The Trenches

[Deleted member 28227]

Nobody likes an only child @wllm.

Thank god my wife doesn't have a HT account

 

[Tiredofthebickering]

Bill Cosby : [to someone in the audience] Do you have children? How old are they? They're grown now, but how many did you have? Two? Okay, that qualifies. That qualifies, because a person with one child, I don't really call them a parent, because there are too many things left out. If you have just one child, there are too many things left out. For instance, if something's broken in the house, you have one child, you know who did it! See, you don't have to go through "I... I... I...". You know the child did it! Also, people with one child do not have to go through "Will you stop touching me?" I mean, if you got one child and the child is doing that, then you gotta take it away.

 

[Moserkr]

Wait til the 2nd one comes...

My second one, little girl just over a year, is amazing. Even better than her brother (5.5yo) was at this age. Teething wasnt horrible for either. She eats like a champ, sleeps all night and communicates well for a baby.

The age gap of 4 years seems to help since my boy is pretty much self sufficient, and can help with his sister. She is developing faster than him at this age, due to learning from him.

My wife and I have pretty calm personalities, and were also pretty good kids (especially her). Im thinking most parents just reap what they sow. Kids are basically mirror images of their parents, half nature and half nurture. Someone has to say it, but if your kids are a bit crazy, the apple doesnt fall far from the tree.

That said, Im not looking forward to the teenage years. Lord knows Im in for it.

 

[TheTone]

Nobody likes an only child @wllm. The sooner you get on with it the closer they'll be. Also the more they'll try to murder each other every minute of the day, minor detail.

What about trying to murder yourself?

 

[Nick87]

What about trying to murder yourself?

Yup yotally possible.

 

[JEL]

Nobody likes an only child @wllm. The sooner you get on with it the closer they'll be. Also the more they'll try to murder each other every minute of the day, minor detail.

It really isn’t up to dad. I was pretty content with two boys then one day when our youngest was about three my wife said she wanted another. I tried to fight it but it was useless. Thankfully #3 weighed 10.5 lbs so she decided that was it.

 

[grizzly_]

I have never slept overnight with one of my kids in bed with me. My wife will let our daughter when I am away hunting or something as a treat, but they both know they don't get to sleep in our bed. Which is nice, but sometimes I think I may have missed out on a small part of something because they will never be little enough to do that again.

My three year-old little girl is allowed to come to our bed when she sees "the line in the window" (the sun around the edge of her curtains), so every morning I hear her door knob click and then a few seconds later she's standing at my bed. I grab her and roll her between my wife and me and she lays there and sucks on the corner of her blanket and goes back to sleep and it's the sweetest and most soothing thing in the world to have her and my wife laying there asleep. It's kind of like everything is right in the world for just a few minutes.

i know it won't last forever and we're "one and done" parents, but it sure is great while it lasts.

 

[grizzly_]

Hey @TOGIE, how are the trenches treating you?

 

[ismith]

get ready @wllm

the baby came early two weeks ago. perfectly healthy and happy. these first two weeks have been just as hellish as people make it seem. except for the fact that nobody really ever levels with you and let's you know how brutal it really is.... so, actually, it's been worse than they make it seem. when you really ask them to level with you they finally look off thinking for a few seconds and say "honestly i can't even remember"

i'm back at work today, from home, so really not back.

it turned into an urgent c section, not quite emergency, but definitely urgent. nobody ever really levels with you on how brutal those are for the woman too. and frankly, how brutal for the man (i'm not trying to say it's worse for the man, calm down). i was functionally the only adult in the house for like 5-6 days. a bedridden wife who can't use the stairs or get out of bed without help, a newborn, and a dog.

slowly climbing out of the trenches, wife is turning the corner fast. having grandmothers within spitting distance is a life saver. crazy stuff. great, crazy stuff.

wife is planning to let me hit up my wyoming cow tag for a weekend here in a couple weeks, will go back and really focus on that in december. will be out for 3rd season with a cow tag, bull tag, doe tag, and buck tag. kinda had to put all the eggs in one basket with the reduced hunting time. she's amazing.

holy shit i'm tired.

Good luck dude, less sleep from here on out.

 

[Deleted member 28227]

"Will you stop touching me?"

The lengths he went to avoid that question.

 

[Benfromalbuquerque]

@TOGIE this Tea Party Baby exists in every one of them.

 

[TOGIE]

Hey @TOGIE, how are the trenches treating you?

the trenches slowly get pretty cozy, even fun, once you realize this is where you live forever now.

but really, it's great. pretty much every week of my life i want to hit the pause button cause babies just keep getting more fun and amazing and you want to lock them in that moment for as long as you can. he's 15 months now.

it is, nonetheless, a constant challenge. i mean duh right? there's always something happening. there's no time for many things anymore. date nights are hard to come by.

I also think, to a degree, you've never really been married until you throw the first child into the mix. that's another thing that get's thrown in the deep end that you need to learn how to keep afloat and keep it as one of the ultimate number one priorities in your life - gotta remember your spouse is your best friend, not your kid. but it is all great and really rewarding as you navigate it and start figuring things out together. the whole first year is certainly just a lot of learning new rhythms and navigating new dynamics. realizing things that simply don't work as a family and what really does.

lots to figure out there. the pressure on moms is unreal - moms have raw primal instincts to do it all, then society puts a ton of pressure on them, lots of them continue to work, they put unrealistic pressure on themselves because of that and the constant comparison game, add social media and it's a toxic dangerous mix. lots to work on there. i certainly don't have all the answers and know how and certainly plenty i could be doing much better at to help.

but, all in all, life is good.

 

[Nick87]

It's definitely a learn as you go. Ime no advice can really prepare you for it.

 

[CPAjeff]

the pressure on moms is unreal - moms have raw primal instincts to do it all, then society puts a ton of pressure on them, lots of them continue to work, they put unrealistic pressure on themselves because of that and the constant comparison game, add social media and it's a toxic dangerous mix.

PREACH!!

I found out very quickly the quality of person I married when we started having children. I couldn’t have asked for a better mother for my children. If a person lets it, the love for a spouse will only increase when children are brought into the fray!

 

[KB_]

Has the little one chopped off a the tip of the finger with scissors yet? If not, dont worry its coming.

 

[TOGIE]

I found out very quickly the quality of person I married when we started having children. I couldn’t have asked for a better mother for my children. If a person lets it, the love for a spouse will only increase when children are brought into the fray!

ain't that the truth. now you're preaching.

in the converse, a lot of humble men begin to realize how worthless and clueless they really are lol

 

[TOGIE]

Has the little one chopped off a the tip of the finger with scissors yet? If not, dont worry its coming.

not quite. but one evening as i went to go grab some milk from the fridge to refill his cup i didn't realize he quietly followed me over there and i whipped open the fridge door straight into his forehead and laid em out aaron rodgers taking a dirty sack from jordan phillips.

the world just doesn't prepare you for how often shit like that is going to happen - the fact that 90% of the time it's a parent who is at fault for the oopsies lol. the pediatricians response to the first of such stories was simply "yep, that'll be the first of many"

 

[Benfromalbuquerque]

Bro, kitchens are a house of horrors. My four year-old has a discolored front tooth from a header into the kitchen tile. When he was 18mo, picked up a paring knife and almost went all Chucky style out of the kitchen. Gas range oven. Child locks come unglued in drawers. Just wait until he figures out how to gain elevation so he can enter the refrigerator.

 

[TOGIE]

Bro, kitchens are a house of horrors. My four year-old has a discolored front tooth from a header into the kitchen tile. When he was 18mo, picked up a paring knife and almost went all Chucky style out of the kitchen. Gas range oven. Child locks come unglued in drawers. Just wait until he figures out how to gain elevation so he can enter the refrigerator.

just last week the little bugger learned he can reach and open all the household doors

98th percentile in height is pretty cool, until it isn't

 

[seeth07]

and laid em out aaron rodgers taking a dirty sack from jordan phillips.

You just showed your young age!

"and laid em out Aaron Rodgers taking a dirty sack from Ndamukong Suh"

or going further back

"and laid em out Brett Favre taking a dirty sack from Warren Sapp"

or for the old timers on HT

"and laid em out Johnny Unitas taking a dirty sack from Mean Joe Green"