justincredible;1883581 wrote:Did it just finally happen after 9 years, or did you do something to help the process? My wife and I have been married for over 8 years and haven't been trying to prevent it, and so far nothing.

Has she taken anything? My wife and I tried for a year and then her Dr gave her something. She was pregnant within a month. I was kind of hoping we would have to try for another year for our second but no such luck and she was pregnant in the first month again.

queencitybuckeye;1883551 wrote:Congrats! May her first words be "Taxation is theft".

Absolultely! I'd also accept "freedom of association," "voluntaryism," and "Am I being detained?"

CenterBHSFan;1883556 wrote:Congratulations! How many OSU items does she already have?

Three.

Would have been more, but we weren't sure whether or not she'd be a small baby, a large baby, or somewhere in between.

friendfromlowry;1883575 wrote:Gotta be able to take care of yourself if you want to take care of someone else. The lack of sleep is to be expected but there are ways around it. I'm not much help because my daughter slept through the night from the time she was born (humble brag) and I work night shift so I'm use to feeling like shit already.

Yeah, we're trying to keep her awake as long as possible in the evenings, and we've already switched her sleeping arrangements to something she seems to think is more comfortable.

friendfromlowry;1883578 wrote:Also, go find a spare bookbag or something you're not using and pack it with emergency supplies (diapers, wipes, change of clothes, formula if you're using it, blanket) and leave it in your trunk at all times. There will be a time when you go somewhere and forgot something or didn't have it but thought you did.

My wife and I took our daughter to the nursery at the rec center when she was 1.5 years old and had to leave within ten minutes of dropping her off because she shit herself. For some reason bringing her bag never crossed our mind. The rec is only a few minutes from us and we were only going to be gone like an hour.

This is a good call. Thanks for the tip!

justincredible;1883581 wrote:Did it just finally happen after 9 years, or did you do something to help the process? My wife and I have been married for over 8 years and haven't been trying to prevent it, and so far nothing.

It just happened. We'd started going through the process of adoption, but other than that, it was nothing new.

Very nice looking baby. Congrats. I have 3 girls and am working hard on messing them up. Check in after 14 years.

Spock;1883609 wrote: I have 3 girls and am working hard on messing them up. .

One of the few things you've been successful with, in life.

Never really had the lack of sleep. You’ll learn the tricks. It’s ok to let them cry some.

Always pack 2-3 more diapers than they should need

Congrats...you’ll love it

Ironman92;1883621 wrote:Never really had the lack of sleep. You’ll learn the tricks. It’s ok to let them cry some.

Always pack 2-3 more diapers than they should need

Congrats...you’ll love it

/thread
When my parents watch her for the night I'll send a dozen diapers.

Also, is that a boob her face is up against?

Also for months down the road...when family watches her for whatever reason....they do what they think is best and that’s that, especially if it’s your parents or in laws

From a father of six:

Enjoy the journey.

Congrats!

FatHobbit;1883598 wrote:Has she taken anything? My wife and I tried for a year and then her Dr gave her something. She was pregnant within a month. I was kind of hoping we would have to try for another year for our second but no such luck and she was pregnant in the first month again.

No, we haven't attempted to increase our odds yet.

friendfromlowry;1883628 wrote:Also, is that a boob her face is up against?

An arm, with the crook of the elbow behind her head.

Ironman92;1883633 wrote:Also for months down the road...when family watches her for whatever reason....they do what they think is best and that’s that, especially if it’s your parents or in laws

For the most part, I'm okay with that.

Congratulations. Good advice here. I'd also add start a 529 sooner than later.

Congrats, we have our first child (also a girl) due the first week of February. Maybe you'll have some of your own tips by then

iclfan2;1883690 wrote:Congrats, we have our first child (also a girl) due the first week of February. Maybe you'll have some of your own tips by then

All I've got so far is this: Sleep when the baby sleeps.

FatHobbit;1883598 wrote:Has she taken anything? My wife and I tried for a year and then her Dr gave her something. She was pregnant within a month. I was kind of hoping we would have to try for another year for our second but no such luck and she was pregnant in the first month again.

We had to go this route due to some issues and that’s why we have twins.

Congrats! Let me know if you need an internet friend to babysit her, lol. She's beautiful!

ts1227;1883747 wrote:We had to go this route due to some issues and that’s why we have twins.

I'll be sure to not let my wife know this.

justincredible;1883779 wrote:I'll be sure to not let my wife know this.

lol, if you ever hear Clomid mentioned, it increases the chances of releasing multiple eggs. It’s like a 7% chance or something. Shit works though (apparently too well), second month after she went on it she was pregnant

My SIL had to take Clomid twice and was pretty nervous about having multiples, but they only had one each time. They also decided to try for a third when she was 38 and she got pregnant naturally in a short amount of time. Fertility is weird.

O-Trap;1883565 wrote:You know, I heard all the horror stories about lack of sleep. So much so that, other than maybe the financial side of it, it was my #1 fear about becoming the parent of a newborn.

To those who haven't yet had a child, all that fear was totally and completely warranted. I slept like ten hours total in six days. We're figuring it out now, though. I got one stretch of four hours last night and a couple other stretches of an hour or so apiece. A total of 6-7 hours.

What has been the most surprising part was that I never really got a swell of emotion. The feeling of being a dad for the first time felt more natural and like a logical next step.

The wife and she just got back from the first pediatrician appointment, and she's officially healthy.

Any tips from you former first-time dads?

First of all Congratulations.

Second, advice is don't sweat the small stuff, enjoy it and relax. Too many first time parents try to seriously helicopter parent their first then finally realize their child will not die from a little dirt or a single piece of candy so they are more relaxed on their 2nd/3rd children.

This is typically more true for moms than dads, so maybe something to push the advice to your wife.

I have probably zero pictures of our first born when he was playing and "dirty" when he was young/infant/toddler. Our last two we have some of the best pictures of them just having a blast playing in the dirt, rain, snow, mud, whatever with their faces all a wreck but the biggest smiles on their faces.

Having the exact right laundry detergent, the right shampoo, soap, etc will not make a difference at all, let the kid explore, have fun. Some bumps and bruises actually helps kids learn what NOT to do.

Oh, and your post reminds me I had the best wife on the planet. She was a stay at home mom and her exact words when they were infants "You have to go to work in the morning, I can cat nap through the day when he does...I will get up in the night".

I never got up in the middle of the night (well, pretty much never).

Verbal Kint;1883680 wrote:I'd also add start a 529 sooner than later.

I'm torn on this these days.

While I have wanted to start a 529 for several years (my kids are 3 and 2 right now), I am almost to the point that throwing money in my Roth IRA is more beneficial in the long run. Money grows nicely. Can be utilized how I want it to. Take loans out for the kids' education and just pay from Roth IRA.

Only downside right now is I'm the only one that can put money into it. Family and friends won't necessarily put money in it. Once my wife and I pass away, the Roth carries on with my kids.

Belly advice ... father of three daughter
1. You will learn how to change diapers in the dark
2. They don't break easy ... the first one is protected, the second one get a pass, third one what the hell
3. The relationship you build now and in the future growing year will come back triple later in your life...

If you have any question about how to raise up kids contact Belly ...

Belly35;1883826 wrote:Belly advice ... father of three daughter
1. You will learn how to change diapers in the dark
2. They don't break easy ... the first one is protected, the second one get a pass, third one what the hell
3. The relationship you build now and in the future growing year will come back triple later in your life...

If you have any question about how to raise up kids contact Belly ...

Pretty sure Belly can also hook you up with some early-learner hooked on phonics coursework, too.

JK, old man.

O-Trap;1883697 wrote:All I've got so far is this: Sleep when the baby sleeps.

Did you get her a "push" gift? I have no idea wtf that even means but supposedly you're supposed to buy something.

Fab4Runner;1883775 wrote:Congrats! Let me know if you need an internet friend to babysit her, lol. She's beautiful!

I'm trying to limit her exposure to Browns fans in the early weeks. Can't have her growing up cheering for them. That'd be child abuse.

Kidding, of course. Thank you.

jmog;1883813 wrote:First of all Congratulations.

Second, advice is don't sweat the small stuff, enjoy it and relax. Too many first time parents try to seriously helicopter parent their first then finally realize their child will not die from a little dirt or a single piece of candy so they are more relaxed on their 2nd/3rd children.

This is typically more true for moms than dads, so maybe something to push the advice to your wife.

I have probably zero pictures of our first born when he was playing and "dirty" when he was young/infant/toddler. Our last two we have some of the best pictures of them just having a blast playing in the dirt, rain, snow, mud, whatever with their faces all a wreck but the biggest smiles on their faces.

Having the exact right laundry detergent, the right shampoo, soap, etc will not make a difference at all, let the kid explore, have fun. Some bumps and bruises actually helps kids learn what NOT to do.

Oh, and your post reminds me I had the best wife on the planet. She was a stay at home mom and her exact words when they were infants "You have to go to work in the morning, I can cat nap through the day when he does...I will get up in the night".

I never got up in the middle of the night (well, pretty much never).

Yeah, both of us were eldest children and noticed the difference in parenting between us and our younger siblings.

I sometimes get up in the night, though she does the heavy lifting. The whole breastfeeding thing makes that pretty much necessary. Still, given that she's in a constant state of discomfort, I change a few diapers a night, just to give her a break.

Given that I work from home, I was worried that she'd want to rely on me during the day, but she's been great about taking care of Thea and leaving me to do my job.

iclfan2;1883850 wrote:Did you get her a "push" gift? I have no idea wtf that even means but supposedly you're supposed to buy something.

No. We didn't get to our due date, and I hadn't gotten anything yet. It was actually an emergency induction. We spent almost the entire week in the hospital last week ...

... which is going to be AWESOME to pay for, I'm sure.