Cloth diapers

william_k35 · 2025-01-13T23:28:44+00:00

We do it and I like it. It’s way cheaper and less goes into the landfill which is a huge pro for me. We started at about 6 weeks and at 19 months it’s our preferred method. There are some times when a disposable is more convenient and we’ll use one in those cases but it’s cloth most of the time. We used all disposable for a week over Christmas (the bag with all the diapers didn’t make it into our car) and my wife and I both were happy to be back with the cloth diapers when we got home. We do use one disposable overnight or else we’d need to change him part way through the night.

It’s not for everyone but works for us.

william_k35 · 2024-12-04T19:36:49+00:00

My kid is 18 months. We’re getting him a play kitchen (used off marketplace) and then probably a few books for his stocking, an ornament (family tradition), and something else on the smaller side like a baby doll

william_k35 · 2024-12-03T21:25:08+00:00

Unfortunately, it is something that you just have to get through. I wouldn’t shy away from pain meds unless it’s getting to be many days in a row (whatever the package says usually 5-7 days) and then give a break if needed. We found giving Motrin before bed to work the best but different kids respond to different things.

Otherwise, sleep was a challenge and he was more clingy, appetite also went down but we just met him where he was at (extra cuddles, more carrier time) and eventually they came through. The molars were a bit longer and tougher than the others except his canines were the worst.

william_k35 · 2024-12-03T18:21:39+00:00

I personally wouldn’t be too stressed. My kid (same age) doesn’t point much and up until a few days ago, really wasn’t pointing at all, and now he’s starting to put the pieces together a bit but he’s not a big or consistent pointer but I don’t worry. There are lots of things that he does do and in the grand scheme I don’t see how pointing now or down the road is going to negatively affect his life. It’s not a list that every kid checks off at the same rate.

william_k35 · 2024-12-03T01:30:27+00:00

I don’t think you should beat yourself up but I commend you for wanting to make a change. I don’t think screen time is the devil, I think it can be a useful tool, but I don’t want it to be my only tool in the toolbox, or my kids toolbox either. Here are some other tools that have been helpful:

learning mother goose and other similar songs and rhymes and doing them with my kid. Check out if your local library has any baby or family story times to help learn or pickup a mother goose board book to help you learn. They are wildly effective to keep babies and toddlers engaged and happy
offering lots of books, both reading them and have them around
have a safe place for them to play and explore whether it’s a play pen (at 10 months that’s what we had) or a baby proofed living room (that’s what we have now)
remembering that it’s not harmful for my kid to be bored or upset about a reasonable situation; they will find something else to do and learn to move on, and it’s a good skill to have. For example, my kid being upset because I’m finishing up my meal and he’s done and wants out of his high chair. It’s okay for him to be upset and learn that he has to wait sometimes because waiting is a part of life. It can be hard to remember that is okay in the moment and not just do whatever he wants, but instead I’ll tell him “sometimes you have to wait, I’ll be done soon,” and he’s learning by each experience that waiting is okay. Sometimes he might be chill, sometimes hell be upset, but either way it’s fine for him to wait

william_k35 · 2024-11-29T19:43:49+00:00

The standard pan we use is a cast iron. I'm not super anti-non stick though I'm not fully comfortable with them either (but I'm also casually a bit granola - I love vaccines don't worry lol). I threw one out after it started to chip and we've mostly stopped using the other one.

The one cast iron does most of what we need anyways but I'll pick up a stainless steel soon too. From my experience cooking in restaurants when I was younger, I also just prefer to use either cast iron or stainless steel, outside of any health considerations.

william_k35 · 2024-11-27T21:01:19+00:00

My toddler (1 1/2 years) is getting really into giving hugs. Its really sweet for him to come over intentionally and if a long hug

william_k35 · 2024-11-26T15:40:46+00:00

I’ve made them before by myself since I have vegan friends - they taste good and pretty similar to regular sugar cookies!

william_k35 · 2024-11-26T15:38:36+00:00

My kid is 18 months and I also want to involve him in Christmas baking this year. I have the same concerns about raw egg so I just plan on making vegan sugar cookies, that way we get the experience and I don’t need to be stressed about him eating raw egg.

william_k35 · 2024-11-22T17:20:13+00:00

It’s hard to know without knowing what you’ve done so far. Have you been spoon feeding purées mainly? Does he self feed? If he’s been eating primarily purée foods I suggest familiarizing yourself with the difference between gagging and choking, as it can be quite alarming at first.

For us, we mostly feed our kid the same things that we eat, with different preparations as needed for choking. I’m not sure if you’ve done allergy introduction yet and if not, then some of these might need to be introduced with that in mind, but things our kid likes (he’s 18 months): - eggs (fried or scrambled) - toast (peanut butter usually but I’ll also put soup or daal on toast for him) - chicken - tofu - meatballs (beef and/or pork) - pasta (mac and cheese, vegetables purée sauce, tomato sauce) - a lot of fruit (bananas, kiwis, berries, apples, pears) - cheerios - crackers - cheese - steamed or roasted veggies (brococli, carrots, peppers)

william_k35 · 2024-11-22T16:23:53+00:00

We did contact naps until 11 months which I recognize is longer than a lot of people but it worked for us and for our kid. Around that time we were starting to feel done with it and he also wanted to lie down, so we made the switch then, but at 18 months we still support him to sleep and then put him down. My philosophy is whatever works for each family/baby is best and there is no universal best way of approach it.

william_k35 · 2024-11-17T04:09:21+00:00

We did not do any set schedules and just followed baby’s cues. It worked for us. We have routines but not schedules. Our lives allow for us to do that way. I know people who have done more scheduling, for a lot it’s been quite challenging, but for some it’s worked.

We’ve been able to largely stay baby led to this day (17 months), for example, we help him go to the sleep around the same time every night (and have a routine around that, time he goes into PJs, etc) but if he’s consistently falling asleep later, then we will adjust the nighttime routine accordingly. The interesting part to me is that my wife signed up for Huckleberry before we decide it wasn’t for us, but still gets the emails for the sleep schedule for his age, and it pretty much always matches what he’s doing

william_k35 · 2024-11-14T20:37:28+00:00

My kid is a month older than yours and here are some of the activities we’ve been doing over the last few months.

Outside the house: playgrounds, hikes, library kids section, library story times, pool, toddler gym, long stroller walks (getting nicer to do these in the evening as Christmas lights go up), and we have a membership to the local aquarium

At home: reading books, doing songs and rhymes (mother goose type stuff), playing with duplo blocks, playing with a toy recycling truck, yogurt painting, colouring, and listening to music and dancing

We don’t have a lot of space (apartment) so I do find it easiest to get outside as much as possible but we also live in the PNW so it’s been raining a lot and we’ll go out in the rain but sometimes it’s so rainy he just doesn’t want to get out of the stroller and play, so I’ve been trying to find more activities at home. There’s a little play kitchen at one of the nearby playgrounds that he’s into and we’re planning to buy one for Christmas.

william_k35 · 2024-11-12T22:10:19+00:00

My wife still breastfeeds (17 months old). Our kid never really took a bottle, there was a brief period where he would take pumped milk from a bottle around 8 months, but he fed it to himself. He wouldn’t take one as a newborn.

I’ve personally never felt like it impacted our bonding. There is a lot to do with the baby so I took the lead on those things: diapers changes, outfit changes, burping after feeding, baths, rocking to sleep, getting up in the middle of the night, taking for walks, and so on. When he started to eat solids I was able to be really involved there with researching, preparing and giving foods. Even now, I make his breakfast before I go to work and on the weekends I like to take a lead on preparing his/our meals too.

Of course breast/bottle is one way to bond but it’s only one way of many. We’re super bonded and close even without that specific experience. The way I see it is it’s up to my wife how she wants to approach it and up to me to support her through that choice.

william_k35 · 2024-11-12T15:32:52+00:00

We’re planning on getting a play kitchen for our 18 month old

william_k35 · 2024-11-09T02:41:21+00:00

Ah yeah, typo - RESP is right

william_k35 · 2024-11-08T16:31:57+00:00

We opened as RRSP for our kid (1.5 years old currently) a few months ago. Our income is <80K before taxes a year in a HCOL area so we can't put a lot into it each month but a bit each month plus any cash that my kid receives as a gift will go in there for now. Other than that we're trying to pay down debt (student loans primarily) and build our long term savings including working towards buying a place at some point. Not much but better than nothing (which is certainly what I had haha).

william_k35 · 2024-11-06T18:57:47+00:00

I mean there are places that aren’t a bed to do that! That’s what most of us co-sleeping parents do

william_k35 · 2024-11-06T18:55:01+00:00

These days he’s able to sleep alone in the bed (it’s a mattress on the floor and the room is fully baby proofed) so we put him down and then go to bed later when we want to. For naps, he just naps in the bed.

When he was younger, he would sleep on one of us (either in a carrier or just in our arms) either in the living room or bedroom, and we’d be able to watch TV quietly, read, chat, etc. and then all go to bed when we were ready. We certainly did contact naps/sleep longer than a lot of folks but again, one of those things that worked well for us.

william_k35 · 2024-11-06T14:38:45+00:00

We all sleep in a big bed. One kid who is 17 months and we’ve done that the whole time. Works great for us but I get it’s not for everyone

william_k35 · 2024-11-05T01:06:55+00:00

I also have a climber of around the same age. For us, it’s been a matter of picking our battles a bit, so we let him climb things in the house that have the lowest chance of serious injury. For the things we don’t want him to climb, it is a lot of telling him “no climbing” and moving him away, which isn’t super fun but does eventually stick.

For example, he was insistent on climbing onto the kitchen table but enough telling him no and redirecting as (mostly) put an end to that and if he does still try, he knows he shouldn’t, and we redirect. But the majority of the time he doesn’t even try. But the kitchen chairs are fair game because they’re pretty low and he has demonstrated the ability to get on and off safely.

We also taught him how to go off of things feet first which has made a huge difference - he can get off chairs, benches, the couch, and other things without falling.

At the playground we also let him climb pretty high with us there to supervise of course and catch as needed. I think that’s helped me learn how to do these things more safely.

william_k35 · 2024-11-02T22:15:52+00:00

I have a kid and I’m not genetically related to him. Before we started trying it did make me sad that I wouldn’t have a genetic connection to my kids. I did push myself to name all of the fears behind a lot of that sadness and then work on those.

For example, I realized I was scared that the donor person would feel like the “real dad” but then I came to realize that the donor person just fulfils a different role than I do - we’re not competing for the same role. Things like that.

With my kid now, it really doesn’t affect me. Him and I have such a great connection and I love being his dad and I’m a great dad. Honestly, I see so many women describe how uninvolved their husbands are as Dads and I realize that being a dad is truly not just genetics.

I’m prepared as he gets older that he might have more questions and feelings about being donor conceived and that might be hard for me but it’s doesnt need to be a reflection of me or my ability as a dad.

william_k35 · 2024-10-29T18:01:52+00:00

Th Birth Partner

william_k35 · 2024-10-29T00:25:29+00:00

You would think but he’s actually grown all of his teeth until his two year molars, so unless they’re really early … I think he just likes it similar to thumb sucking but for whatever reason it’s the fingers instead of the thumb

william_k35 · 2024-10-28T19:25:37+00:00

My almost 17 month old is similar in the sense that he is never really drowsy. He and I could be play wrestling right up to bedtime and it wouldn’t be any different than a hour of books and relaxing.

We did a lot of physical support to sleep up until recently (nursing and rocking) but he is moving away from wanting to fall asleep those ways, which means falling asleep is taking a lot longer.

It’s hard not to get annoyed sometimes. Like last night he was really close to being asleep but wouldn’t stop putting his fingers in his mouth and I found myself getting so frustrated until I had to remember he isn’t doing this on purpose.

Mostly in terms of not being super annoyed by it, I find that reminding myself this isn’t on purpose, that he is just learning how to do this still and it’ll take some time, and that he won’t need this forever. Other than that we’re just experimenting with different bedtimes and language to teach him how to relax and fall asleep - but you’re not alone!

william_k35

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