at a co-location center. It runs Debian. Standard hardened install. In chroot jails, it runs apache to serve up the family website for photo sharing, etc. If I want to send family pictures via facebook, I post them on the web server, then link them. (This allows me to control the content. Items hosted on Facebook become FB's property)
In another chroot jail, I run iRedMail. (http://www.iredmail.org/) It operates as the mail exchanger for my family domain. For the kids mail, I've got whitelists pre-setup, so only pre-approved senders (or domains as you wish) can send email to the child. There's a web mail front end so they can access it via a web browser, or can use Thunderbird.
At the home, I've got Cisco network, configured with WCCP. The WCCP system re-directs all web traffic to a local DansGuardian/SQUID proxy server. I have a certificate installed on all the systems at the house that trust the cert on the DansGuardian box for all SSL encrypted traffic. I maintain multiple SSIDs. Only the kid one re-directs traffic through the DG box. The "guest" is a straight punch to the Internet. There are others for specific purposes.
Last but not least, all the computers in the house run Linux, which reduces the risk for malicious infection, and the kids accounts do not have privileges to modify much.
It isn't fool proof, but so far it's proven to be "teenager" proof, when we had some house guests for a week+.
You gotta swaddle them so they’re just in a cocoon and can’t move their arms and legs. I could never figure out how to swaddle in the blanket but we used those halo sleep sacks
https://smile.amazon.com/Sleepsack-Cotton-Swaddle-Cream-Small/dp/B003E6OBMA
We used Mavala stop nail biting deterrent. It's a nail polish you put on their nails and it taste really bad. Our daughter had her thumb in her mouth constantly. We only had to use it for 4 days and she completely stopped. There are other brands as well but that's the one my wife got from Amazon.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00336WT3O/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apap_iPtTJbTzoPfC4
We had to put doorknob covers up to stop them running down the hall on adventures once they got past staying in cribs. They still wreck their room at 3 yo, but at least it’s just that room that’s getting wrecked.
Jolly Jumper - The Original Baby Exerciser with Super Stand for Active Babies that Love to Jump and Have Fun https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00XYYC77I/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_glt_fabc_H98GTCAT83XNKPV95W6M
Here you go! I’ve bought none of it. I just get home and there’s new stuff for me to put together lol. I used to be able to walk through my living room and now I have to set over his baby stuff. But he cute doe
We ordered this one from Amazon, and we love it.
I think the seller is out of Vietnam. They have an Etsy page, too. Super high quality, and I love that it looks like the floppy doll version of Hobbes.
Seasons 1-7 1965-1975 are covered, but it's not whole seasons, which is why Amazon calls them 'volumes.' For example, volume 7 spans 1970 to 1975.
There were 31 seasons, so Prime does not have the vast majority of episodes. That said, it's the best source for episodes. The PBS app appears to have a handful. My local PBS station broadcasts only 1 episode per week, and after 3 months is into reruns.
Fights about money is the biggest factor in divorces right now. Do you have a firm budget in place? Something that you stick to almost religiously? If not that could be a good place to start. It's also a great way to get the two you at the same table and having an adult conversation. My wife and I followed Dave Ramsey's Total Money Makeover when we were first married. We don't fight about money anymore. We have a budget and work to keep with it even 6 years later. We paid off all of our debt except our house and have a large emergency fund socked away.
The issue I have with this post is most people install carseats wrong. It SHOULD take you a while. YOu need to get it installed enough that shaking the car seat does not let it move laterally more than an inch or two.
Ah man, I really need to get my son out more. We just did a nice long 'urban' hike to the farmers market a ~1 mile. Just the fact we live in Maine and have a super nice hicking back makes me want to get out more with him. You hath inspired me good sir, we'll be hiking more for sure.
Photo of my son at 3 months in his bag: https://www.dropbox.com/s/yfuf1bebskptydg/2012-05-19%2010.51.04.jpg
I think 4 months is a bit young for sleep training. If you really insist on it, I would read a book called The No Cry Sleep Solution instead of the cry it out methods. Here's a link to download it http://www.4shared.com/office/Md7xOqlk/The_No-Cry_Sleep_Solution.html
We have an Amazon fire kids tablet. It had a nice rubber shell, they’re under 100$ - and you can download shows from Netflix, etc for offline viewing. Was a lifesaver, and 100% needed on our thirteen our disney drive.
On a side note, for our 13 hour drive - mind you we left at midnight In hopes of the 2 year old sleeping- and he stayed awake for 12.5 hours, slept the LAST 30 minutes of the trip.
Edit: Fire 7 Kids Tablet, 7" Display, ages 3-7, 16 GB, Pink Kid-Proof Case https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07H8ZCSL9/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_glt_fabc_BH9CYSRWVAH8PDC4AGQ7
You can watch Netflix, YouTube, etc. I personally love Netflix on tablets because you can “lock” the screen so the baby can’t turn it off or mess with it.
Dog poop bags. Really. Buy the scented ones. Always nice to know the toxicity you just disposed of won't destroy the bathroom trash can for the next visitor. One roll of those,tube of Desitin and good wipes all rolled up in a folding changing pad was my go to.
this isn't the same one I had but gives an idea. Toss that in a backpack or stroller basket and you are gtg.
Edit: my phone REALLY wants to auto correct Desitin to DeSoto. 🤷
Friends of ours had a daughter born with the same syndrome. She wrote a book about Hope's 13-month life. Not sure if it will help you, but at least you'll know you're not alone.
https://www.amazon.ca/Half-Hearted-Hope-Finding-Purpose-Daughters/dp/170656144X
Looks like you need some electronic earmuffs lol. They’ll block out the loud noises and let the normal sounds in 😂
Someone gave my wife What to Expect the First Year when we had our first child. I found so much comfort in that book. It answered a lot of my "is this normal" questions.
Edit: Hmm.. After reading some of the reviews on Amazon, I'm wondering if this book is relevant anymore. I see a lot of people saying there's better information online. It kinda makes sense since the book was given to me almost 13 years ago. I guess the world has moved on.
Done with an IOT Button from amazon: https://aws.amazon.com/iotbutton/
Here is the script I'm using to send the message on press, after initial setup. I updated it to be something a little more sweet since she left, I normally stick this to my office door for the kids to press while I'm at work, the messages come less frequently after I initially set it up but it always makes me smile when I get one:
import boto3
def lambda_handler(event, context):
sns = boto3.client('sns')
number = '+11234567890'
sns.publish(PhoneNumber = number, Message='We miss you, mommy! \xF0\x9F\x92\x97' )
Have you tried http://www.codecademy.com ? If you'er fairly comfy with the base technologies, you could try and make up a small project (young family site? Your own blog template to update relatives?) -- alternatively, you could try a server side technology for your front end to talk to (try writing a rest service? Maybe in Python?)
(Not trying to get you more busy, just trying to help you find a path )
The lowest SIDS rates in the world are in countries where bed-sharing is traditional, for instance parts of Asia and South Asia. source
Okay, those I'd laminate and keep.
But I second and third everyone else's suggestion about taking pics and keeping digital copies.
Or, alternately, I know a lady who turns the various piles of artwork into useful stuff. No need to buy a birthday card - just use an old piece of art folded in half with a heartfelt message handwritten inside. Wrapping paper? Art plus tape! Kid wants a pen pal? Other side of the art - it's two ways of communication in one! Can't find the box of envelopes? Art to the rescue!
Or, my husband's favorite - DVD/CD Case from art!
The best dad hack I've found is the car seat twisted L trick. If you ever struggled with a twisted car seat strap while your child (and your wife) are becoming more and more restless, this is a lifesaver.
Second is what I'd describe as "change of context" trick. If the child is crying or being difficult for no obvious reason, I take him out to the porch or outside. The sudden change of temperature and environment usually calms him down faster than any other thing I can do.
I'll throw a mom trick for the third one. After your child starts walking, teach her to touch and hold the car when you park and get her out of her car seat but you still have things to take out. Thanks to my wife being so good with this, it has become automatic. We park, I take him out, and he immediately seeks to hold the car until I grab his hand and we start walking.
Or similarly, find some U brackets and just attach a regular gate to the face of the trim there on the first step.
I'm thinking to put the brackets around a few bars and tighten it up.
I use north state swinging gates. I’m in a double split level so I have 4 stair cases to gate. These don’t have a bar on the bottom to trip on and fall down the stairs so they’re really ideal. Fair warning, they’re a pain to install. Not cheap but they’re great.
https://www.amazon.com/Easy-Swing-Lock-North-States/dp/B005JN6304
I used this gate for some stairs that are similar to yours going down. I only needed three of the six panels. You might be able to use all six and go from the right of the stairs up over to the left of that door. It’d be a giant barrier but it’d cover both sets of stairs.
We have the eufy spaceview, chose it cause it makes its own point to point network and doesn’t connect to the internet, which would be handy when camping. The monitor has a built in battery, and the camera is powered off a micro-USB adapter, which means you can plug it into a portable USB battery. Worked great during a power outage! (The monitor also recharges via a micro USB port, so you could recharge it off the same external battery pack).
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08G8MBWZ8/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_glt_fabc_RQV1MHPWV9QMWYN45Z3N
That's great! Our daughter is good for her age (6 also) and everyone comments how great her pictures are, but they're not that good!
Did he use alcohol markers (copic type)? We've got some for our girl and they're bloody brilliant. So much better than the normal kid markers you can get and they're not really more expensive for rip off AliExpress ones. Totally recommend any parent buy something like this if your kids like drawing or colouring, can get it from AliExpress cheaper https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0872PHCS6/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_awdb_imm_2GVYFTN4AEHVWA9Z6B2W?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1)
It's funny, she's about the age she's starting to go to friends houses to visit (we come along for now) and it's amusing watching her throw her hands in the air because no other kids have decent art supplies. She's got a whole chest-of-draws filled with good quality (not necessarily expensive, or given by arty family members or even inherited) watercolours and pens etc. Then other kids have, this tiny collection of some awful crayons and watercolours that are so washed out you can hardly tell what colour it is and she just looks around and says "where's the rest of it?".
Not saying that's bad, of course, different kids are into different things. No point buying art stuff for a kid that doesn't like art. Those kids had loads of other stuff we don't have because she's totally not interested in ball games or sports etc.
It's just funny to watch.
This was part of how I bonded with mine; I was a world class fartner.
We used gas drops (same as gas-x; simethicone)regularly and I would massage a little belly (clockwise) and move some tiny thighs to work things out(edit: per your question, 'yes'). I sometimes executes a double leg belly press and squeezed the farts out. If I failed my task, we occasionally used a windi(caution is advised).
Sadly, this facet of our relationship waned as the skill of farting was learned and the dietary issue that caused it was overcome by bowel development.
Nevertheless, it will be written in the book of developmental stories that I was my child's dedicated and talented fartner.
Some good advice in this thread. Big +1 on the using real language. Explain that being dead means their body doesn't work any more and they won't walk, breathe, eat, play, etc. Offer to answer questions now and any they come up with over time.
I recommend The Goodbye Book. It helped my 4 year old to understand things after her grandma died.
I also highly recommend these as they are also more eco friendly and don’t run the risk of some of the nasty stuff that can be in puppy pads. They worked really really well for us.
https://www.amazon.com/Munchkin-Hammer-Disposable-Changing-Count/dp/B002KCMSPQ
Level up to dad+ with a wall mounted battery storage organizer for the closet or basement. I’ve been using this one Wall mounted battery storage
I signed up for Amazon Mom and clicked on Subscribe & Save. Formula is under Baby Food.
Certified master textile cleaner here. Also have a three year old and another baby boy on the way.
Anything that comes out of a human or animal you want to use an enzyme cleaner on. The enzymes will work to digest the organic matter which also helps with the odor.
My favorite enzyme spotter I use everyday is Bac-out by Bio-Kleen. Amazon has it here
When you work on furniture fabrics a big concern is drying time. If you leave the spot too wet and let it dry naturally you may end up with a water ring stain. That's when it wicks out and where it stops drying, you will be able to see a noticeable "ring".
You can help to prevent that by using a hair dryer from a safe distance, about two feet away, and give it a speed drying. Some fabrics could melt if you get too close for an extended period of time.
I have a micro fiber sofa. When we have had spit up or other spots in the past my best friend has been the baby wipes that we already had handy. They are a neutral ph so they shouldn't harm even the natural fiber furniture.
I would find a well respected cleaner in your area and have your furniture professionally cleaned at least every two years.
It was a hand-me-down from my wife's friend. A quick search on Amazon and I believe this is it, Fuzzy Bee. It's AWESOME! My daughter loves it.
1000 dog waste bags for $16 prime amazon
i have dogs...and a baby. this works even better. put soiled diaper & wipes into bag, smush air out, and tie it up. no smell. and it's way cheap. been telling everyone this is the way to go.
Thanks everyone! The carrier is the Osprey Poco Plus. I got it at REI but here's a newer version on Amazon...https://www.amazon.com/Osprey-Packs-Child-Carrier-Black/dp/B014EC5QGM/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1497815058&sr=8-1&keywords=osprey%2Bpoco%2Bplus&th=1
I can't recommend it highly enough. The boy loves being outside and this is a great way to do it together
Bio Bidet A3 Fresh Water Non-Electric Bidet Attachment with Self-Cleaning Nozzle, Solid Brass Valve Assembly and Swivel Metal Hose Joint https://www.amazon.com/dp/B018RJPA4G/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_X235BbWE3DN63
This model mounts underneath your existing toilet seat and provides the cleansing waters. Gets a little chilly in winter time though...
It also tilts the seat forward a little bit if you don’t get the little standoffs to make the pads on the front of the seat a little higher. Those are on Amazon for like $5.
You can see his big smile even behind the mask. There are also some really fun patterned masks out there, which might make it easier.
I think they only make those cool sweaters for kids - the closest I could find for adults are Amazon’s zodiac constellation hoodies.
So long as your wife doesn't go crazy buying cute prints, you can save a lot of money in the long run. Especially if you plan on having more kids.
The thing that tipped the scale for me to make them more tolerable is a sprayer that connects to the toilet. You spray the solids off the diaper straight into the toilet and then drop the diaper into a wet bag to wait for washing.
Get one that attaches to your vacuum. Had a pediatrician recommended this one
Umm. I tried this at the exact same age in November and it was a nightmare.
We decided to put the crib back together and bought one of these:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B075DLL489/
And one of these:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0796WY8HZ/
These in tandem have worked wonders. We are sleeping through the night again!
I have a Foscam FI9281W v2 IP camera attached to the wall using Command strips above my son's crib.
720p, IR filter, wireless. I've got the IR set on a schedule to activate near the time we put him down for bed and the deactivate when we wake up.
It's only accessible from the LAN, no outside connections. For remote viewing (which is rare), I have a VPN set up in a virtual machine on my desktop that allows me to reach the LAN, then view the camera.
The wife and I both have Android phones, so we use TinyCam Monitor Pro, which is hands-down the best mobile IP cam app I've used.
My solution is a bit complicated but it works really well. My wife and i both have an app on our android phones (sweet home) that automatically uploads the latest photos/videos to my file server whenever the phones are charging at home. Then on my file server the photos are on a drive that is sync'd to a folder in Google Drive. This google drive folder is a shared folder that we can both access over the web. So we have auto-backup and we can both access the pictures/videos taken by the other.
I also have some python scripts that do routine cleanup and reorganization, but that isn't necessary.
We've done this several times. My daughter would fall asleep 98% of the way through a half hour car ride, and you don't dare wake the beast. On mild days we would just turn the car off and shut the garage, pinch a phone in the headrest and pull it up on our TV in the living room and go about our day until we noticed she was awake. Free and super handy!
App is called IP Webcam on Google Play Store. https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.pas.webcam&hl=en
Her birth would definitely be a qualifying life event for you to start a policy outside of open enrollment. For that matter, it counts as a life event for you and your wife to change plans, too.
Personally, I would strongly consider just moving everyone onto your plan unless the coverage or networks are significantly worse. From a straight dollar perspective you're talking about adding another $300-$400 to the $300 you're already spending for you and your wife separately -- that's pretty much the same as your family plan already. But one thing that you might be overlooking is that with your employer's plan you're paying with pre-tax money. If you buy your own plan separately you won't get that benefit, so it effectively costs you more by whatever your top marginal tax rate is.
Edit: One other thing that occurred to me: do neither of your employers have a separate "Employee + child(ren)" plan level? Everywhere I've worked for at least the last 15 years has had a separate rate for that that was lower than Family and typically lower even than Employee + spouse.
Same here. Looking forward to camping on the beach over Christmas. Not looking forward to cleaning the sand out of the camper afterward though. Maybe Santa will bring me one of these. https://www.amazon.com/CGEAR-Original-Sand-Free-Outdoor-Camping/dp/B01L6ON0F0?th=1
I’ve had social anxiety and anger issues for as long as I can remember. Having a crying or just uncooperative baby could make me lose my mind and often did. I was too easily frustrated and went from 0 - 100 in no time.
Did some internet diagnosing and self diagnosed myself with intermittent explosive disorder and general anxiety disorder.
Got some professional help and they came to just about the same conclusions and prescribed an SSRI which honestly changed my life. I still get frustrated but not as easily, and I can keep myself from going mad when I’m stressing out. Was a strange feeling being having my buttons pressed by stressors and not having my heart race and getting super mad.
That’s just my experience. Everyone is different. Life on its own is hard man. Sounds like you’re aware of your triggers and throwing a baby into the mix can easily exacerbate any ongoing issues. Definitely talk to your doctor and don’t be afraid of chemical assistance.
BOWERBIRD Clear Toy Blockers for Furniture - Stop Things from Going Under Couch Sofa Bed and Other Furniture - Suit for Hard Surface Floors Only https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07J4Q2PRV/ref=cm_sw_r_apan_i_GY3JCN0NSHTQPXQVBW08
You're welcome
Start here: Galactic Heros. I bought a couple "lots" on ebay just to jump start the collection for the kids.
Not exactly what you are after, but they are the young kids' Star wars figures. Some have arms that move, ect.
Found many different crocheted pokemon on etsy, this seems to be the closest to what he purchased: Etsy Link
Brain development requires fat. If not breastmilk, whole milk. Kids are going to have snot, even if deprived of milk.
"Kids are not supposed to drink cows milk..." -- no, cows are supposed to drink cow's milk, but we've adapted incredibly well to handle it with a battery of gut flora and a common mammalian heritage, and it's worked well enough for the last 4,000-30,000 years (depending on who's archaeology you believe and individual heritage - some cultures don't do the cowmilk, but are hitting up alpacas, cats, camels, goats, etc..)
If you don't have some kind of milk allergy in your family, if you lack decisive motivation to buck established, known working methodologies, and when you're presented with the raft of papers suggesting the above mention fats, seems pretty straight forward to me.
I need this in a onesie. If you haven't seen it, there's an awesome piece from Andy Baio, former Kickstarter CTO, on what happens when you teach your kid to play basically every video game ever. https://medium.com/message/playing-with-my-son-e5226ff0a7c3
Lots of advice here, but here's my $0.02 Costco or Sam's. As many people have pointed out here, if you buy name brand straight from Walmart or Target, you'll be paying too much. Buying in bulk comes out cheaper in my experience.
There’s a windows power setting to change the behavior of the power button. For my cats I kept a playing card covering the button. Toddlers are smarter than cats. She still tries to hit the button but unless she holds it down for 5 seconds, it just clicks. link
Happiest Baby on the Block. Get the video, this helped us a lot through this period. You can buy it for $8.
https://www.justwatch.com/us/movie/the-happiest-baby-on-the-block
The basic idea is that babies need the 5 S’s which simulate the womb environment until they are 3-4 months old (assuming a 9 month pregnancy). This is the “fourth trimester”. We are born too early because our heads evolved to be too big pretty recently, and women’s hips couldn’t get any wider without threatening their ability to outrun prey.
The 5 Ss are:
Swaddling
Shhhing (white noise)
Swaying
Side lying (Just to calm them down. Keep them on their back for sleep)
Sucking
Some combination of these will activate a calming reflex. Here’s an article. The book is also good, and honesty we even bought a used Snoo, which is the guy’s crazy expensive bassinet (their stand-alone swaddling sacks are great too). It was all helpful, but it didn’t really click until we watched the video. Then the nightly scream fest disappeared and it was smooth sailing... until the 4 month sleep regression ;-).
Good luck!
Walmart has a pretty great stroller/carseat combo called Urbini Omni. We absolutely love it, and we've gotten a lot of complements on it. For the price it's really a good deal: https://www.walmart.com/ip/Urbini-Omni-Plus-Travel-System-Viola/44656183
Kirkland Forumla is what you need. Amazingly cheaper and still the same amount of vitamins as any other comparable brand.
I highly recommend "Love and Logic". It's worked for me. It identifies what we do right and what we do wrong with our current form of parenting. It's a two part book; first, it deals with the psychology aspect of parenting. The second half is the tools and tips for dealing with situations. I believe there is always room for continuous improvement and this book has really helped me.
I have a 9 year old daughter, a two year old daughter, and a 6 month old son. I am partially colorblind. Blue/Purple, red/orange, and sometimes pink/white are a problem for me.
Jeans, Jeans, Jeans. Match up the flower patterns.
I have come very close to tagging all of my daughters' outfits with an initial/number combo for easy match up. Or RFID tags would make this a lot easier.
I suffer from anxiety, but not baby related.
Meditation has been really effective for me, way more than any other treatment.
If you're interested, I'd recommend Headspace as a really good starting point.
It has a free starter 'course' which consists of 10 x 10 min daily sessions.
I never went any further than that with it (seemed way too expensive to me) - but went on to explore other practitioners, books and methods.
It may not be exactly what you are looking for, but Geocaching and Letter Boxing both have scavenger hunt like qualities that get you out and about in your community, giving you an opportunity to go places you might not otherwise go to and see.
Or if you want to break out the sound-editing tools --garage band, soundtrack pro, whatever . . .
This loop on freesound.org is a fetal heartbeat recorded with a doppler mic. Warning, your nursery will sound like the bowels of a submarine.
This site right here will singlehandedly teach your kids math, from basic addition all the way to calculus III (and even linear algebra in addition to that). Instructional videos and endless quizzes. Self-paced and you and your kids will always be able to go back to a previous lesson to brush up on the rules.
It takes a few minutes to get used to and learn how to navigate, but you'll be able to keep track of every single possible statistic you'd be interested in with your kids' progress.
It even has achievement medals as if it were a video game which is very motivational. They've started replacing traditional math classes in some school system in California and test results are through the roof.
Basically what I'm saying is this thing is awesome. Oh and it's 100% free.
Wife and I were just talking about how irritating we find Water Wipes to get out. We may go all in on Amazon's Mama Bear 99% Water Baby Wipes after being given a case by a friend.
We use something like this for our pets. Idk if it would be strong enough to prevent a determined toddler though.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B007V4N582/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1
Don't think so but you can get some Batman car seat covers.
Link to the car seat, unfortunately any car seat covers don't come with the cape blanket
Might be able to use this one. It's adjustable, and comes with extension pieces to fit most places. Looks like you'll be able to squeeze it on the bottom of the 3rd step.
I got a seat that fits of the top bar between me and the handlebars. My 3 year old loves it. I think its preferable to a back seat because you can easily talk to your kids while riding, feels safer too. I also attached one of those trailer bikes for my 6 year old. It's the best, all 3 of us going together, we get lots of looks and smiles. It's great because we get to go and explore our neighbourhood and even beyond it at a good pace and i get great exercise with the extra weight.
https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B07PSMWB5S/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apan_glt_i_6KE2MMP7K76W0FAD58XV
https://www.canadiantire.ca/en/pdp/supercycle-ride-a-long-bike-trailer-20-in-0715008p.html