Thought I’d be inclusive with the thread title, although I’m not sure any mums post on SFCU.
So my daughter who was born on the 7th anniversary of our famous GF win down in the shithole is now nearly 20 months old and is a handful.
I spoiled her irreparably by preferring to carry her in my arms everywhere we went from when she was just months old (so I could lift her up and kiss her anytime I wanted), and now she screams blue murder when we try to put her in a stroller. So I have to carry her in my arms whenever we go out. Oops.
She’s got about 20-25 words, and even went to her first ever Sydney FC game (the 2-0 win over Western Suburbs at the SCG recently) when my missus desperately needed an evening off from parenting. Spent most of the game walking up and down the stairs from the concourse down to Row A, about 50 times but somehow saw both goals.
I have Wednesdays off so I take her out, and rotate between visits to Taronga Zoo, the Sea Life Aquarium and the Wild Life Zoo next door, the local library and visits to the city. Taronga Zoo on Wednesday mornings are excellent, can have the ranger’s 4WD in the tiger enclosure all to ourselves.
I’m completely besotted with her and try to capture every moment on my phone, and catalogue them for easy searching in the future. I’m going to be seeing her photos and videos all day when I’m an old man.
Enjoy it, as someone who’s still trying to work out how my eldest daughter got to 16 in what feels like a couple of days, those early years are special and your first-born always leaves the strongest impression because everything is new and terrifying.
I’ll say this though, forget videoing and photographing everything, focus on experiencing it, every second spent fucking around with a phone or camera or even checking to see if its pointed in the right direction is wasted. You won’t watch or look at them anywhere near as much as you think you will because what they are doing NOW will always be more important that what they did in the past.
If I had read this 12 months ago I would have completely agreed with you, but having separated from my wife 6 months ago and only having the kids stay with me 50% of the time, you wouldn’t believe the amount of times I’ve been through old photos lately.
Don’t spend your entire life behind the screen, completely agree with that, but capture the occasional moment, particularly with your first and when they’re so young (as cliche’d as it sounds, they do grow up really fucking quick).
My two are 10 and 7. It only feels like yesterday that Harry was helping me warm up during those first couple of years with the Loko Cove Super 8’s.
Thanks it seems true that what she is doing now is more important than what she did before. I do often browse old photos and videos but the sheer volume of captured memories actually takes away from its preciousness.
So now I’m trying to spend less time on photos and videos and focus on living in the moment. I’m terrible at it. I’m the same when it comes to holidays.
I have a terrible visual memory so whenever I’ve tried living in the moment too much, it all fades away. Capturing a couple of shots/videos each time is a good approach - don’t go overboard spending too long getting them, but it’s great to capture a few shots whenever you have the chance. 50 shots of almost the same thing are a pain in the arse however.
Also as they grow, the kids love seeing in particular videos of themselves when they were younger. It’s some of the best quality family time you can have.
Grandchild #2 due in a couple of weeks. #1 is so sweet and precocious at just shy of 2 years old. Never mind she gets by on around 4 hours sleep a night… The luxury of being able to spoil them rotten, hand them back and fuck off home can not be overstated.
So we’re expecting our first little one end of September, but was wandering if anyone could suggest some decent podcasts to listen to while working? I’ve started Two Bald Dads which i’m enjoying, but is there anything else worth it?
Hi folks, my wife is pregnant with our first child/Sydney FC member. Only 14 weeks, but we’re starting to plan things that we need to buy. One of the first on the list is a stroller (with bassinet). Any recommendations? We’re gravitating towards a Mountain Buggy Urban Jungle.
You’re a dad if you know the difference between a pram and a stroller…
We were lucky enough someone lent us a Bugaboo pram so never really had to choose one. You want something that is lightweight and easy to detach and re-attach (as you’ll be doing it a lot) and be tucked away in the boot of a car.
Probably can’t go wrong with a popular model, provided it is not overpriced (and they often are).
After a couple of years we had to give the pram back and got ourselves a Babyzen Yoyo folding stroller which we still use for our 3 1/2 year old.
People often think they can buy a model that is a pram/stroller hybrid so they don’t end up buying both, but a pram that supports a bassinet will always be larger/heavier than a dedicated stroller and usually needs to be detached into two pieces before fitting in the boot. You might think what’s the big deal just detach then re-attach, but doing it for the 700th time you’ll wish there was an easier way.
A foldable stroller on the other hand:
My tip would be to find a pram in good condition on Gumtree (avoid people taking the piss and asking for 70% of new price for a dirty old item), and transition into a lightweight folding stroller when the child is old enough to sit up.
A few unsolicted tips, or ‘how I would do things differently’:
Get the re-usable plastic baby wipe container and buy the re-fills in bulk. It will save you a lot over the long run compared to buying individual packs, and also generate heaps less rubbish from packaging. But you will still need some individual packs to take with you when you go out as the re-usable containers are too big to fit in a bag.
Don’t bother with the fancy ‘odour control’ nappy disposal bins. The bin liners are simply not economical over the first 3-4 years of having to dispose of nappies. Just get a pedal bin keep it in a place where odour is not a problem. We used our spare bathroom for it.
Hit Gumtree for most things where hygiene is not an issue. It’s tempting to buy everything new especially for a first child, but the baby wont’ care.
