The new rolling ILX parenting thread, since the other one was getting unwieldy

Oh Archel,so so so cute! Does she already try to grab the food with the spoon?

what a great smile she has!

http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1006/797022301_9840de5888.jpg

babymkII at 25 weeks. :-)

Wow! That is some CSI-level imaging technology.

do you know if its a boy or girl yet nath?

That's AMAZING!

Yes, it is amazing that I know it's a... baby. ;-)

OK, time for more pix...

Rompin' in their rompers!
http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1334/825281014_3c7ebe6cbf.jpg

Owen loves goatees:
http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1370/824403659_d7cb635195.jpg

The difference between Ben...
http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1297/751247963_47ce78441a.jpg

and Owen:

http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1437/752098950_e4ec173513.jpg

I have never seen this thread before. I wonder why.

Anyway, I am now a full-time stay-at-home Dad and I think I'm beginning to get he hang of it after a few weeks of THE FEAR etc. I think we are doing OK. Does my swede in at times though.

I wonder if this will work:

http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1270/829072512_23ecfa3ac2.jpg

This is us chiling out. Must have lasted all of five seconds.

So how is the experience? I can't imagine being a fulltime parent. Even the first week, after delivering OPhelia, I coudln't wait to get back in the shop. I could *do* it, but I prefer being in the shop. (That said, I work far less than I used to, I feel extremely guilty about this yet I can't seem to up the work amount. It's partially a lack of energy, being pregnant again does drain you from some energy.) Anyway, PJ, I am really interested in knowing how it is! Same for Teeny, how are you feeling? How do you organize your day? Do you guys plan to remain fulltime parents until.. when?

Now I'm back at work I feel like I was BORN to be a full-time parent, grrr. There is nothing in my job that is as fulfilling or enjoyable as looking after Alice, and I can't imagine any job that would be.

But then again if I was still at home full-time perhaps I'd be going mad. The grass is always greener...

Oh yeah and twins = gorgeous! And Edith looks so like you PJ! Hope your swede isn't too broken today.

I'm just glad I have a choice in the matter and that it all worked out for me. It was good timing, I'd gotten out of radio anyway and was just doing contract PR jobs when I got pregnant. I'll really have to start from scratch when I get back to work, though, oh well. I was definitely afraid that staying home with a kid all day would drive me bonkers, I never cared for kids before, but it worked out. I'm not terribly social so I don't miss having co-workers. I do some volunteer and freelance work though just to keep fresh and connected.

What do we do all day? I dunno, we just play! It's easy to go out if we get restless, we have a tiny tiny backyard or a park across the street, and lots of other stuff within a walk or short drive. Sometimes I take one of those delightful classes at the YMCA like kid gymnastics. St. Louis has a free zoo I live close to also, which is great. It's not too structured.

So looking forward to the second kid yet? :-)

I am sorry if my question seemed loaded with negativity.It certainly wasn't intentional. Maybe I'm just very paranoid (as here being a stay at home parent is... sometimes frowned upon, I guess.) I really am interested in hearing how you guys experience it all! I do think that me being in the shop and having her "in the back of the shop" isn't always that grebt. It has its good and bad sides. Just like being a stay at home dad/mom, I guess.

One of the things that irk me a LOT is this "romantic" view the media has of kids and how they portray babies. Just last night watching Veronica Mars (yeah shut up, I go on about it too much) there was a baby in it and NOT ONCE did it cry nor even mutter a sound. It was just "there." I commented to my husband that the baby must have been on some tranquilizers to be that silent. It was weird to the point of freaky: it just STARED into nothingness. :-)

My wife is staying home with Molly for at least the next six months; she would probably like to stay longer on some level but we are too poor; on another level, she feels guilty about not using her recently-completed teaching degree and feels like she will just turn into, I dunno, a Desperate Housewife or something. I would happily stay home but someone gotta make that cheddar.

Hi, by the way. Pictures whenever Liza deigns to download them from our camera. Most amazing trip ever, and lil' M0lly is smart and beautiful and amazing, more fun than Cheap Trick opening for P.Funk in 1978, cuter than one million lolkittens, funnier than Gallagher mistaking Carrot Top's head for a watermelon.

yay! congrats!

im ready for babe number 2. too early?

Of course not! :-) (Although they do recommend you to *recover* physically for about a year.)

my wife is about 5 months pregnant, guess I better start paying attention to this thread

How is she feeling? Still nauseous? Tired?

there's no nausea anymore - she's not particularly tired either, but she does tend to take a little nap when she gets home from work. There have been a few more trips on the hormonocoaster than I would like but there isn't anything I can do about that besides be patient...

I'm ready for baby no.1 to arrive, even though I've just reached 38 weeks! My ankles are swelling up, I think I've got a trapped nerve in my back, and the midwife reckons that squirrel is already 8lb, they do get their estimates wrong, don't they?!

Having said I'd like squirrel to show up asap, we still haven't finished decorating the nursery and there's loads of clutter everywhere and a couple of things we still need to pick up, but I can't do any housework as it's too painful and I'm sure we'd cope with what we've already got!

Hi, by the way. Pictures whenever Liza deigns to download them from our camera. Most amazing trip ever, and lil' M0lly is smart and beautiful and amazing, more fun than Cheap Trick opening for P.Funk in 1978, cuter than one million lolkittens, funnier than Gallagher mistaking Carrot Top's head for a watermelon.

Best description ever! Huge congratulations to all of you!

thx 1138

oh no nath I didn't think you were being negative at all! I can totally totally see what you're saying. You're right, it's all a mixed bag. We're lucky to have choices but it's the existence of those choices that makes us wonder if we're doing the best thing. I'm sorry if you catch any flack for your choices, I think it may be even worse in america though, where you're damned if you do and damned if you don't, it's really horrible and occasionally misogynist the way people go after moms.

hello dere
http://i12.tinypic.com/4knc6ed.jpg

Oooh. *melts*

awwwww!

parents with older kids, tell me about teething. beats is sucking in her bottom lip a lot and i can see two very distinct teeth outlines in the front of her gums. shes been drooling for maybe 6 weeks. how long til they pop out?

Depends, it can take days for some, weeks for others. Just be prepared. It can be a hellish ride (waking up in the middle of the night,..). Get some teething toys (which you can stick in the frigde, it numbs the pain a bit) and there's also some ointment which you can rub on their gums as well. How old is Beeps again? Drooling can be a sign, but also rubbing ears.

beeps is 4 1/2 months old. im using the stuff you rub on their gums. thing is, package says you cant use it for more than 7 days. i dont want to use it now if the worst 7 days are still yet to come.

Another way you can tell the teeth are sore is if their cheeks are hot.

Top tips corner: The teething rings that you put in the fridge tend to defrost pretty quickly in my experience. You'll need two or three of them or alternatively tie up some ice chips in some kind of chewable cloth - that worked better for us.

btw beeps laughed for the first time earlier this week. it was such an adult laugh. not squealy or giggly at all. more "ha ha heh ho" than the "heeeeeeeeeehehehehe" i was expecting.

her father was horrified to learn she was hanging out with a boy at daycare yesterday. its the first social interaction with a peer ive seen her in. they start so young.

My (first) pediatrician said the drooling is a load of crap. Then again, I didn't really like him anyway, so whatever dude. ;-) There's homeopathic (?) ointment which you can use for longer periods. Well, we used it for a prolonged period, but we'd only use it when O went to sleep. She was about Beeps age when she started teething. I wouldn't worry too much, the first ones are the least painful (I think). The ones in the back (molars?) hurt more. :-(

we do have one for the fridge. i guess we'll need another. also she has a teething blanket but when she gnawed down on the plastic corners she started crying.

her cheeks are hot! diarrhea and fever too.

There is a homeopathic treatment that comes like a little pill which you put on a spoon with some water. I can't remember exactly what it's called. Anyway, it worked quite amazingly for us. Literally within a minute the crying stopped and all was calm. I tasted it once and it just tastes slightly sweet. Probably still got the container lying around somewhere, I'll see if I can find it - it was really useful that stuff.

excellent. thanks!

sunny, before any teeth break through, large peeled carrots are good as teethers. They stay cold and have some give, but aren't safe if she can bite or break off chunks.

the kid is still on formula (we are delaying solid until 6 months+) but thats a good idea though. later months maybe.

She shouldn't actually eat them, just gnaw on them to get the teeth to break through the gums. Once they have teeth, raw carrots are too easy to choke on for littlies.

oh duh! gotcha now.

We've used carrots (unpeeled, but I don't think that really matters), the teething tablets (sort of like melatonin pills - you put them on their gums and they dissolve), the gel, tylenol, and ibuprofen/motrin. Ibuprofen works the best, but some doctors want you to wait until 6 months before you give it to babies. I think our doctor said we could use a slightly lower dose of ibuprofen before six months. We usually alternate between all of these things, so that they don't get too much medicine. For some reason, the frozen toys have never worked for us.

Ben and Owen both have their bottom two teeth, and they are cutting their incisors (I think that's what they are called - maybe canines?) now.

IBUPROFEN??? WTF man, here they avoid it at all costs.

D5 - She is absolutely ADORABLE!

incisors are the top and bottom middle 4. i think canines? i dont know. i always call them the vampires.

xxpost

Cuspids? I think of them as fangs.

http://whyfiles.org/shorties/147tooth/images/teeth.jpg

Ibuprofen is a modern miracle. I love the stuff.

me too. in australia it is branded as "neurophen" but a lot of people call it "neurofriend".

I used to freeze washcloths and twist them up and give them to Spencer when he was teething - he loved 'em.