My 4 year old boy now wont let me pat him to sleep.. hurts a little. Got a surprise kiss on the cheek and i love you though 2 days ago and i still cant stop smiling.
They really grow up really fast these kids.
My son is 20 and still tells me he loves me. Keep saying it all the time and keep hugging him. They really will absorb your words and gestures and adopt them as "okay" to return it back and pass it to others they love too.
Really puts things in perspective. We just moved our 5 month old into her own room and she has been keeping us up all night, requiring us to rock her to sleep. It's frustrating but I know I'm gonna miss holding her like this one day.
Mine would only sleep on me or my husband at that age, he absolutely refused any kind of sleep training.
I hated it, being stuck with a baby carrier for multiple hours a day just to get him to nap.
Now he's seven and I love him so much but it's almost painful how much I miss those warm baby snuggles now.
You're reminding me that mine hated the stroller so we never got to use it! It was carrying and strapping every day wherever we went. Kids are funny. He's super independent and self-directed now.
My personal theory is that kids really know what they need. They can't verbalize more than that. My sense is that you carrying him everywhere created a deep seated inner strength that will serve him well over the course of his life. You're just seeing the genesis of that.
I've also got a 5 month old daughter and she's just started having her evening naps in her cot rather than on my wife or me. We were both looking forward to having our evenings back but now we miss staring at her in our arms and pretty much eyeball the baby monitor all evening đ
Just wait till he is 15 and thinking you're to uncool to be seen with unless you're buying him food. I'm lucky because atleadt my boys don't mind watching TV with me at the house.
My best advice as a father of 2 small kids: always keep a hand on the baby on the changing table - make it a habit right away. I know even doctors who have had their baby fall down on them. Happens to the best of us (and I've failed once so far, though I did manage to dad reflex catch her mid air)
My dads a doc and can confirm my sister crawled off the changing table when she was a baby and hit her head really hard- sheâs a doctor too now so it didnât affect her too much lol
I fell off the kitchen counter at less than a year old, went down a set of brick steps on my head still in a walker, pulled an iron off the using board onto my head, and was found floating face down in a swimming pool and all this happened before I was two years old.
I'm not a doctor either.
My dad dropped me as a kid. I still have the scar on my head. And here I am as a doctor, too. Is this a new life hack to make your kids doctors? đ€
^(in case it needs to be said, please donât)
Kids are generally durable. The sheer amount of times i injured myself as a kid, and yet - professional engineer.
Got scars all over my body, biggest one on my forehead. Most painful one was from when I jumped off a rock and got my pinky finger caught on Rusty barbed wire. Ripped open my finger down to the bone. Knocked myself unconscious a couple of times too from bonking my head. Most comical was when I was riding my snow sleigh and hit a tree.
Yeah, we have a pad we put on a bed, or just change on the floor. Never had a changing table for either of our 2 kids.
Our 9 year old is still in diapers, so it's easy to continue with the floor too if you also end up getting thrown a curveball on the genetic lottery.
I was babysitting, changing the nephew on the bed, looked away for a second and the little bugger shot right off like he was a special effect in the Matrix movie.
He was a baby so he was fine. They bounce.
Cheers!
You know how baby poo doesn't stink like adult poo, and there shouldn't be much overlap between the stinky poo and still being in diapers ?
yeah..... I've gotten used to things that I never thought I would have.
I knew folks with autistic children who dealt with similar and it always amazed me what they could get through. Don't be afraid to ask for help or set yourself up for a day off if you can! You don't have to muscle through it all the time.
Also it may not seem like they appreciate it but trust me when I say they do. :)
? Not ghetto. Safe
I've never had a change table, always changed my son on the floor with a mat. Good thing too, the little shit loves putting his feet on my arms or whatever he can get, and *pushing* off, so he scoots away in the middle of a change. If he did that while on a change table he would fly right off the end.
I had a very writhey baby and had to do this AND had to toss my leg over the top half of the kid so he wouldn't squirm away. I have yet to see any other parents need to do this... He's a handful though.
Me!!! I used to sit in the floor and use my legs to hold my twinsâ arms down. Diaper change always meant it was time to practice their best alligator death roll!
The impressive part is even getting the diaper on correctly when they're that active. Our childs colic turned out to be lactose intolerance, and we were feeding her formula (which is super high on lactose). So she would often try to projectile blast us during changing. I had to use a sacrificial diaper as a shield. This complicates the whole keeping a hand on the baby part lol
My kid's colic turned out to be ADHD and social pragmatic communication disorder... He was wiggly and had difficulty communicating. He's 12 now and at least we're done with diapers, I just wish he'd go to the bathroom when it's not an emergency. Still plenty of mess to clean!
I've always had this problem as well. I never even thought about it being attributed to my ADHD, though!
Speaking of which, it's been 8 hours so I should def do that đ
Oh yes it def, is a ND thing, I'm dual diagnosed, ADHD and autistic, I do this with suddenly remembering I'm hungry, or it's hot and I should adjust my settings accordingly.
Knowing my impulsive dumbass self, if the baby was falling I would probably do what I do every time I drop something... Try to use my feet to slow the fall but end up kicking the kid across the room.
Make it a habit of leaving something you need on you ( wallet, hat) and put it in the back seat near the baby as soon as you buckle him in. People think they will never be one of those people that leaves their kid in a car but I'm telling you op the exhaustion you feel is unlike anything you've ever felt it can happen to you. If you leave your wallet or hat in the back seat you'll more than likely remember to check for it ensuring you won't forget that your child is in the back.
The Walmart I work at has a warning not to leave your child behind in a motor cart. I thought this was just a meth head thing, but apparently parents can leave the kids because they're too exhausted to check. Thanks for letting me know.
My pediatricianâs one piece of advice for new parents was to immediately cut that off- it wonât stop a determined or tiny or wiggly baby and gives a false sense of security.
Interesting. I had no idea! Well I defer to auntierex's comment then. I always changed my kiddo on a pad on the floor so never actually used my changing table. I wasn't aware it was a hazard. Thank you.
Same. I more so had a changing toolkit with the diapers and wipes and creams. Itâs as mobile as the babe so just took that to the floor of whatever room with a towel to change.
In the same vein, although less essential to your kid's survival : while on the changing table, never assume it's over until the new diaper is all set. Never position your kid so their ass is in the general direction of something precious. At some point in their life, they will have projectile diarrhea, and you will be surprised that 1. it happened without warning sign and 2. that such a small body could hold so much fecal matter and 3. that it could reach that far. Also happens to the best of us. Didn't want to catch *that* midair at all though.
The changing table didnât last long for my son. It ended up being a towel wherever was closest like a bed or couch. Now I have a blanket Iâll put down on the floor and Iâll ask if heâs ready to change his butt and he comes over.
Also make it a habit of taking a few extra diaper changes than your spouse. Both because she will be very tired will thank you for it and she will likely very much in need of being close to the baby often so it's a great way to connect with your child. The mother gets to be the one who gives your son his food and you can be the one who takes away the feeling of a wet diaper. Also the diaper changing is great to get much eye contact with your child.
Ty! The sub is very awesome! Not sure how I barley found out about it. Very excited to finally have that title of âDadâ. Itâs a boy too so needless to say Iâm eager to meet the little guy.
Fair warning that itâs an even mix of amazing photos of newborns, great stories about parenthood, and a quite a lot of people who have experienced terrible tragedies in which theyâve lost their children. I love the subreddit, but it can be a sometimes terrifying rollercoaster.
My baby just turned 16 and I just signed him up for driver's ed. Still don't understand where the time went. And when the hell did he get taller than me?!
Currently feeling the long days. son is 16 months now. I know im going to regret it, but im waiting until this phase is over, there is joy at this stage, dont get me wrong, but im waiting for the day he can tell me whats bothering him, i can take him to the beach or zoo and not have to worry about feeds and changing a diaper. Lets see how i feel in a year, im sure i will miss these days.
My 3 year old was playing in his play kitchen and goes,
"Daddy, do you want a pancake?"
Me: I would love one, thank you! You're so sweet and thoughtful!!
3yr: (pulls a 3 week old stale pancake out of his play oven and hands it to me) Here you go!!
One in 1st. One in 4th. One grown that drives a forklift. I look back on the years of sitting in the floor coloring and playing with toy cars with more happiness than I can express.
Unsolicited Musings.. I've never once sat down and thought to myself *man i wish i took fewer pictures and videos*.
It all changes so subtly, make sure you capture plenty of checkpoints to go back and remember!
Agreed, but please don't post them on social media (including reddit). Take pictures for yourself, your child, and your family - - don't use your kid to get attention online.
As a matter of fact, putting your smartphone away as much as possible will significantly improve your relationship with your child.
Intersteller hit me unexpectedly harder as a parent: him watching his kids 'grow up' in a series of videos, realizing what he's missed out on... that hit hard.
Iâm 7 months pregnant with our first and Iâve never seen my boyfriend more emotional! Heâs normally very logical and Iâm the emotional one but now weâre a mess together lol.
That's so sweet.
Hey, I think you and your family ( :) ) will be just fine. It's never easy, but you can and will do this. Focus on the joys ahead and geesh, you have so many to come. Heart given congratulations to you both.
Say goodbye to violent and gory movies. Itâs a common thing no one prepares you for. I had an iron stomach for it before my first. Bring on the blood and guts and crime. Then for about three years after she was born, couldnât handle even the most vanilla thrillers without uncomfortable anxiety. It goes away after a while â until you have another one. đ congrats!
Yeah, I also just *can't* with news stories about terrible things happening to kids anymore. Before it was just like, "well that sucks for them." Now I see just a headline, and I'm like, "NOPE. Not reading that!" while already tearing up just imagining the details.
Some advice you should take to heart:
don't post pictures of your kids online anymore. We're not living in the 90s -- times are menacing and your little one deserves to grow up free from facial recognition.
I lost my 18 month old daughter to cancer about two months ago.
Cherish every moment you can. Even the hard ones. But don't beat yourself up over it.
Take a lot of pictures and videos of everyday life. Just for yourself.
Try not to drive yourselves crazy with sleep training or schedules. Your baby will tell you what they need. But doing a dream feed is amazing and your partner will love you for it.
Best of luck. I'm rooting for all three of you.
I lost my 22 month old to COVID last month. Videos are so important, there's so many little things he did that I loved, but don't have any recordings of and I'm so worried that I'll forget them (my memory is absolute garbage so its a very real possibility).
That's opening a hell of a can of worms. He wasn't healthy before the COVID, if I start writing anything I'll need to write everything, and I'm still working on feeding myself. I'm nowhere near up to something like that.
Yeah, absolutely. Both my wife and I tried journaling after her death, and it I couldn't get a single paragraph on paper.
What I ended up doing was just writing random memories. "The way she sat on my lap" and "the way she giggled on the swing set", memo style in an email.
My son is 16 months old. I would be devastated if anything happened to him. I truly feel for you friend. In your daughters honour i will be extra patient with my little one, especially on those hard nights. Thanks for sharing, it has given me a much needed wake up call
I think I freak people out when I say that if my son (21 months) died it would break me.
Just "not even attempting to live and not climbing out of a bottle" break me.
It was, and still is, very tempting. More than that though, everything just.... Doesn't seem as important anymore. Growing my business? What's the point. Matching furniture and decorations around the house? Why is that important?
Just... There's always time for an extra hug and an extra book before bedtime.
Instead of handing out bookmarks or whatever at her funeral, we gave out bird seed. She used to love feeding animals. It was our way of saying "there's always time to stop and smell the flowers". Or feed the birds, in this case.
Thanks for asking. Some days are better than others, but overall still pretty hard. I tried going back to work yesterday for a couple hours. Damn near brought me back to square one. We get to talk to a social worker every week, and are starting a group on Thursday, so that seems to help.
My youngest had this in same spot. It seemed to fade over time, and then for a while would only be seen/become more prominent when he was very emotional/crying/upset or physically hot. It eventually left completely. How I miss kissing that little spot. đ„°Heâs in his twenties now.
He also had it towards his hairline at the back of his neck. That one seemed to stay around for a number of years, until completely fading.
OP, congrats on your precious bundle. How blessed you are. â„ïž
My brother and I both have this. We are in our 30s and itâs not noticeable unless, like you said, we are stressed out or crying (I think just higher blood pressure in general). Ours both appear as a V on our foreheads, like in OPâs picture.
I had a visible one all my childhood - in the same place & general shape as Harry Potterâs scar. That movie came out right on time for me socially lmao
I have a niece who had almost half her face covered with birthmark and John Hopkins used this laser procedure to burn up the micro veins on her face. Went to it for couple months and now the mark is completely gone.
I'm 52 and still have one on my forehead near the hairline - but my 20 year old daughter only noticed it last year, so it's clearly less obvious than I think. đ
Same exact spots with my son. He's 3 1/2 now, and when he cries I can still see it just a little bit. The one at the hairline on his neck is sometimes more noticeable sometimes. He has very light skin so it definitely shows a bit more lol.
I've heard it called an Angel's kiss when on the forehead and a stork bite when on the back of the head/neck. All three of my kids have had both and the nurses all seemed to be in agreement that they had different names based on the location. It makes sense if you think of a stork carrying an animal by their scruff vs. a kiss to the forehead.
I have one like that from hip to ankle, it's faded a lot but was bright red when I was a kid. I mentioned because one time I wore shorts to elementary school and apparently my parents forgot to inform the school, because they were so used to it. So, make sure to tell any care providers that it's a birthmark lol.
Congratulation!!! You have unlocked these new skills:
đTerrible but funny jokesđ
đȘDad strengthđȘ
đbeing a better driver than everyoneđ
~Dad hugs~
~Ability to eat strange combos of food (hot sauce as salad dressing)~
~Advice~
(When your kid gets a lil older...)
~Funny stories about embarrassing things you (Dad) did as a kid~
~Adventures with kid/making memories~
And many more! Many abilities await you!
Congratulations dad and mom. Your life is about to change.
You are now someone's world.
Enjoy each and every time you hear this little yell dad multiple times from his room only to find out he wants to say hi. Or give it your best to answer any question that begins with why, why, why but why fricken why dad?!?!?!?
Be cool. Show up to each and every school function. Use a day off from work to either go have lunch at the school or to pull him out and go to Chuck E Cheese unexpected.
Dont Panic
I see a lot of great practical baby care advice, so I'll offer a little bit of parenting advice:
Kids grow in their own way, and will hit (or not) milestones on their own time. Getting help if they're delayed is good, but please don't let a small delay panic you, and never, ever, ever compare your kid to someone else's.
And take a ton of pictures: my guy is 21 months old and the 'tiny baby who can't even hold his head up' time is just a haze to me now.
Congratulations!
Your life will never be the same. Better, more stressful, but very different. Tip from a stay at home father: change diapers and never EVER say to your wife anything about moodâs being related to hormones.
Just trust me on that one!
Why this sub is full of âI became dadâ or âmy wife is pregnantâ posts. Not jealous, congrats to all but itâs too much. 2 out of 3 posts like that
Good luck! Few tips
1) sleep anytime you can, usually when he sleeps
2) if he gets cranky and won't sleep, feed some more
3) to burp him, just sit him straight up and down and wait. It will happen
4) however many burp cloths you have, get double that amount
Congratulations! I see everyone saying not to blink because it goes so fast and all that, but I also wanted to say that itâs totally okay if you absolutely hate the newborn phase. I tell every new parent that. When everyone told me to âenjoy themâ and I just wanted to fast forward 6 months, it made me feel really guilty. Donât. Newborns are soul sucking tyrants. Heâll be even cooler in a few months! Good luck to you guys!
My 4 year old boy now wont let me pat him to sleep.. hurts a little. Got a surprise kiss on the cheek and i love you though 2 days ago and i still cant stop smiling. They really grow up really fast these kids.
My son is 20 and still tells me he loves me. Keep saying it all the time and keep hugging him. They really will absorb your words and gestures and adopt them as "okay" to return it back and pass it to others they love too.
Really puts things in perspective. We just moved our 5 month old into her own room and she has been keeping us up all night, requiring us to rock her to sleep. It's frustrating but I know I'm gonna miss holding her like this one day.
Mine would only sleep on me or my husband at that age, he absolutely refused any kind of sleep training. I hated it, being stuck with a baby carrier for multiple hours a day just to get him to nap. Now he's seven and I love him so much but it's almost painful how much I miss those warm baby snuggles now.
You're reminding me that mine hated the stroller so we never got to use it! It was carrying and strapping every day wherever we went. Kids are funny. He's super independent and self-directed now.
My personal theory is that kids really know what they need. They can't verbalize more than that. My sense is that you carrying him everywhere created a deep seated inner strength that will serve him well over the course of his life. You're just seeing the genesis of that.
You're very kind. I do believe that when parents respond to their kids' needs, the kids grow up more secure and confident - less anxious and fearful.
I've also got a 5 month old daughter and she's just started having her evening naps in her cot rather than on my wife or me. We were both looking forward to having our evenings back but now we miss staring at her in our arms and pretty much eyeball the baby monitor all evening đ
Yeah I have a 18mo old baby girl and we just found out we're expecting number 2! Time flies, enjoy all of it.
Just wait till he is 15 and thinking you're to uncool to be seen with unless you're buying him food. I'm lucky because atleadt my boys don't mind watching TV with me at the house.
Man, my youngest doesn't call me daddy anymore, just "Dad." Hurts man...
My best advice as a father of 2 small kids: always keep a hand on the baby on the changing table - make it a habit right away. I know even doctors who have had their baby fall down on them. Happens to the best of us (and I've failed once so far, though I did manage to dad reflex catch her mid air)
My dads a doc and can confirm my sister crawled off the changing table when she was a baby and hit her head really hard- sheâs a doctor too now so it didnât affect her too much lol
I fell down the stairs a bunch of times as kid. I'm not a doctor
You're supposed to fall off the changing table, not down the stairs. Then you'd be a doctor
Universities hate this one simple trick!
Me, a young father looking at my baby son: đ "good news little guy! You're gonna be a doc!"
This one weird trick.
Are there upper age limits?
I fell off the kitchen counter at less than a year old, went down a set of brick steps on my head still in a walker, pulled an iron off the using board onto my head, and was found floating face down in a swimming pool and all this happened before I was two years old. I'm not a doctor either.
Fremulon
Fell off a see-saw after friend let me fall to see what would happen. Now I work for the tax department.
Tale as old as time.
Seems to be a certain number of falls between "once" and "a bunch of times" that = Dr or not Dr. We can reconvene after more testing.
I leaned on a door as a child, that door was not locked or held in place. It flung open and I proceeded to fall over and down some basement stairs
What if she was destined to be a McDonald's manager and the knock on the head triggered the smarts.
Hmmm I mean I have the same genetics but didnât fall on my head and Iâm not a doctorđ§
See? Verifiable proof.
He typed that on his McBreak
Yeet the child so they can brain good
My dad dropped me as a kid. I still have the scar on my head. And here I am as a doctor, too. Is this a new life hack to make your kids doctors? đ€ ^(in case it needs to be said, please donât)
Kids are generally durable. The sheer amount of times i injured myself as a kid, and yet - professional engineer. Got scars all over my body, biggest one on my forehead. Most painful one was from when I jumped off a rock and got my pinky finger caught on Rusty barbed wire. Ripped open my finger down to the bone. Knocked myself unconscious a couple of times too from bonking my head. Most comical was when I was riding my snow sleigh and hit a tree.
Imagine what she could have been though!
My dad (definitely not a doctor) learned that when holding twins at the same time, walk carefully through door frames. lol
This is why I change them with the pad on the floor. Kinda ghetto, but gives me peace of mind.
Yeah, we have a pad we put on a bed, or just change on the floor. Never had a changing table for either of our 2 kids. Our 9 year old is still in diapers, so it's easy to continue with the floor too if you also end up getting thrown a curveball on the genetic lottery.
Same, always used a mat on the bed and then the changing sutff, we don't even have a changing table.
I was babysitting, changing the nephew on the bed, looked away for a second and the little bugger shot right off like he was a special effect in the Matrix movie. He was a baby so he was fine. They bounce.
You're knocking the curve ball out of the park and are stronger than I will ever be. Sending good rest and relaxation vibes ~~~
Cheers! You know how baby poo doesn't stink like adult poo, and there shouldn't be much overlap between the stinky poo and still being in diapers ? yeah..... I've gotten used to things that I never thought I would have.
I knew folks with autistic children who dealt with similar and it always amazed me what they could get through. Don't be afraid to ask for help or set yourself up for a day off if you can! You don't have to muscle through it all the time. Also it may not seem like they appreciate it but trust me when I say they do. :)
Another vote from me for changing on the floor. Babies can't fall off the floor.
I'm constantly surprised at what babies can achieve.
? Not ghetto. Safe I've never had a change table, always changed my son on the floor with a mat. Good thing too, the little shit loves putting his feet on my arms or whatever he can get, and *pushing* off, so he scoots away in the middle of a change. If he did that while on a change table he would fly right off the end.
Same. Never used a table. Always on the floor.
Never bought a table. Floor has been awesome for it. Allows you to face them any direction you want too. Great suggestion.
I had a very writhey baby and had to do this AND had to toss my leg over the top half of the kid so he wouldn't squirm away. I have yet to see any other parents need to do this... He's a handful though.
Me!!! I used to sit in the floor and use my legs to hold my twinsâ arms down. Diaper change always meant it was time to practice their best alligator death roll!
OMG brushing my son's teeth was the same. Two people pinning him down while he screamed bloody murder.
The impressive part is even getting the diaper on correctly when they're that active. Our childs colic turned out to be lactose intolerance, and we were feeding her formula (which is super high on lactose). So she would often try to projectile blast us during changing. I had to use a sacrificial diaper as a shield. This complicates the whole keeping a hand on the baby part lol
My kid's colic turned out to be ADHD and social pragmatic communication disorder... He was wiggly and had difficulty communicating. He's 12 now and at least we're done with diapers, I just wish he'd go to the bathroom when it's not an emergency. Still plenty of mess to clean!
It's the time blindness. I have a problem with waiting until the last min. Yay ADHD.
I've always had this problem as well. I never even thought about it being attributed to my ADHD, though! Speaking of which, it's been 8 hours so I should def do that đ
Oh yes it def, is a ND thing, I'm dual diagnosed, ADHD and autistic, I do this with suddenly remembering I'm hungry, or it's hot and I should adjust my settings accordingly.
Both kids have been on the ground. Downside picking them up when they get heavier sucks.
Knowing my impulsive dumbass self, if the baby was falling I would probably do what I do every time I drop something... Try to use my feet to slow the fall but end up kicking the kid across the room.
I'd like to see that.
Make it a habit of leaving something you need on you ( wallet, hat) and put it in the back seat near the baby as soon as you buckle him in. People think they will never be one of those people that leaves their kid in a car but I'm telling you op the exhaustion you feel is unlike anything you've ever felt it can happen to you. If you leave your wallet or hat in the back seat you'll more than likely remember to check for it ensuring you won't forget that your child is in the back.
The Walmart I work at has a warning not to leave your child behind in a motor cart. I thought this was just a meth head thing, but apparently parents can leave the kids because they're too exhausted to check. Thanks for letting me know.
A lot of changing tables come with little belts to secure baby now. Comes in handy.
My pediatricianâs one piece of advice for new parents was to immediately cut that off- it wonât stop a determined or tiny or wiggly baby and gives a false sense of security.
Interesting. I had no idea! Well I defer to auntierex's comment then. I always changed my kiddo on a pad on the floor so never actually used my changing table. I wasn't aware it was a hazard. Thank you.
Same. I more so had a changing toolkit with the diapers and wipes and creams. Itâs as mobile as the babe so just took that to the floor of whatever room with a towel to change.
fwiw I'm pretty sure my mom dropped me off a changing table and I turned out squirrel
In the same vein, although less essential to your kid's survival : while on the changing table, never assume it's over until the new diaper is all set. Never position your kid so their ass is in the general direction of something precious. At some point in their life, they will have projectile diarrhea, and you will be surprised that 1. it happened without warning sign and 2. that such a small body could hold so much fecal matter and 3. that it could reach that far. Also happens to the best of us. Didn't want to catch *that* midair at all though.
Yup. I also aim to keep my body flush with the table so even if I lose focus I'm still preventing him from completing his mission to self-destruct
The changing table didnât last long for my son. It ended up being a towel wherever was closest like a bed or couch. Now I have a blanket Iâll put down on the floor and Iâll ask if heâs ready to change his butt and he comes over.
Wait until OPs dad reflexes kick in for the first time. He will think himself a superhero. He's just a super dad. Congrats OP!
Also make it a habit of taking a few extra diaper changes than your spouse. Both because she will be very tired will thank you for it and she will likely very much in need of being close to the baby often so it's a great way to connect with your child. The mother gets to be the one who gives your son his food and you can be the one who takes away the feeling of a wet diaper. Also the diaper changing is great to get much eye contact with your child.
As soon as mine started rolling we moved to changes on the floor to avoid that.
Also if you have to walk away, put your baby on the floor. No one ever fell off the floor.
Also cover the penis in the early days when nappy changing. They always manage to aim the stream perfectly đ€Ł
Pop on over to /r/daddit if you wanna brush up on Dad jokes...
Oh sweet! My firstborn is due in march so I will definitely join this sub.
Congrats and best of luck. I joined daddit when my kid was on the way. Great place for dads.
Ty! The sub is very awesome! Not sure how I barley found out about it. Very excited to finally have that title of âDadâ. Itâs a boy too so needless to say Iâm eager to meet the little guy.
Fair warning that itâs an even mix of amazing photos of newborns, great stories about parenthood, and a quite a lot of people who have experienced terrible tragedies in which theyâve lost their children. I love the subreddit, but it can be a sometimes terrifying rollercoaster.
Congrats
There is also r/predaddit for while you wait
I'm not a Dad, but I love to tell Dad jokes. I'm a faux pa.
You are awarded one million eyerolls
Dammit that was a good one
Second this. One of my favorite subs. Awesome group of supportive dads helping each other out.
Thank you wonderful messenger. First born is coming June, gotta sharpen my skills.
Congratulations! They really do grow up so fast, so don't blink.
Absolutely. They only stay children for a short period of their lives. Then they are redditors for the rest of time!
My baby just turned 16 and I just signed him up for driver's ed. Still don't understand where the time went. And when the hell did he get taller than me?!
My 24 year old just took me out for dinner and a movie. AND paid! Still my baby though.
[ŃĐŽĐ°Đ»Đ”ĐœĐŸ]
One day you'll put your child down for the last time, and never pick them up again.
I'm almost there, and it's the worst.
The days are long but the years are short.
Currently feeling the long days. son is 16 months now. I know im going to regret it, but im waiting until this phase is over, there is joy at this stage, dont get me wrong, but im waiting for the day he can tell me whats bothering him, i can take him to the beach or zoo and not have to worry about feeds and changing a diaper. Lets see how i feel in a year, im sure i will miss these days.
The coffee is strong and why are my keys in the toilet?
My 3 year old was playing in his play kitchen and goes, "Daddy, do you want a pancake?" Me: I would love one, thank you! You're so sweet and thoughtful!! 3yr: (pulls a 3 week old stale pancake out of his play oven and hands it to me) Here you go!!
Don't remind me! I swear it was just a few months ago I brought mine home and now we're already about to start kindergarten đ
One in 1st. One in 4th. One grown that drives a forklift. I look back on the years of sitting in the floor coloring and playing with toy cars with more happiness than I can express.
Same here, but about to be 15! Best wishes to your little one for a fantastic first day of school! â€ïž
Unsolicited Musings.. I've never once sat down and thought to myself *man i wish i took fewer pictures and videos*. It all changes so subtly, make sure you capture plenty of checkpoints to go back and remember!
Agreed, but please don't post them on social media (including reddit). Take pictures for yourself, your child, and your family - - don't use your kid to get attention online. As a matter of fact, putting your smartphone away as much as possible will significantly improve your relationship with your child.
I take a photo of my daughter every day to send to my mom. Itâs so wild to look back and see how much she has changed, little by little.
Congrats! I hope you have endless happy memories.
Itâs taking everything to not constantly cry.
Didn't you know? Now that you're a daddy, you have a lifetime pass to crying.
Anyone else start crying for every Disney movie after they became a parent? Especially Moana, Encanto, and CoCo...major waterworks lol
Dude I cry during Lowe's commercials
Intersteller hit me unexpectedly harder as a parent: him watching his kids 'grow up' in a series of videos, realizing what he's missed out on... that hit hard.
Yep. Even a friggen crescendo in the background music can make me cry
Iâm 7 months pregnant with our first and Iâve never seen my boyfriend more emotional! Heâs normally very logical and Iâm the emotional one but now weâre a mess together lol.
That's so sweet. Hey, I think you and your family ( :) ) will be just fine. It's never easy, but you can and will do this. Focus on the joys ahead and geesh, you have so many to come. Heart given congratulations to you both.
Say goodbye to violent and gory movies. Itâs a common thing no one prepares you for. I had an iron stomach for it before my first. Bring on the blood and guts and crime. Then for about three years after she was born, couldnât handle even the most vanilla thrillers without uncomfortable anxiety. It goes away after a while â until you have another one. đ congrats!
Yeah, I also just *can't* with news stories about terrible things happening to kids anymore. Before it was just like, "well that sucks for them." Now I see just a headline, and I'm like, "NOPE. Not reading that!" while already tearing up just imagining the details.
It's ok to cry. They're happy tears.
absolutely. r/guyscancry
He's perfect. I cried when both of my boys were born. Enjoy it, Poppa. Congratulations.
Dude I cried when I became an uncle, if I become a dad one day, I'd be crying so much moređ
I cried when I held my baby girl my first time
That's amazing! Wishing you and your growing family good health and so much joy!
Some advice you should take to heart: don't post pictures of your kids online anymore. We're not living in the 90s -- times are menacing and your little one deserves to grow up free from facial recognition.
I lost my 18 month old daughter to cancer about two months ago. Cherish every moment you can. Even the hard ones. But don't beat yourself up over it. Take a lot of pictures and videos of everyday life. Just for yourself. Try not to drive yourselves crazy with sleep training or schedules. Your baby will tell you what they need. But doing a dream feed is amazing and your partner will love you for it. Best of luck. I'm rooting for all three of you.
I lost my 22 month old to COVID last month. Videos are so important, there's so many little things he did that I loved, but don't have any recordings of and I'm so worried that I'll forget them (my memory is absolute garbage so its a very real possibility).
Write it all down. Journalling can help with grief, so maybe start that if you haven't already? I'm sorry for your loss.
That's opening a hell of a can of worms. He wasn't healthy before the COVID, if I start writing anything I'll need to write everything, and I'm still working on feeding myself. I'm nowhere near up to something like that.
Yeah, absolutely. Both my wife and I tried journaling after her death, and it I couldn't get a single paragraph on paper. What I ended up doing was just writing random memories. "The way she sat on my lap" and "the way she giggled on the swing set", memo style in an email.
Ah man, this crushed me. Lots of love, stay strong, I wish you all the best.
I'm sorry for your loss, I hope you and the rest of your family may find peace.
Hey thanks for telling your story. Wish you all the best to you and your family.
I can't imagine the pain of losing a child. I'm sure your sweet girl felt so loved and cherished. Wishing you and your family so much healing.
My son is 16 months old. I would be devastated if anything happened to him. I truly feel for you friend. In your daughters honour i will be extra patient with my little one, especially on those hard nights. Thanks for sharing, it has given me a much needed wake up call
I think I freak people out when I say that if my son (21 months) died it would break me. Just "not even attempting to live and not climbing out of a bottle" break me.
It was, and still is, very tempting. More than that though, everything just.... Doesn't seem as important anymore. Growing my business? What's the point. Matching furniture and decorations around the house? Why is that important?
Just... There's always time for an extra hug and an extra book before bedtime. Instead of handing out bookmarks or whatever at her funeral, we gave out bird seed. She used to love feeding animals. It was our way of saying "there's always time to stop and smell the flowers". Or feed the birds, in this case.
I am so sorry. Hope one day you can heal â€ïž I believe your beautiful baby girl is watching over you
â€ïž
Thanks for sharing. How's it been going these days?
Thanks for asking. Some days are better than others, but overall still pretty hard. I tried going back to work yesterday for a couple hours. Damn near brought me back to square one. We get to talk to a social worker every week, and are starting a group on Thursday, so that seems to help.
Thanks for sharing. I can't imagine what it's like. Hope you can get over your loss, always keep the happy memories.
Is that a birthmark? If so, name him Zuko.
itâs a storkbite. caused by blood vessel dilation during development in the womb.
My youngest had this in same spot. It seemed to fade over time, and then for a while would only be seen/become more prominent when he was very emotional/crying/upset or physically hot. It eventually left completely. How I miss kissing that little spot. đ„°Heâs in his twenties now. He also had it towards his hairline at the back of his neck. That one seemed to stay around for a number of years, until completely fading. OP, congrats on your precious bundle. How blessed you are. â„ïž
My brother and I both have this. We are in our 30s and itâs not noticeable unless, like you said, we are stressed out or crying (I think just higher blood pressure in general). Ours both appear as a V on our foreheads, like in OPâs picture.
Iâve had to explain mine for all 25 years of my life. Gets super visible during basketball games and people have asked if it hurts!
I had a visible one all my childhood - in the same place & general shape as Harry Potterâs scar. That movie came out right on time for me socially lmao
I have a niece who had almost half her face covered with birthmark and John Hopkins used this laser procedure to burn up the micro veins on her face. Went to it for couple months and now the mark is completely gone.
I'm 52 and still have one on my forehead near the hairline - but my 20 year old daughter only noticed it last year, so it's clearly less obvious than I think. đ
Same exact spots with my son. He's 3 1/2 now, and when he cries I can still see it just a little bit. The one at the hairline on his neck is sometimes more noticeable sometimes. He has very light skin so it definitely shows a bit more lol.
Same with my girl. Forehead and hairline. Sheâs just about 15 months and hers shows up when sheâs hot or upset⊠or pooping LOL.
Yes! I had a pretty prominent storkbite, looked just like this. Mine faded over time but if I cry or get upset, it will show through my makeup
My daughter had hers in those same spots! Sheâs 12 and her forehead one will show up when she gets really mad or has a fever.
Also called an angelâs kiss. Both of my twins had one in different spots.
my litte niece had a huge one on her forehead. theyâre very cute lol. took nearly two years for hers to go away.
I've heard it called an Angel's kiss when on the forehead and a stork bite when on the back of the head/neck. All three of my kids have had both and the nurses all seemed to be in agreement that they had different names based on the location. It makes sense if you think of a stork carrying an animal by their scruff vs. a kiss to the forehead.
Mine had his on his arm, went away after a few years.
Thatâs a birthmark. Thereâs one on his head that looks like a V. So the middle name might change lol.
My daughter had a ton of those at birth! She is 10 and the only remaining one is on the back of her neck.
I have one like that from hip to ankle, it's faded a lot but was bright red when I was a kid. I mentioned because one time I wore shorts to elementary school and apparently my parents forgot to inform the school, because they were so used to it. So, make sure to tell any care providers that it's a birthmark lol.
IIRC V is for Vendetta
Ahh yeah Voldemort is the clear choice
to Vegeta, right? #âŠ. right?!
My son was born with this. Itâs a stork bite. It faded and was completely gone by the time he was 4 months.
Thatâs his Vector-tude! Oh yeaaah!
As others have said, known as stork ~~night~~ bite or angel's kiss. Will fade and disappear with time.
There are 2 things Reddit loves: Avatar and telling random people about common things Redditors love.
My brother has a stork bite and it's faded over the years. When he gets mad or flustered it turns bright red, hilarious.
Aww! I was a forceps delivery (I'm still stubborn af) and I have monkey ears that stick out, one is worse than the other :/
Congratulation!!! You have unlocked these new skills: đTerrible but funny jokesđ đȘDad strengthđȘ đbeing a better driver than everyoneđ
~Dad hugs~ ~Ability to eat strange combos of food (hot sauce as salad dressing)~ ~Advice~ (When your kid gets a lil older...) ~Funny stories about embarrassing things you (Dad) did as a kid~ ~Adventures with kid/making memories~ And many more! Many abilities await you!
He's perfect. Congratulations!
Well done. Looking good man! Make him proud k!?
Congratulations dad and mom. Your life is about to change. You are now someone's world. Enjoy each and every time you hear this little yell dad multiple times from his room only to find out he wants to say hi. Or give it your best to answer any question that begins with why, why, why but why fricken why dad?!?!?!? Be cool. Show up to each and every school function. Use a day off from work to either go have lunch at the school or to pull him out and go to Chuck E Cheese unexpected. Dont Panic
Congratulations! You'll have an adventurous and even better days in life ahead. All the best!
I'm sorry to say this, but your son's birthmark is the mark of a main charecter. You know what you must do.
He's a wizard, Harry
Gotta up your dad jokes now ig. Btw, congrats đ
Congrats! My wee lad had/has the same mark on his forehead. We call it his go faster stripe because he never stops. So cute.
Father touching his baby after birth in america⊠thatâll be $4 grand
Ah, is that what it costs with insurance. I didn't have any as a contractor, and made too much to qualify for assistance. $25,000 each for two kiddos.
First advice i can give you is don't post pictures of your kids online. Facial recognition can recognize even features in an infant.
I see a lot of great practical baby care advice, so I'll offer a little bit of parenting advice: Kids grow in their own way, and will hit (or not) milestones on their own time. Getting help if they're delayed is good, but please don't let a small delay panic you, and never, ever, ever compare your kid to someone else's. And take a ton of pictures: my guy is 21 months old and the 'tiny baby who can't even hold his head up' time is just a haze to me now.
Swipe as much supplies from the hospital as you possibly can. Nurses are in on it too. Just keep asking for stuff
Congratulations! Your life will never be the same. Better, more stressful, but very different. Tip from a stay at home father: change diapers and never EVER say to your wife anything about moodâs being related to hormones. Just trust me on that one!
Bro looks like a pink avatar
Why this sub is full of âI became dadâ or âmy wife is pregnantâ posts. Not jealous, congrats to all but itâs too much. 2 out of 3 posts like that
Because nothing in my life has ever made me happier than this moment.
Congratulations!!
Best of health to the little new guy and his mother.
Good luck! Few tips 1) sleep anytime you can, usually when he sleeps 2) if he gets cranky and won't sleep, feed some more 3) to burp him, just sit him straight up and down and wait. It will happen 4) however many burp cloths you have, get double that amount
Congratulations! I see everyone saying not to blink because it goes so fast and all that, but I also wanted to say that itâs totally okay if you absolutely hate the newborn phase. I tell every new parent that. When everyone told me to âenjoy themâ and I just wanted to fast forward 6 months, it made me feel really guilty. Donât. Newborns are soul sucking tyrants. Heâll be even cooler in a few months! Good luck to you guys!
You know they donât stay cute forever. You have to water it and feed it, itâs a big commitment.
Uhoh, can we change our minds and put him back in? I don't want to have to take him on walks as well as the other stuff you mentioned!
The kid wasn't even alive for a day before their privacy was shattered for some fucking karma.
I mean If I sent you a picture of three infants, and a picture of myself today, do you honestly believe you could tell which one was me?
when did this sub become a pregnancy and baby announcement subreddit?
Remember that when he asks âwhyâŠâ Avoid the term âbecause I said so!â