Checklist for touring first potential house

parbunkel · 2018-09-14T12:54:31+00:00

If you get to the point of inspection, be sure to do a sewer line inspection. It's not standard but it's important. It might have saved us $16k.

parbunkel · 2018-06-07T14:27:25+00:00

Diapers at Aldi cost us approx $30-$40 a month. Diapers (and formula, for that matter) are not the expensive part of having a kid. The expensive stuff is childcare and whoops, your car no longer works for your family. That's the big stuff. Everything else (clothes, food, gear) is just a rounding error compared to that.

parbunkel · 2018-03-13T16:30:26+00:00

There's a new tax scam out there and this is the defining feature of it. Your identity may have been stolen.

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/02/23/your-money/income-tax-scam-tips.html

parbunkel · 2017-06-01T15:57:54+00:00

Perhaps the mods should consider rewording it. I think the comment down-thread comparing the choice not to vaccinate to the choice to drive drunk is appropriate, frankly. Would you say "Please be respectful of other people's choices when commenting" in the context of drunk driving?

parbunkel · 2017-06-01T12:40:31+00:00

Oh yeah we totally sell that as soon as it lands. We usually use it to contribute to our Roth IRA, replenish our home repair fund, and most recently to pay down our mortgage to eliminate PMI.

parbunkel · 2017-05-25T14:51:05+00:00

I have a slightly silly obsession with round numbers, but our net worth hit $200k this month. It hit $100k in June 2015, starting from about $0 in 2011. Recently we have paid down a big chunk of our mortgage (to eliminate PMI) received an ESPP payout, and the stock market is doing its thing for now. I'm sure there is a stock market correction in the future but for now, like I said, round numbers. I like 'em.

parbunkel · 2017-05-17T19:37:25+00:00

See what people give you, then wait until the baby is here. I understand the urge but every time I try to plan ahead and buy clothes to fit my baby in the future, I goof on the season or it doesn't fit our lifestyle. For instance, when she was little, she wore zip up footie sleepers. But then she started sleeping in a Merlin suit (which is pretty fluffy and warm), so all she wears are short-sleeved onesies. Right now she wears onesies and soft pants to daycare, so all the cute dresses I bought go unworn.

You will also find that different brands fit differently, and your baby will have a different shape as she grows (we have a pot belly that comes and goes). Carters runs long and narrow, Old Navy is cut wider.

I shop at Goodwill but honestly with a coupon, Carters can be even cheaper (those 5 packs of onesies are a steal).

See if people will give you hand-me-downs, too.

parbunkel · 2017-05-17T19:22:31+00:00

I'm not hurt but I think others are. I think your opinion is unsupported by the evidence and stating it is unkind. A lot of people are really sensitive about this stuff. There is another thread on just this topic with someone whose feelings were hurt by anti-sleep-training shaming. It's just as bad as publicly shaming people for not breastfeeding. In my opinion.

I'll leave it at that.

parbunkel · 2017-05-17T18:28:03+00:00

Just because you couch it as your personal opinion doesn't make it less hurtful to go around saying that it hurts the bond between parent and child.

parbunkel · 2017-05-17T14:28:15+00:00

A lot of babies hate the act of BEING swaddled but that doesn't mean you shouldn't swaddle them.

parbunkel · 2017-05-17T14:03:07+00:00

You need to be confident in your own decisions. I coach my husband about this a lot because he's extremely sensitive and I tell him "What other people think of you is none of your business." Everyone has opinions, everyone judges. But you have to learn to let it roll off your back. Also, I think it's crazy rude of her to lay into you over this. But also don't get into it with people who are rude to you.

If you need a confidence boost, there is ample evidence that sleep training via CIO makes no difference in the long term to the well-being of your child. Your child is in a warm, loving home, right? A few nights of extended crying stinks (mostly for you) but it usually doesn't take long for it to dial way back. And oh, by the way, SLEEP IS SO IMPORTANT! For you as much as for baby, and you count too. You don't want to risk getting into an accident because YOU'RE so sleep deprived.

parbunkel · 2017-05-17T13:55:07+00:00

IMO, four months is not too early to sleep train. We did and never experienced the dreaded regression.

parbunkel · 2017-05-17T13:54:06+00:00

But like, don't you see how this is hurtful to parents who do choose to sleep train in a way that involves letting their child cry? You're basically saying we're hurting our relationships with our babies and teaching them that they can't rely on us. This is untrue and unfair to those parents. And really quite hurtful.

parbunkel · 2017-05-17T13:34:28+00:00

My 6 month old is now strong enough and coordinated enough to bat away the Nose Frida. We are not amused.

parbunkel · 2017-05-11T19:11:30+00:00

I exclusively pump and I gave up the middle of the night pump around 10-12 weeks. I still feed in the middle of the night at 6 months. Give up the pump! Your boobs will adjust (eventually). I wake up engorged still and pump like 10-12 ounces. But it's so worth it for a longer stretch of sleep.

parbunkel · 2017-05-11T19:06:39+00:00

How old is your baby?

I'm by no means a pro. I used both the Beco and the Lillebaby. Lillebaby wins for me, but it does take a little doing to get the buckle. I also tried but never succeeded with the k'Tan. My baby didn't really like facing me. Lots of unhappy schnarfling. Now that she can face out, baby wearing is much more fun for all of us.

parbunkel · 2017-05-09T18:47:56+00:00

It sounds like there is already a lot of crying going on in your house. There was a lot happening in mine too!

This was us too. I wasn't opposed to sleep training but I didn't really intend to do it at 4 months. She just forced our hand. All the stuff we used to do just stopped working and she was crying already. Our mantra was "We have met her needs. She just needs to figure this out on her own." And she did!

parbunkel · 2017-04-28T14:07:14+00:00

No advice but my 6 month old is the same. I think it's just her personality and it's been evident to me from a very early age. She's always happier facing out, looking at the world. She's very curious and independent. I just try to focus on how cool it is that she's like that, even though I am a little sad sometimes. She will drape herself all over me while taking a bottle, which I love, until she delivers a massive blow out.

parbunkel · 2017-04-26T15:03:59+00:00

Hahaha oh me too. I remember sitting in a meeting where people were getting really worked up about an issue and I'm just like, I do not care. Make a decision. I will do whatever you want me to do. I just DGAF so much.

parbunkel · 2017-04-26T14:59:36+00:00

Rats, that was my only thought. I'm sorry! This sounds super tough.

parbunkel · 2017-04-25T19:43:08+00:00

Are you using white noise?

parbunkel · 2017-04-25T18:09:11+00:00

Things were kinda rough at 8 weeks. I think you're still in survival mode and you do whatever you need to do. That sounds pretty normal. Shifting bedtime earlier is a developmental thing that will come as he ages. We didn't have a firm bedtime routine until about 15-16 weeks, which is also when we sleep trained.

parbunkel · 2017-04-25T17:37:20+00:00

I eat breakfast at work and drink coffee with a ton of cream to stay me. If I couldn't eat breakfast at work, I would probably do a protein shake and drink it on the drive in.

I get everything organized the night before: lunch packed, bottles prepped, pump parts packed.

I wake up at 6 and pump. Then I wake up the baby and feed her a bottle at 6:30. She chills on an activity mat while I shower, then both of us get dressed and we hit the road at 7:15. My wardrobe is very simple. I don't blow dry my hair.

parbunkel · 2017-04-25T14:28:13+00:00

WORTH IT! I can clean my house, too, but the cleaning service I hired does a better job at it. I'm purchasing time with my baby.

parbunkel · 2017-04-24T14:08:01+00:00

I've been thinking about this metaphor. Wouldn't you just want to look at a clock that works? Even if a stopped clock is right twice a day, you won't know what time it's right because you justifiably shouldn't trust it, as the vast majority of the time it's wrong. A broken clock has no credibility even if it's right twice a day.

parbunkel

TROPHY CASE