General Parenting Thread

[Nym]

Aw, happy birthday to both you in advance :)

She's standing already? Wow she's faster than I was apparently.

[Res]

39 minutes ago, Rezzy said:

I should actually go see the Dentist.  I see them all the time, but haven't actually had a visit in years.

Maybe, Leo's already about the same size as his older cousin, who's about 8 months older.

I didn't see the dentist for nine years in my 20s; luckily I inherited good teeth genetics and I was fine, still no fillings. :)

My brother and younger sister have been the same height since they were about 5 and 3; however, there's only 2 years between them. Niko's predicted to end up roughly 8 inches taller than Anya so he'll overtake her at some point, just a question of when! I'll have to look at their charts to see when their curves might collide.

[Rezzy]

Est's bottom two teeth finally came all the way through a few weeks ago.  She bit me yesterday, and it hurt quite a bit.

Leo has claimed my Fire Emblem Amiibos as his own, and is calling them his "neatos" now.  He's beginning preschool next week, and it feels weird to think he's old enough to do that yet.

[Nym]

1 minute ago, Rezzy said:

Est's bottom two teeth finally came all the way through a few weeks ago.  She bit me yesterday, and it hurt quite a bit.

Leo has claimed my Fire Emblem Amiibos as his own, and is calling them his "neatos" now.  He's beginning preschool next week, and it feels weird to think he's old enough to do that yet.

Ahaha, Est uses Bite! It's super effective!

Oh wow I guess it's time! But he will probbly going to cry the first day so... prepare yourself for that.

[Shoblongoo]

None yet. Been trying to have one since April and no luck which is...a bit alarming. Any advise on how to up the odds?

[Res]

On 8/19/2017 at 8:02 PM, Shoblongoo said:

None yet. Been trying to have one since April and no luck which is...a bit alarming. Any advise on how to up the odds?

Is your wife tracking ovulation? I have a friend who used to work in a fertility clinic and her first piece of advice was always to buy a cheap lot of ovulation tests (they can be bulk-bought on Amazon; I've used them myself, as well as the pregnancy tests from Amazon) and become familiar with when you're ovulating, typical cycle etc. 

[Rezzy]

On 8/19/2017 at 10:02 PM, Shoblongoo said:

None yet. Been trying to have one since April and no luck which is...a bit alarming. Any advise on how to up the odds?

Ovulation tracking can help quite a bit, as mentioned.  I've always put a red dot on the calendar for bleeding days, because I like to know when to expect things, and that could come in handy for planning.  I was a bit lucky, though, since we managed to conceive the first month of trying, or not trying not to both times.

Another thing is your choice of underwear can play a small part.  Wearing tight briefs can keep the testicles too warm and decrease sperm's potential.  How old are you and your wife?  Mostly your wife, but it gets harder once you're past your mid-thirties.

What measures have you taken so far?  That may give us a better idea what to recommend.

[Shoblongoo]

We're both 28 years old. Her cycle is very irregular and trying to track it is a crap-shoot; it never follows the calendar. Some months it just skips altogether. We've been trying a throw everything at the wall and see what sticks strategy of just going for it every few days. I only wear loose-fitting boxer shorts, and I've tried taking herbs and supplements that are supposed to up sperm count. The big challenge is we have no idea what her good days are.

Edited August 23, 2017 by Shoblongoo

[Res]

5 minutes ago, Shoblongoo said:

We're both 28 years old. Her cycle is very irregular and trying to track it is a crap-shoot; it never follows the calendar. Some months it just skips altogether. We've been trying a throw everything at the wall and see what sticks strategy of just going for it every few days. I only wear loose-fitting boxer shorts, and I've tried taking herbs and supplements that are supposed to up sperm count. The big challenge is we have no idea what her good days are.

That's where the ovulation strips can help! You can test for ovulation whenever.

I also hear Taking Charge of Your Fertility is *the* book to read.

But, hearing that she's irregular; has she ever pinpointed a source for that? Irregularity isn't necessarily a barrier to conceiving (I'm irregular too, but had no issues) but it can be indicative of hormonal issues or PCOS which'll make it more difficult to conceive (and make it even more essential to use the ovulation strips). I've not had problems getting my PCP to order blood-tests on the basis of irregular periods in the past.

 

 

[Shoblongoo]

22 hours ago, Res said:

That's where the ovulation strips can help! You can test for ovulation whenever.

I also hear Taking Charge of Your Fertility is *the* book to read.

But, hearing that she's irregular; has she ever pinpointed a source for that? Irregularity isn't necessarily a barrier to conceiving (I'm irregular too, but had no issues) but it can be indicative of hormonal issues or PCOS which'll make it more difficult to conceive (and make it even more essential to use the ovulation strips). I've not had problems getting my PCP to order blood-tests on the basis of irregular periods in the past.

We think it may be some kind of polycystic ovary disease. Maybe.  

So basically what happened when we went to the doctor is they told us if we're under 30 years old, we have to be trying for at least a year before our insurance carrier will even remotely begin to consider tests and treatments for fertility problems as a covered medical service. And its thousands upon thousands of dollars to pursue the services out-of-pocket, if insurance isn't going to cover them. 

So we have it on record that we started trying this April. That takes us out to April 2018 before we can really do anything different then what we're doing now in terms of talking to doctors and trying to get more information. 

So in the meantime all there is to do is keep trying, and investigate things we can be doing on our own end to try and make it happen.      

Might have to give those ovulation strips a try.

Edited August 24, 2017 by Shoblongoo

[Anacybele]

Huh, I guess it would be hard for me to have my own baby if I wanted then, because I'm quite irregular too. There are times where I miss my cycle entirely. Good thing I'm choosing to adopt.

My stepdad keeps telling me not to rule out having my own baby, but it's not going to happen. There are just too many good reasons for me not to do it. I don't want to risk passing down autism, I'm small in stature, so I would have a higher risk of certain complications and having to go c-section rather than vaginal birth, and I would never be able to handle the issues that come with pregnancy like morning sickness, having to sleep on my side (I cannot sleep on my side at all. I just don't fall asleep this way), kicking, cravings, mood swings (this one more so because of the husband/father, not me. I can definitely see myself being crazy and hard to deal with here), etc. And I'm just plain SCARED of childbirth.

But when trying to conceive, when all else seems to fail, there are fertility clinics. They do things like take the woman's egg and the man's sperm, combine them manually, and then put the zygote inside the woman.

[Res]

2 hours ago, Shoblongoo said:

And its thousands upon thousands of dollars to pursue the services out-of-pocket, if insurance isn't going to cover them. 

Yeah, it sucks, I'm really sorry. :( Good luck trying the strips!

1 hour ago, Anacybele said:

I would never be able to handle the issues that come with pregnancy

Yes; I was really curious about pregnancy then after like, a day, I was all nope, I'm over this. 

Then I forgot and decided I could handle it again three years later. I'm totally done now, though!

[Rezzy]

Random updates

I think Leo caught something at school.  He's been lying in his bed off and on for the past couple days, which never usually happens.  I think he gave it to me, since me throat is scratchy today, so I hope I'm not getting sick.

Leo sure loves stickers.  He also loves putting them on me.  A couple days ago, I woke up with a sticker on my chest.

Leo also seems to have Bulbasaur as his favorite Pokemon.  He calls it Bulbadinosaur and takes it with him at bedtime.

Est walked a couple steps on her own today, but when I tried to get her to do it again, she just wobbled and fell.

[Captain Karnage]

7 minutes ago, Rezzy said:

Random updates

I think Leo caught something at school.  He's been lying in his bed off and on for the past couple days, which never usually happens.  I think he gave it to me, since me throat is scratchy today, so I hope I'm not getting sick.

Leo sure loves stickers.  He also loves putting them on me.  A couple days ago, I woke up with a sticker on my chest.

Leo also seems to have Bulbasaur as his favorite Pokemon.  He calls it Bulbadinosaur and takes it with him at bedtime.

Est walked a couple steps on her own today, but when I tried to get her to do it again, she just wobbled and fell.

DAAAWWWW

 

On 8/24/2017 at 2:22 PM, Anacybele said:

Huh, I guess it would be hard for me to have my own baby if I wanted then, because I'm quite irregular too. There are times where I miss my cycle entirely. Good thing I'm choosing to adopt.

My stepdad keeps telling me not to rule out having my own baby, but it's not going to happen. There are just too many good reasons for me not to do it. I don't want to risk passing down autism, I'm small in stature, so I would have a higher risk of certain complications and having to go c-section rather than vaginal birth, and I would never be able to handle the issues that come with pregnancy like morning sickness, having to sleep on my side (I cannot sleep on my side at all. I just don't fall asleep this way), kicking, cravings, mood swings (this one more so because of the husband/father, not me. I can definitely see myself being crazy and hard to deal with here), etc. And I'm just plain SCARED of childbirth.

But when trying to conceive, when all else seems to fail, there are fertility clinics. They do things like take the woman's egg and the man's sperm, combine them manually, and then put the zygote inside the woman.

I wouldn't worry as much about passing it down, if the father doesn't have it, it will more than likely take over the recessive gene

[Res]

Go Est!!!

Yeah, we currently have a sickly household, I spent the past three days dealing with enough vomit, diarrhea and blood to last me a year. Also 3 hrs of sleep a night because Niko was too scared to sleep because he's associating sleep = vomit, now. He watched Dinotrux (he's only seen the entire 5 seasons 20 times or so) while I spent until 4 am cleaning.

 

 

 

 

[Rezzy]

Leo loves playing with the Fire Emblem Amiibos, which he has claimed as his own.  He calls the Celica one Mommy, which is a bit funny.

[Silverly]

Oh wow, I love all of this adorable talk about kids!

I'm not a father, hell I don't even have a wife or girlfriend (though I guess you don't need either to be a parent lol). I do want a child of my own someday, though preferably once I settle down about 6 or 7 years from now since I'm still just a youngster in comparison as I'm turning 21 in December. Plus I'd probably just stick to one, maybe two.

[Aura Of Twilight]

I'd like to be a parent someday, but whether I adopt or have one actually myself depends. Although I love kids, I don't want one right now because of my anxiety and depression aren't quite under control, as well as the fact that I'm still in college and probably will be for the next 4 to 5 years if all goes well. I know lots of people can mange having kids and still go to college just fine, but sadly I'm not one of those people and still have a lot to learn before I consider myself fully responsible of myself, let alone others. That's just the way it is currently. 

I'm afraid of having kids at the same time though, but then again, who isn't at first? I'm mostly worried about somehow passing down my learning disability along with my anxiety and depression. I don't want my possible future kids to have to go through the same crap I did/am if I can help it. I realize there are things I cannot and wont ever be able to control, but I just worry about those things. 

But like Silver said, all this talk about kids is adorable. :) 

[Res]

On 10/1/2017 at 9:54 PM, SilvertheShadow said:

Oh wow, I love all of this adorable talk about kids!

I'm not a father, hell I don't even have a wife or girlfriend (though I guess you don't need either to be a parent lol). I do want a child of my own someday, though preferably once I settle down about 6 or 7 years from now since I'm still just a youngster in comparison as I'm turning 21 in December. Plus I'd probably just stick to one, maybe two.

There's definitely no ideal time to have kids, IMO! I had my first at 28 and I'm a little envious of my siblings and friends who have either had or are expecting their first baby around the age of 32/33. Those extra 4 years have given them SO much more money and the chance to buy a house/go traveling. On the other hand, they'll be turning 50 with their kids still at home.

I find 2 a perfect number. ;)

On 10/2/2017 at 6:39 AM, Aura Of Twilight said:

I'd like to be a parent someday, but whether I adopt or have one actually myself depends. Although I love kids, I don't want one right now because of my anxiety and depression aren't quite under control, as well as the fact that I'm still in college and probably will be for the next 4 to 5 years if all goes well. I know lots of people can mange having kids and still go to college just fine, but sadly I'm not one of those people and still have a lot to learn before I consider myself fully responsible of myself, let alone others. That's just the way it is currently. 

I'm afraid of having kids at the same time though, but then again, who isn't at first? I'm mostly worried about somehow passing down my learning disability along with my anxiety and depression. I don't want my possible future kids to have to go through the same crap I did/am if I can help it. I realize there are things I cannot and wont ever be able to control, but I just worry about those things. 

But like Silver said, all this talk about kids is adorable. :) 

I think it's really sensible to concentrate on college first.

Although like you said, many people juggle college and babies successfully, I don't know anyone who considers it ideal. Both pregnancy/newborns and college are really exhausting. Juggling jobs/baby was bad enough and at least I didn't have homework! 

[Michelaar]

My mother was 25 when she got me. She wasn't even married at that time, I was 1 when they got married. She regrets that she got me so early, but she wouldn't trade it for anything.

[Rezzy]

The Junior Whitewing is ready for duty! @Res @Nym @Anacybele @Arcanite @MrSmokestack @Natalie @Anime27Arts

 

On 10/1/2017 at 11:54 PM, SilvertheShadow said:

Oh wow, I love all of this adorable talk about kids!

I'm not a father, hell I don't even have a wife or girlfriend (though I guess you don't need either to be a parent lol). I do want a child of my own someday, though preferably once I settle down about 6 or 7 years from now since I'm still just a youngster in comparison as I'm turning 21 in December. Plus I'd probably just stick to one, maybe two.

No worries, you've got plenty of time.

On 10/2/2017 at 8:39 AM, Aura Of Twilight said:

I'd like to be a parent someday, but whether I adopt or have one actually myself depends. Although I love kids, I don't want one right now because of my anxiety and depression aren't quite under control, as well as the fact that I'm still in college and probably will be for the next 4 to 5 years if all goes well. I know lots of people can mange having kids and still go to college just fine, but sadly I'm not one of those people and still have a lot to learn before I consider myself fully responsible of myself, let alone others. That's just the way it is currently. 

I'm afraid of having kids at the same time though, but then again, who isn't at first? I'm mostly worried about somehow passing down my learning disability along with my anxiety and depression. I don't want my possible future kids to have to go through the same crap I did/am if I can help it. I realize there are things I cannot and wont ever be able to control, but I just worry about those things. 

But like Silver said, all this talk about kids is adorable. :) 

I was/am worried about my kids inheriting my own mental issues, but at the same time, I think my life experiences will help me guide them, if they have done so.

On 10/5/2017 at 4:42 AM, Michelaar said:

My mother was 25 when she got me. She wasn't even married at that time, I was 1 when they got married. She regrets that she got me so early, but she wouldn't trade it for anything.

25 isn't too early.  20-35 are typically the ideal childbearing years, assuming you're ready for it.

Edited October 8, 2017 by Rezzy

[Anacybele]

Cute! Is that her Halloween costume?

I'm going as Luigi. lol (it's a women's Luigi dress costume)

[Nym]

Aww, little Est is adorable!

[Rezzy]

2 minutes ago, Anacybele said:

Cute! Is that her Halloween costume?

I'm going as Luigi. lol (it's a women's Luigi dress costume)

Yeah, we're going to do the wings and probably a white dress or something.  She'll be staying home, but she can great the trick or treaters.  Leo will be going out for the first time.

I think I saw the costume you're talking about.  Although, I didn't have a chance to look much, since Leo was very excited at the Halloween store.

Just now, Nym said:

Aww, little Est is adorable!

Thanks!

[Anacybele]

4 minutes ago, Rezzy said:

Yeah, we're going to do the wings and probably a white dress or something.  She'll be staying home, but she can great the trick or treaters.  Leo will be going out for the first time.

I think I saw the costume you're talking about.  Although, I didn't have a chance to look much, since Leo was very excited at the Halloween store.

Thanks!

Ah, I see! Reminds me of a costume my mom made me years ago when I was a kid. It was an angel or fairy or something. I prefer to say fairy. But it was a gold and silver dress with gold wings. My mom actually made me several costumes growing up. She was pretty good at sewing. We still have the sewing machine she got from her grandma too. I've also used it a few times.

Halloween store, eh? If it's Spirit Halloween, I'd go elsewhere for costumes. I found mine at Target's website for $20 cheaper than what Spirit Halloween would've charged. Spirit Halloween is legit for decor though!

Edited October 8, 2017 by Anacybele