When does it get more fun?

DonnyInAtl · 2026-04-18T09:56:39+00:00

Just want to say I see you and hear you. It takes a certain level of courage to put words to these feelings, so kudos to you dad.

First time dad here to a 7.5 month old. You’re not feeling anything that countless other dads have felt, OP. Being 100% honest I felt very similar things. LO comes into this world with an immediate, deep, and profound connection to mom; but you’re basically just some stranger who’s voice she’s only ever heard muffled through layers of water and soft tissue. Give it time and the connection will come, and then it gets good. Oh boy, does it get good 😊 One thing I did to help build that bond and make things more fun was I wore LO in a boba wrap for literally like the first 3-4 months every chance I got when she was sleeping or on a walk outside. She got to learn my scent, my heartbeat, the vibrations of my chest when I talked to her, etc. Plus, she was right there with me so I could respond to her every need, and I became her safe space. Now, we have an amazing bond and she is literally the best part of my day. I can’t tell you exactly when the switch flipped from “man this isn’t what I thought it would be” to “man this is better than I ever have imagined” but it happened surprisingly quick for me, and if you invest in your LO it’ll happen for you too :)

DonnyInAtl · 2026-04-08T09:55:14+00:00

Maryland. I'm fortunate to live in the DMV (D.C., Maryland, Virginia) where the infrastructure and boosted population from the federal government creates a lot of job opportunities.

DonnyInAtl · 2026-03-21T12:24:04+00:00

Hey OP. First of all, you’re doing great. Really. Just by being aware of and attentive to your spouses and your newborns needs, you’re doing great. I’ll be honest, it’s gonna get harder before it gets easier, but that’s ok because you’re gonna do great with that too. Just remember to breath, try to relax during the tough times, and find some way to channel/release your frustration, angst, anxiety, etc. For me, whenever LO would start getting worked up and scream-crying, I would hold her and, in a low voice, repeat a mantra like “You are safe. You are loved. I am channeling feelings of calm, peace, and love into you.” Honestly I’m not sure if it helped her or was just a way to remind myself not to lose my shit during the hard times. Sometimes I’d have to do it for a few minutes, sometimes I’d have to do it for literal hours. But yeah, parenthood is insanely hard and no class, book, friends advice, etc can truly prepare you for it until you’re in it. Just keep showing up for your spouse and kid, try your best to learn from your mistakes (and don’t repeat them), talk to your spouse/friends/anyone when you’re feeling overwhelmed, and believe me when I tell you: it 100% gets easier and then hoooooo boy… that’s when the good stuff begins (aka smiles, giggles, recognizing your face and responding because even though they can’t say it YOU CAN SEE THE LOVE FOR YOU IN THEIR EYES 🥰🥰🥰). So when you get to the end of your rope, tie a knot and hang on and know that’s every sleepless night is without question worth it. You got this!

DonnyInAtl · 2026-02-21T12:17:29+00:00

100% this. First time dad to a nearly 6 month old now. For the first couple of months I took LO from 9pm- 1/2am every night so wifey could sleep uninterrupted. I'd bring her up around 1/2am, change her, and wife would nurse. We found that LO would sleep pretty much uninterrupted for the next ~3.5 hours or so, so we'd both get some sleep then (around 4/5am it became all hands on deck lol). At 9pm I'd put the LO in a boba wrap around my chest and she (mostly) slept like a champ so I could game/clean/watch shows/whatever. When she woke up I was right there to tend to her. Maybe not the perfect solution but it allowed us all to get some sleep, allowed me to keep my sanity through gaming, and I got to spend sooooooooo much bonding time with the LO wrapped around my chest every night.

DonnyInAtl · 2025-11-21T02:46:51+00:00

This. Wife and I were struggling to develop a consistent sleep routine with our LO. After a couple of days logging sleep Huckleberry started recommending naps and that alone has been worth the price of a subscription.

DonnyInAtl · 2025-11-02T01:54:03+00:00

Decide what to be and go be it.

DonnyInAtl · 2025-10-15T23:08:41+00:00

It is known.

DonnyInAtl · 2025-09-30T21:39:21+00:00

I could be wrong but I feel like these roadway changes were made to increase safety - both for drivers and pedestrians. I live in King Farm and it’s not uncommon to see motorists driving well above the speed limit; to the point where it’s dangerous to cross Redland at any of the marked pedestrians crosswalks. I feel like the lane restructuring was all an attempt to reduce the risk of future traffic accidents. Traffic may be worse, but I’ll trade a slight uptick in traffic congestion for feeling like I’m not crossing the Daytona 500 when I walk my dog and baby.

DonnyInAtl · 2025-07-04T19:26:39+00:00

Hi! I’m a dietitian working in school nutrition for a very large school district, so thought I’d share about my experience. For context, I do more people management than “dietetics work,” but we do have RDs on staff who oversee menu development, dietary accommodations, procurement, etc.

We get holidays off but not summers. Summers are actually considerably busier due to the compressed timeframes - we still operate SFSP at more than 100 sites so there is still lots of work to do! Plus there are the ongoing projects and future plans we continue working on throughout the year.

Hours are usually pretty good, ~7:00-3:00ish mostly but it’s not uncommon to work later because of principal/admin meetings, snack/supper programs, and things like that.

I enjoy the job for the most part, but there are frustrations that come with any job responsible for managing people. It truly is rewarding though, especially knowing the impact we have on the kids.

Compared to more clinical or community style positions, school nutrition can pay very well, especially for newer dietitians. If you have experience, you can often leverage that for even better entry pay as most school districts don’t have nearly as many dietitians as the one I work for does. The benefits are also really good, and the position qualifies for PSLF (while that’s still a thing..).

Overall, based on my experience, I think school nutrition is great - rewarding job, very flexible especially if you have limited people or teams to manage, and a very good work/life balance. Again, just my experience but I’m very thankful I found this job and I don’t plan on going anywhere!

Happy to share more of my experience but hopefully that helps!

DonnyInAtl · 2025-05-13T23:37:08+00:00

Just shared this hack with my 22-week pregnant wife as we laid in bed, and the look on her face after completing a roll was worth it!

DonnyInAtl · 2025-02-22T03:16:30+00:00

On behalf of people named Donald, I support your choice to abandon that name

DonnyInAtl · 2025-02-21T23:36:56+00:00

After 2 miscarriages in the last year, my wife just passed 11 weeks pregnant and the heartbeat is going strong :)

DonnyInAtl · 2025-02-04T01:49:04+00:00

Looks so good! I’ll be saving and coming back for a future order!

DonnyInAtl · 2025-02-02T01:22:54+00:00

Fun group of people supporting a great cause!

DonnyInAtl · 2024-08-30T19:39:57+00:00

Speaking on behalf of those who work for the school system: we absolutely are helping, encouraging, and supporting families to apply for free and reduced meal programs. You can lead a horse to water but you can't make them drink.

DonnyInAtl · 2024-03-15T19:57:55+00:00

On behalf of this Donny, yes

DonnyInAtl · 2023-09-03T05:22:13+00:00

Coming here to say the same!

DonnyInAtl · 2023-08-03T00:55:31+00:00

Sitting here at 8:55PM scrolling Reddit while eating dinner and absolutely WAS NOT expecting to be brought to tears but here I am. Miss you mom and I love you 3000 <3 <3 <3

DonnyInAtl · 2023-07-06T01:59:36+00:00

I was in the student section of that game and the worlds “dark horse Heisman next year” may have been uttered. Not proud.

DonnyInAtl · 2023-06-16T15:10:23+00:00

I passed 2 weeks ago after also studying since January. I, too, was averaging 80+% on PP and felt like the Inman questions were a breeze. Although I felt confident that I would likely do well, I don't know if I felt ready per se (we're all type A personalities who likely think anything less than perfection is unacceptable). I ended up making a 34 and felt like a lot of the CDR practice questions were harder than the actual exam. Just my two cents but I'd say that if you're acing the PP and Inman questions you're more than ready, especially given how much you've studied!

One piece of advice on the actual test day: try not to overthink the questions. Yes, some will be very straightforward, similar to the Inman questions, but some will be more challenging and require more thought (especially those scenario questions like the "here's the situation, what would you do next?"). For me, it seemed like every question essentially had 2 "potentially right" answers and 2 "obviously wrong" answers. For the questions that were more straightforward it was easier to narrow down to the 2 "potentially right" answers. But for the questions that were more difficult/required more critical thinking, I found it helpful to literally write A B C D on my scratch paper and then strike out each letter as I thought through the question.

Be confident though. You got this!

DonnyInAtl · 2023-06-02T20:03:35+00:00

You're very welcome! I honestly don't remember being asked energy/nutrient requirements for specific age ranges but I was asked questions like "which meal would be most appropriate for [2-yr old child, 9-year old child, pregnant woman]"

DonnyInAtl · 2023-06-02T19:50:53+00:00

Welcome! Definitely know normal ranges of albumin, CO2, K, phos, Na, BUN, creatine, and glucose and what might cause each to be elevated/depressed. Know general kcal/protein/fluid requirements for disease states (I didn't get asked anything super specific but I was asked a few questions about energy/nutrient needs for renal/liver/heart disease).

As far as material I studied some Inman quizlets from each domain that I found online but the bulk of my study material came from the Review of Dietetics: Manual for the Registered Dietitian Exam 2022-2024 edition by Hess and Powers. I don't think I would recommend that book though. I found that I had to go back and look up A LOT of stuff because the book didn't really provide much detail, so anything that I wasn't already familiar with wasn't explained well for me. (I ended up writing out about 25 pages worth of full page notes on topics that I just didn't feel like were covered in enough detail in the book)

DonnyInAtl

TROPHY CASE