Having a baby? Go to class!

[insanebikerboy]

Your kid is gonna fall down, he is gonna get scrapes, he is gonna cry.

Let him do it. Let him bust his face, let him get scratched up. Be there to make sure it's not serious, probably wouldn't advise letting him play in traffic or run with scissors, but don't rush to "save" him. Roughhouse, throw him up in the air, wrestle. Believe it or not, it's the best form of conditioning, mentally and emotionally, a kid can have growing up.

Kids are resilient...and rubbery.

 

[exNavyOffRec]

Your kid is gonna fall down, he is gonna get scrapes, he is gonna cry.

Let him do it. Let him bust his face, let him get scratched up. Be there to make sure it's not serious, probably wouldn't advise letting him play in traffic or run with scissors, but don't rush to "save" him. Roughhouse, throw him up in the air, wrestle. Believe it or not, it's the best form of conditioning, mentally and emotionally, a kid can have growing up.

Kids are resilient...and rubbery.

solid advice.

anytime my girls would fall down and start to get upset/cry I would ask them "are you bleeding? no, good, you will be fine just relax the pain will pass"

 

[Mr Spenz]

You haven't gotten enough advice already? I suppose one that has served me well has been when the wife gets snippy/short/pissed/angry and just sit back and let it roll on by, easier to ride it out than fight it out. Act like the FNG to your squadron and take this to heart, "Better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to speak and to remove all doubt".

And don't listen to whatever Brett says, he doesn't know or care anything about married life or children...heathen!

Or revert to your SERE circle...

 

[CommodoreMid]

You'll be wondering if you can make coffee with red bull soon enough.

On an unrelated note, you can't put liquids that aren't water (i.e. alcohol) in a Keurig. It will explode. Someone here in Kadena found out that by experience

 

[Gatordev]

Your kid is gonna fall down, he is gonna get scrapes, he is gonna cry.

Let him do it. Let him bust his face, let him get scratched up. Be there to make sure it's not serious, probably wouldn't advise letting him play in traffic or run with scissors, but don't rush to "save" him. Roughhouse, throw him up in the air, wrestle. Believe it or not, it's the best form of conditioning, mentally and emotionally, a kid can have growing up.

Kids are resilient...and rubbery.

I don't have a kid, but I believe all of this has been proven to be incorrect. It's clear we can't continue to be a World Super Power unless we constantly pat them on the back, encourage them to only try things they know they're good at, and be completely ensconced in Purel.

Try to think of the children the next time you post.

 

[Pags]

Or revert to your SERE circle...

Having an infant in the house is a lot like SERE. little to no sleep: check. Discordant noises: check. Your new bundle of joy will use enhanced interrogation techniques to break you. In no time your thousand yard stare will feature prominently in your family photos.

 

[Rugger]

The Navy Marine Corps Relief Society has great classes for new parents (specifically budgeting for baby), and you get a free baby seabag of essentials from them. They also have a nurse home visit program where you can get your baby weighed in between well baby checks without dragging mama and your new bundle of joy across town to the sickness infested hospital. The nurse can also help with random baby questions and breastfeeding issues (but they aren't actual lactation consultants). Also if you go the formula route - don't fall for the high dollar formula ploys. All formula brands are made in 3 factories in the country and have to pass the same USDA standards. We went with Costco's Kirkland brand, and so far our off spring has hit all milestones and then some.

A good source for evidence based breastfeeding and parenting advice (versus some of the woo cr@p going around the internets) is Kellymom.com.

Along the same thought, don't let mama get bullied into the breastfeeding/breastmilk-at-all-costs, especially if she's going to work outside the home. Yes - it's great for mama baby bonding. Yes - some extra good stuff (immunoglobulins and such) get transferred. However, a fed baby is a happy and healthy baby (and doesn't scream as much), and a functional, happy mama makes for a happy home.

Hope this helps.

 

[Sam I am]

You're going to be great, dude...I hope your kid looks like its mom.

 

[Randy Daytona]

Having an infant in the house is a lot like SERE. little to no sleep: check. Discordant noises: check. Your new bundle of joy will use enhanced interrogation techniques to break you. In no time your thousand yard stare will feature prominently in your family photos.

Truer words were never spoken.

Anyone have any gouge on international travel with a little one? We are going to Europe in the fall to visit the inlaws - don't want to subject the other passengers to a crying baby. We were thinking of getting seats at the very back of the plane.

As a side note, make sure you update your survivor benefits to include your children - leave nothing this important to the last minute.

 

[Pags]

We flew to Japan when my son was 3mo old, traveled in Asia and then flew back to the states when he was 18mo.

Here's the first thing: your kids going to cry on the plane. Don't stress over it. People who have had kids get it. Those who haven't and who have their judgey faces on can fuck themselves.

Talk to your doc about drugging your kid. If he's real young it might not work but we gave our son Benadryl coming home from Japan (we ran it by our doc first and got dosing, etc).

Bring backups of diapers, formula, etc on the flight in case you get delayed or shit happens. Bring extra clothes for when shit happens and your cup overfloweth. split up baby stuff between your luggage in case a bag goes missing. Consider shipping diapers, formula, food, etc ahead to your destination so there's less to pack and you're not totally hosed if your bags disappear.

A lot of long haul flights have a bassinet they can clip to the bulkhead. There's a weight limit for it but if you call ahead and explain your situation the airline can(should?) move your seats to bulkhead ones so you can use the bassinet.

Doesn't hurt to get a seat for junior. Little kids in the lap are ok for 1-2hrs, anything longer and the extra room is nice.

Do your aircraft research ahead of time and know what bathroom has the changing table in it.

Feed the kid on the descent as it helps the ears pop.

 

[zippy]

On an unrelated note, you can't put liquids that aren't water (i.e. alcohol) in a Keurig. It will explode. Someone here in Kadena found out that by experience

I can't say I'm suprised.

 

[zippy]

We flew to Japan when my son was 3mo old, traveled in Asia and then flew back to the states when he was 18mo.

Here's the first thing: your kids going to cry on the plane. Don't stress over it. People who have had kids get it. Those who haven't and who have their judgey faces on can fuck themselves.

Talk to your doc about drugging your kid. If he's real young it might not work but we gave our son Benadryl coming home from Japan (we ran it by our doc first and got dosing, etc).

Bring backups of diapers, formula, etc on the flight in case you get delayed or shit happens. Bring extra clothes for when shit happens and your cup overfloweth. split up baby stuff between your luggage in case a bag goes missing. Consider shipping diapers, formula, food, etc ahead to your destination so there's less to pack and you're not totally hosed if your bags disappear.

A lot of long haul flights have a bassinet they can clip to the bulkhead. There's a weight limit for it but if you call ahead and explain your situation the airline can(should?) move your seats to bulkhead ones so you can use the bassinet.

Doesn't hurt to get a seat for junior. Little kids in the lap are ok for 1-2hrs, anything longer and the extra room is nice.

Do your aircraft research ahead of time and know what bathroom has the changing table in it.

Feed the kid on the descent as it helps the ears pop.

Be sure to bribe them in the airport by letting them get food they want and toys to keep them happy and occupied on the plane. Crying kids are kind of expected during takeoff and landing due to pressure changes so it's not a huge deal to those who don't have children, but its really appreciated when you're on top of things as a parent and keep the kid as Happy as you can during flights so they're not crying constantly.

 

[Sam I am]

We flew to Japan when my son was 3mo old, traveled in Asia and then flew back to the states when he was 18mo.

Here's the first thing: your kids going to cry on the plane. Don't stress over it. People who have had kids get it. Those who haven't and who have their judgey faces on can fuck themselves.

Talk to your doc about drugging your kid. If he's real young it might not work but we gave our son Benadryl coming home from Japan (we ran it by our doc first and got dosing, etc).

Bring backups of diapers, formula, etc on the flight in case you get delayed or shit happens. Bring extra clothes for when shit happens and your cup overfloweth. split up baby stuff between your luggage in case a bag goes missing. Consider shipping diapers, formula, food, etc ahead to your destination so there's less to pack and you're not totally hosed if your bags disappear.

A lot of long haul flights have a bassinet they can clip to the bulkhead. There's a weight limit for it but if you call ahead and explain your situation the airline can(should?) move your seats to bulkhead ones so you can use the bassinet.

Doesn't hurt to get a seat for junior. Little kids in the lap are ok for 1-2hrs, anything longer and the extra room is nice.

Do your aircraft research ahead of time and know what bathroom has the changing table in it.

Feed the kid on the descent as it helps the ears pop.

X2 on everything said here...this is gold. Especially the back up stuff...we got delayed with our infant in Atlanta once and thank heavens my wife has her shit together. We had Extra Everthing, back up Extra Everything and back up for extra back ups and we used every diaper and the very last bottle. The delayed take off led to missed connections and it was about a 20 hour travel day. We made it, but if m better half hadn't been one helluva girl scout that would have been the worst day ever.

 

[Rugger]

We took at the time our 1 year old to Hawaii and Spain last year. Didn't have a seat for him for the Hawaii trip, which sucked having him in a lap for 9 hours (usually mine). Got a seat for him to Spain, and he did really well in the car seat in which he normally travels. If you have an Amex Platinum, compare the cost of a full fare international ticket + free companion ticket, vice 2 nonrefundable tix. We packed a novel toy or treat for each hour of the flight (painters tape and those window clings were big hits, as is anything prepackaged in the snack size), and had an iPad app with bright images (but no sound) as a back up. Get those tether things for toys, paci's, etc. I'm tiny, but trying to get fallen items off of the floor in that limited space is awful. Bring a change of clothes for each of you, in case of the dreaded diaper blowout, plus extra dipes, wipes. If you're going to use Benadryl as a sleep aide, try a test run before your trip as some kids (and dogs) have a paradoxical reaction to it and get even more spun up. We also brought Afrin for our kidlet in case he really couldn't clear his eustachian tubes by feeding/nursing, sucking on a pack, etc - 1 spray each nostril. (I cleared this w my flight doc friend turned pediatrician)

 

[Squawk7700]

it's a baby, you put it in a grey outfit, glue some vertical fins to the pants in the calf area, tie the legs together, but keep the arms moveable and viola, you have a baby tomcat. What mother wouldn't be ok with a dad doing that?

Make sure they follow the NATOPS procedures for seat strap-in.

A friend has car seats with NACES style harness straps. She was also involved in a PMV mishap at age 9, and her seat with proper harness was a survival factor. It was kind of funny when she got her seat quals, and already knew how to strap-in properly.

She now has two daughters who love their seats with NACES style harness. As a new parent, she passed her NATOPS check rides and is now a NATOPS instructor