this guy addresses babies and finances, and while I haven't kept up with his blog in a while, and skipped the baby ones, I'd be surprised if he didn't address lots of ways to save money.

9/21/2007 9:48:05 PM

Quote :

"latest model medela pump in style breast pump,"

baby's mom has one of those, too that she'll sell if anyone wants it.

9/21/2007 10:51:31 PM

something about a used breast pump....




... i dont know.

9/22/2007 1:45:19 AM

People buy used breast pumps all the freakin' time because they can be really expensive. A little single hand pump may only cost you 30 bucks, but you can easily lay down over $200 on a really nice electric pump.

9/22/2007 9:17:53 AM

Quote :

"sounds like youre having a great time "

Yes I just hope that I don't make him into a lush who sits in the house all day. We took them to the beach last week and he only played a portable minilaptop style thing the whole time.

As for going cheap, we've had to do it. Like I said, my wife doesn't work, just got the baby weaned off breastfeeding at 6-7 months, etc. I work a fulltime and part-time job, but it pays the bills and the state job gives us great health coverage. My mother in law lives down the street and stays home, so she's always available to babysit, which is a godsend most times, and sometimes a nightmare. With baby #2 we have had a lot of hand me downs from his brother. We've been doing disposable diapers, but my parents will come down and usually bring a pack of those every month or so, which really helps. But I can't stress enough how much more rewarding it is for children and mother if you stay at home and be with them for the first year or so.

9/22/2007 9:42:25 AM

a friend gave me her used medela pump. it would go for like $250 new. You can sterilize them.
I plan on trying to breast feed until she's 5-6 months but we'll see how it goes.
I'm only taking 6-8 weeks off so it depends on how much I can pump to get her through the day.

we're being given a really nice crib and changing table. it's been used by one child. nice expense we don't have to worry about.

we're having 3 baby showers. 1 in NY, CT, and NC and we have a HUGE family so thankfully we shouldn't have to buy much.

I've only bought her a wolfpack bib so far

9/22/2007 9:56:04 AM

^We don't have any of those because her family is all diehard UNC fans, even though none of them have ever even gone there before, and if I start buying State stuff, my wife has promised to start putting the boys in UNC attire too.

9/22/2007 9:57:31 AM

My boy is 21 months old right now. He is a handful. I am working full time and my wife is still in college so you can imagine how hard it is for us. We are very luck though in that we have two sets of grandparents that helps a lot. Her parents are quite wealthy so they are helping us with rent and my parents babysit a lot while my wife is in school. I don't see how it can get any harder than this right now because we aren't even living paycheck to paycheck, I'm broke halfway through the month after barely being able to feed my boy.

She graduates in December so here's looking up to us!

P.S. My boy is 22 months old and still only bables. He doesn't talk like his female cousin that is 18 months old. Any other of you had this with a boy?

9/22/2007 10:25:10 AM

My son didn't really start talking until after his second birthday, and he went from saying 4-5 words to speaking in sentences in the span of about 3 months. Our doc referred us for speech therapy at his 2-year-old checkup, which he ended up not needing. She said to wait and see for a couple of months and to go if he wasn't speaking by 27 months.

If he understands you and can follow simple instructions, the words will follow. We got him some sign language videos, which helped his frustration with not being able to communicate. I'd offer to lend them to you, but he still loves to watch them and would have a fit if they disappeared. Baby Babble and My Baby Can Talk are good ones.

9/22/2007 10:47:10 AM

It's funny how kids are different. My daughter has been saying "hi" very clearly since about 10 months. She says tons of stuff now...ball, happy, dog, baby, mommy, daddy, home, more, bye...I'm sure there is more I'm forgetting. However she still doesn't walk all the time, she'd rather crawl (she's 15 months). She can walk but not too well yet.

So I wouldn't worry if he isn't talking much. I have a cousin who didn't talk until he was around 3. They thought he was retarded. Now he's about 10 and the star soccer player at his school.

9/22/2007 1:01:34 PM

http://www.parenthacks.com/
http://www.parentwonder.com/

both great parenting tips sites

9/22/2007 1:25:10 PM

Most parents will tell you that boys tend to talk later than girls. I don't know how true that is, but I've nannied long enough to tell you that all children progress at their own rate and there is little use comparing them to one another. As long as their hearing is not impaired, they do not have some other physical impairment, and as someone said their comprehending what is being said to them, there doesn't seem to be too much to worry about.

I was speech delayed because of a cleft palate. I did not speak until I was 3 years old and then it was with the help of speech therapy, but I went on to get a degree in English and tutor public speaking. So, I wouldn't worry a great deal about the longer term impact of speech delay. Our son is going to be speech delayed because he inherited not only a cleft palate, but also a cleft lip and we are not too concerned about it because we know that he should be able to catch up. I've also heard wonderful things from other parents about using baby sign language to make up for the communication issues brought on by speech delay.

9/22/2007 3:27:24 PM

haha, my daughter says "da da", "Josh", "no", and "what's that".

9/22/2007 3:57:42 PM

My son has a speech delay. When he was younger (before age 2), I had him evaluated through Easter Seals. They do a developmental and speech evaluation and depending on the results of that, a hearing test. You have to get a recommendation (prescription generally) from your pediatrician, but the testing didn't end up costing anything.

Luckily, my mother's degree is in speech therapy, so she's worked one on one with him since he was little and other than talking very late, he's developmentally fine. He still has someone work with him at school once a week and he's improving greatly.

9/22/2007 4:20:03 PM

Quote :

"but you can easily lay down over $200 on a really nice electric pump."

oh yeah, easily. you can spend $300 (+/- a little) for the top of the line Medela.

9/22/2007 4:50:11 PM

Speaking of pumping, a word to the wise: if you have to pump before your supply is fully established (usually 4 - 6 weeks), do yourself and your breasts a favor and rent the hospital pump. The rentals have a stronger pull or something.

9/22/2007 5:22:37 PM

this thread is a fucking 10/10(read it all)...i dont feel like i'll ever be ready to handle this kinda stuff

9/22/2007 5:33:44 PM

my boy's first words were "mo-go" (motorcycle) and "uh oh"

i think we're in for a rough 16-20 years.



seriously, unless your child has a diagnosed speech disorder, do not worry about their apparent lack of verbal ability. boys, on average, develop a lot slower than girls. our boy didnt really start talking til after he was 2 1/2 years old. then his vocabulary and sentence creation just exploded.

and most speech impediments/disorders are completely able to be mitigated if you have early intervention... like around 3 years old. just keep up with the pediatrician, and dont worry about it.

(signing videos are awesome, but you have to really stick with it. i wish we had done better with that)

9/22/2007 6:12:28 PM

yeah, i think they teach a little sign language at my daughter's daycare

and she also says "uh-oh"...that was one of the first things she said

9/22/2007 8:16:30 PM

interesting thread...plz to keep contributing

10/25/2007 7:06:19 PM

faring, btw

10/25/2007 9:18:49 PM

My son had my daughter do his homework yesterday.

10/25/2007 9:47:06 PM

We're meeting with the plastic surgeon and then the speech pathologist for a feeding consultation the day before Thanksgiving. They want to meet with us before the baby actually gets here.

When I told the cashier at Target today that I was not due until early January, she looked down at me and asked me if I was 'having twins or something.'

10/25/2007 9:50:41 PM

Sometimes you just have to keep telling yourself, "there's a reason why she's making minimum wage..."

....but it's damn difficult sometimes. Especially since beating people senseless whilst pregnant is generally not a good thing for the baby.

10/25/2007 11:03:48 PM

^^damn thats messed up

10/25/2007 11:07:05 PM

I don't pay my child support.

10/26/2007 6:10:20 PM

Quote :

"my boy's first words were "mo-go" (motorcycle) and "uh oh""

aww, cute

My son is 2 months old. He has had really good head control (he could lift his head up 45 degrees when he was 2 weeks old), although all he "says" right now is something like "aaa-goo". It's really fun seeing him learn new things.

10/26/2007 10:08:46 PM

paging jeepmanmom



[Edited on October 26, 2007 at 11:41 PM. Reason : tag]

10/26/2007 11:40:15 PM

my son is now 1 year 6 mos and he's quite good at understanding what i say. i was surprised to find that he will look for specific items when asked, imitate & identify animals.

it's easier in some respects now, compared to when he was younger.

he communicates his wants and needs quite clearly now.

naps are becoming a bit harder now that he knows that he can get out of the bed without injury.

i was hoping the crib would last a bit longer.

10/27/2007 12:54:14 AM

5 weeks to go



The backpain is getting worse and she keeps her feet permanently in my ribcage... incredibly uncomfortable

I'm packing my hospital bag - any tips on what to put in there? I've looked at the lists that the books have but anything you found necessary to have?

10/27/2007 10:01:30 AM

Where are you delivering? My friend went to Wakemed New Bern and they provided no toiletries (she was early and didn't have her bag packed, and was ecstatic when I showed up with shampoo and fuzzy socks). I went to Duke Health Raleigh and they gave me a nice amenity kit with everything from slipper socks to lip balm.

Two things I wanted & didn't have: my own bottle of Advil and a short nightgown. Figured I'd just use the hospital gowns since they were just going to get nasty, but those things drove me nuts.

10/27/2007 10:38:19 AM

Rex
we're doing a tour next week so i'll find out what they provide. I've packed a toiletries bag, nightgown and pjs. I even have fuzzy socks in there. I packed a few outfits for the baby, some nursing pads, and feminine products.

10/27/2007 11:16:21 AM

this is a great thread. my wife and i are planning to begin trying in april. we live in Charleston SC now and i do not want her carrying through the heat of summer. we think 6 months will get us to October before she becomes miserable. maybe some of you can let us know if that sounds like a good plan?
how many here planned for the first baby?

10/27/2007 12:39:58 PM

My husband and I planned our first baby, which is due on January 11th. We were actually aiming for a February or March due date, but mother nature had other plans. Everyone told us that it would take about 3 months to get pregnant, but we ended up pregnant literally our first time without any kind of BC.

Here it is late October and I am 7 months pregnant. It was nice not to be huge and miserable during the hot summer months. Unfortunately, I'll only be allowed to travel until just after Thanksgiving. That means that we're going to miss out on Christmas with our families (unless they drive several hours here) and no New Year's fun. The holidays will all be spent waiting to deliver, but at least we'll be kept busy through the holidays so it hopefully won't seem as long.

10/27/2007 12:56:20 PM

Y'all do know that it doesn't always work the first time, right?

But to answer your question, yes we did plan, but it was more 'no baby before X date' planning, not a 'we're having a baby in X month' planning. Carrying during the summer isn't the big deal people make it out to be - I'd be more concerned about caring for a newborn when you really want to be outside enjoying the sun. Air conditioning FTW.

10/27/2007 12:59:45 PM

Quote :

"Y'all do know that it doesn't always work the first time, right?"

according to our doctors i have super swimmers and she can lay a ripe egg. odds are we will be preggers quick.

10/27/2007 1:06:09 PM

my niece(22 months) wants to be a "big girl" and not wear diapers. She even tells when she has to go to the bathroom(Xmas no more diapers). It was kinda funny, the last time, she said she needed to go, she tried, but didnt go...then my sister left to get another diaper and she comes walking in trying to zip up her pants.....when my sister came back she didnt want to put on a diaper and she threw a fit. Earlier in the day my sister tried the panties thing but my niece pissed all over the place so it was back to diapers....she appeared to want to go commando.

Duke, maybe the mom can potty train her.

It is interesting how they pick up stuff, my sister was having a hard time opening a jar and she came with a towel for her to use(had seen her use one before)

[Edited on October 27, 2007 at 5:13 PM. Reason : w]

10/27/2007 5:11:39 PM

Crazy how much they change and how quickly. I posted last in here a month ago and said how my daughter wasn't walking a lot yet. About a week or two after that, one day she just started walking everywhere. Now you can't go to a store without her saying "down" and "walk" and trying to squirm out of your arms.

Oh and she has become a huge football fan. She doesn't really like TV...occasionally she will watch Barney but other than that she just ignores it. That is unless football is on. She points at the TV and starts yelling "BALL!" very loudly over and over. She even knows to throw both arms up in the air for touchdown.

10/28/2007 8:53:53 PM

^ that is fantastic...i can't wait to have kids...

10/30/2007 1:14:49 AM

word is my daughter is really walking well now

10/30/2007 1:28:08 AM

can anyone recommend a good day care provider in the Raleigh, Cary, Durham (near Southpoint Mall) area.

We've been on a waiting list at the daycare we picked out since May and will need care starting around the third week on Jan. They still can't guarantee us a spot. frustrating.

I realize it's probably too late to find another day care center that will have a spot open for her in time so we're looking into in-home providers. They have to be licensed and come highly recommended with referrences. Our daughter will be ~ 8 weeks old when the care is needed. My husband and I both have to be at work by 7am so we'd have to be able to drop her off early.

thanks

11/4/2007 6:51:44 PM

Quote :

"They still can't guarantee us a spot. frustrating."

did you apply before she was born? that's pretty much the only way you'll get a spot.

or you have to pick out more than one and pay the fee at all of them till one of them has a spot.

Quote :

"My husband and I both have to be at work by 7am so we'd have to be able to drop her off early."

get ready to go broke

11/4/2007 8:31:43 PM

yea we applied right after we found out
I think I was 8 weeks or so

11/4/2007 8:44:38 PM

yeah, infants < 1 year old can be tough to find daycare for

and it is expensive

11/4/2007 8:52:56 PM

i'm not putting my kid into daycare until he's 2, so i still have a good amount of time, but I secured his position early.

11/4/2007 10:06:44 PM

I'm happy with paying for no daycare. Granted the wife barely works, but doing her schooling online during this time is a good way for her to still be accomplishing things for her career and be home with the kids at the same time.

11/5/2007 9:01:31 AM

Most of the parents that are my clients (run a childcare business) will not put their children into childcare until they are old enough to communicate to some extent what is going on while their mother and father are not there. I think that is a very good policy because I have heard of some very unpleasant local situations with infants and younger toddlers who couldn't really talk yet that were revealed with a nanny cam.

11/5/2007 11:29:13 AM

^ that's why I prefer to have her at a center over in someone's home where no one else is watching. I would much rather wait until she's old enough to tell me what happens there.

My mother ran a daycare out of our home when we were growing up. We loved having kids to play with after school and she did a great job. But I realize not all daycare providers are the same.


We were on a waiting list at a second center which was near my husbands work. but he changed jobs 2 months ago and is working in a different area.
We figured we had it covered by being on 2 lists, one near each of our jobs.

If one of us could stay at home we would. It's not feasible and I love my job.

[Edited on November 5, 2007 at 1:27 PM. Reason : sigh]

11/5/2007 1:25:56 PM

Quote :

"I'm religious about getting 8 hrs of sleep a night. I guess I can kiss that goodbye."

Bwaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhh!

With a newborn you'll be lucky for three uninterrupted hours of sleep!!!!!

11/5/2007 4:14:35 PM

My daughter is starting to count. ( 19 months)

11/5/2007 9:00:44 PM