# All-purpose baby, pregnancy, and parenting thread **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [February 8, 2013, 7:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/all-purpose-baby-pregnancy-and-parenting-thread/649725 "2013-02-08T19:08:05Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 7
**Author:** ![April\_R](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3da27b/32.png) [@April\_R](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/April_R)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2013, 3:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/all-purpose-baby-pregnancy-and-parenting-thread/649725/121 "2013-03-28T03:38:22Z")
I fed on demand, but my situation was different. I had premie twins and on demand was every hour on the hour…sleep was a fantasy ---
**Author:** ![Troppus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/a587f6/32.png) [@Troppus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Troppus)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2013, 3:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/all-purpose-baby-pregnancy-and-parenting-thread/649725/122 "2013-03-28T03:57:58Z")
> [@Troppus](#): > > Oh, and my girl was writing from the get go and fought the swaddled. Blankets were not an option unless I was holding her because she’d pull them over her face. I didn’t feel comfortable with that, so long sleeved pajamas and the occasional hat were my alternative to a loose blanket. Goodness, what typos, I’m sorry. My baby didn’t respond well to being confined and wriggled and squirmed too much for loose blankets. ---
**Author:** ![Cazzle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cazzle/32/75_2.png) [@Cazzle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cazzle)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2013, 4:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/all-purpose-baby-pregnancy-and-parenting-thread/649725/123 "2013-03-28T04:47:21Z")
> [@KSO](#): > > I’d like to hear how folks handled the first few weeks–we brought our little girl home yesterday and, of course, everyone we encounter has an opinion. My two big ones are: > > 1. Did you feed your newborn on demand or wake him/her every 2-3 hours to eat? > 2. What did you have your newborn sleep in? In hospital, they kept her in a diaper and then simply bundled her in two light blankets? My MIL thinks she’s cold all the time. > > Other advice? > > Thanks, > Kathy With advice from the health nurse, I fed mine on demand or every four hours, whichever came first. My kids rarely forgot a feed so in practice it was every 2-3 hours. ---
**Author:** ![Glory](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/7cd45c/32.png) [@Glory](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Glory)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2013, 5:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/all-purpose-baby-pregnancy-and-parenting-thread/649725/124 "2013-03-28T05:21:43Z")
> [@KSO](#): > > I’d like to hear how folks handled the first few weeks–we brought our little girl home yesterday and, of course, everyone we encounter has an opinion. My two big ones are: > > 1. Did you feed your newborn on demand or wake him/her every 2-3 hours to eat? > 2. What did you have your newborn sleep in? In hospital, they kept her in a diaper and then simply bundled her in two light blankets? My MIL thinks she’s cold all the time. > > Other advice? > > Thanks, > Kathy Hey congratulations, my Ethan will be 11 weeks on Friday. My doctor advised feeding him every 2-3 hours until he regained his birth weight. Ethan sleeps in a onesie. We started swaddling at 4 weeks (love the miracle blanket). How are you guys doing? The first 2 weeks were crazy hard for me! Things got much better after week 3. ---
**Author:** ![Sattua](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sattua/32/11906_2.png) [@Sattua](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sattua)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2013, 12:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/all-purpose-baby-pregnancy-and-parenting-thread/649725/125 "2013-03-28T12:43:10Z")
1. I was supposed to wake my daughter to feed every 2-3 hours until she regained her birth weight. And that point I could let her sleep until she woke up hungry. We had nursing troubles; she’d fall asleep at the breast and I didn’t have much milk. I remember putting wet socks on her feet to keep her awake for nighttime feeds. 2. She was born in mid-March so during her first month the nights got chilly. The temperature in her room probably went to the lower sixties, Fahrenheit. She slept in her cotton pajamas, a fleece swaddler, and a doubled-up chenille blanket. ---
**Author:** ![delphica](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e9a140/32.png) [@delphica](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/delphica)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2013, 4:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/all-purpose-baby-pregnancy-and-parenting-thread/649725/126 "2013-03-28T16:49:49Z")
I got lucky (in that I didn’t have to make much of a decision) in that “on demand” and “every three hours” were about the same thing during the first two weeks. On occasion but not often, she would sleep 4 or 5 hours, and we let her sleep. She was born in the winter, a cold winter, and we usually had her in an undershirt and a one-piece pajama. For sleeping, she had an addition swaddle blanket (not the Miracle Blanket but a similar concept, like swaddling for dummies). She never liked a hat. She just never seemed to be _that_ cold to require any more layers. ---
**Author:** ![eclectic\_wench](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ac91a4/32.png) [@eclectic\_wench](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eclectic_wench)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2013, 4:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/all-purpose-baby-pregnancy-and-parenting-thread/649725/127 "2013-03-28T16:57:16Z")
Congratulations! 1. The doctor told us ‘no baby ever starved to death in its sleep’ - in other words, don’t wake her to feed her. I never did, but that was mainly because she was full-term, average birth weight, and did everything averagely in terms of weight loss/gain. So I didn’t figure she needed extra feeds when she wasn’t looking for them. If she’d been underweight or something, I might have done it differently. 2. She was born in summer in Ireland, so usually a sleeveless vest, onesie pyjamas and a light cellular blanket. ---
**Author:** ![Zsofia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/7bcc69/32.png) [@Zsofia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zsofia)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2013, 10:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/all-purpose-baby-pregnancy-and-parenting-thread/649725/128 "2013-03-28T22:54:03Z")
What exactly is it with old people thinking babies are always cold? ---
**Author:** ![Colophon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f05b48/32.png) [@Colophon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colophon)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2013, 11:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/all-purpose-baby-pregnancy-and-parenting-thread/649725/129 "2013-03-28T23:36:32Z")
> [@pbbth](#): > > My 16 month old is being a bit of a pill lately. She has officially figured out that she can tell us no (not verbally yet, but vigorous shaking of her head) and thinks defiance is kind of funny. Mommy says not to do something? Well then obviously she should do it and laugh uproariously and then scream through her time out in the other room. > > I’m looking forward to the end of this phase. Don’t worry, it might be over in as little as 17 years 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![iftheresaway](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/ecae2f/32.png) [@iftheresaway](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iftheresaway)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2013, 1:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/all-purpose-baby-pregnancy-and-parenting-thread/649725/130 "2013-03-29T01:02:45Z")
I’m having a rough day today. My husband had worked late (home between 10pm and 4am) every night since Sunday, so I’ve essentially been a single parent. I’m tired as hell. My mom watches the bug from 9am to 3pm most days, but she’s had a lot of appointments lately so I don’t even get that. Ian only takes one nap, and it’s while he’s with her, so from 3 to bed he’s going going going. He crawls everywhere, and has no desire to play with his toys, only with various dangerous household objects. I have a full-time job and a growing freelance writing business, and the house is trashed because after he goes to sleep I have to get back to work. I’m exhausted and lonely and tired of trying to do it all on my own, and I feel guilty that I’m not as fun as I could/ should be for my son. I feel like all I do these days is say, “No, don’t eat that!” ---
**Author:** ![April\_R](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3da27b/32.png) [@April\_R](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/April_R)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2013, 1:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/all-purpose-baby-pregnancy-and-parenting-thread/649725/131 "2013-03-29T01:38:21Z")
> [@Zsofia](#): > > What exactly is it with old people thinking babies are always cold? I don’t know. I swear every little old lady at church would beg me to put socks on my twins when they were little because “they’re little feet are so cold” :rolleyes: Well, their little bodies are sweating, so I’ll keep the socks off:smack:, but thanks ---
**Author:** ![April\_R](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3da27b/32.png) [@April\_R](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/April_R)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2013, 1:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/all-purpose-baby-pregnancy-and-parenting-thread/649725/132 "2013-03-29T01:40:28Z")
> [@iftheresaway](#): > > I’m having a rough day today. My husband had worked late (home between 10pm and 4am) every night since Sunday, so I’ve essentially been a single parent. I’m tired as hell. My mom watches the bug from 9am to 3pm most days, but she’s had a lot of appointments lately so I don’t even get that. Ian only takes one nap, and it’s while he’s with her, so from 3 to bed he’s going going going. He crawls everywhere, and has no desire to play with his toys, only with various dangerous household objects. I have a full-time job and a growing freelance writing business, and the house is trashed because after he goes to sleep I have to get back to work. I’m exhausted and lonely and tired of trying to do it all on my own, and I feel guilty that I’m not as fun as I could/ should be for my son. I feel like all I do these days is say, “No, don’t eat that!” is daycare or at least a mother’s day out on occasion an option? Mother’s Day Outs are usually pretty inexpensive. And P.S. Guilt is part of the motherhood package, don’t be too hard on yourself! ---
**Author:** ![Cazzle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cazzle/32/75_2.png) [@Cazzle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cazzle)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2013, 1:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/all-purpose-baby-pregnancy-and-parenting-thread/649725/133 "2013-03-29T01:44:19Z")
Can you get a playpen or set up a safe play area for him that he can be confined to? ---
**Author:** ![iftheresaway](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/ecae2f/32.png) [@iftheresaway](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iftheresaway)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2013, 4:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/all-purpose-baby-pregnancy-and-parenting-thread/649725/134 "2013-03-29T04:22:11Z")
> [@Eliahna](#): > > Can you get a playpen or set up a safe play area for him that he can be confined to? We’ve been thinking of getting one of these: [Robot or human?](http://www.walmart.com/ip/North-States-Portable-Playard-and-Extension-Kit-Value-Bundle/14520403) since we’ve to the room for it downstairs, but I’m torn. Part of th problem is that he loves to explore, so I’m picturing him just standing at he gates and crying. Or trying to climb it. But if it did work, it would be a HUGE blessing - I could sit net to him and gt my work done while he played. Hmmm. I might have just talked myself into trying it out. Anyone else have eperience with active babies & play yards? ---
**Author:** ![April\_R](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3da27b/32.png) [@April\_R](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/April_R)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2013, 4:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/all-purpose-baby-pregnancy-and-parenting-thread/649725/135 "2013-03-29T04:33:52Z")
My two loved their play yard, but that were also in there together so I think that made a difference. ---
**Author:** ![Cazzle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cazzle/32/75_2.png) [@Cazzle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cazzle)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2013, 6:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/all-purpose-baby-pregnancy-and-parenting-thread/649725/136 "2013-03-29T06:52:20Z")
We were able to set aside a playroom for the kids. We age appropriately baby-proofed the space, and used a fireplace guard to set up a fence/gate. It is reconfigurable, so you can have it as a square, a hexagon, a U shape. We straightened it out and elegantly used the couch and an armchair to wedge it against the wall with old pillows jammed in to stop it causing damage. The 2 year old will play happily in there most days, but there are times he’s only content if Mum or Dad are with him. It’s super handy for those moments when I just can’t have him underfoot - like when I’m juggling hot saucepans in the kitchen, or when he’s having an into everything day. He might not always want to go in there, he might scream in protest, but he’s safe and I can do those quick jobs and know he’s not going to get hurt. I uploaded some photos of baby jail: [http://m1327.photobucket.com/albumview/albums/sdmbeliahna/20130329\_160915\_zpsaad1bedf.jpg.html?o=2&newest=1](http://m1327.photobucket.com/albumview/albums/sdmbeliahna/20130329_160915_zpsaad1bedf.jpg.html?o=2&newest=1) ---
**Author:** ![Plumpudding](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/edb3f5/32.png) [@Plumpudding](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Plumpudding)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2013, 9:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/all-purpose-baby-pregnancy-and-parenting-thread/649725/137 "2013-03-30T21:50:34Z")
I get dissapointed everytime I see this thread. I always think it’s a thread about all-purpose babies. ---
**Author:** ![Sattua](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sattua/32/11906_2.png) [@Sattua](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sattua)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2013, 11:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/all-purpose-baby-pregnancy-and-parenting-thread/649725/138 "2013-03-30T23:46:14Z")
My daughter was born to party and has never tolerated confinement, unfortunately. Her playpen was a place to put her where she’d scream while I spent 30 seconds dumping a pot of boiling pasta, and nothing more. We had an area of the living room blocked off with the sofa, chair, playpen and a gate, and she spent all of her time inside trying to figure out (quietly and contentedly, I concede) trying to get out. She figured out how to pop the brace on the baby gate at 12 months old, that was the end of that. I just had to give up on doing anything but chasing her. ---
**Author:** ![pbbth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/f9ae1b/32.png) [@pbbth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pbbth)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2013, 1:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/all-purpose-baby-pregnancy-and-parenting-thread/649725/139 "2013-03-31T01:19:45Z")
> [@Colophon](#): > > Don’t worry, it might be over in as little as 17 years 🙂 _checks watch_ ---
**Author:** ![LavenderBlue](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e95f7d/32.png) [@LavenderBlue](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LavenderBlue)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2013, 3:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/all-purpose-baby-pregnancy-and-parenting-thread/649725/140 "2013-03-31T03:02:15Z")
> [@Zsofia](#): > > What exactly is it with old people thinking babies are always cold? Every New Yorker seems to feel that way. I’ve been yelped out dozens of times. The last time I had the baby in three layers, a coat and two blankets. It was December and you’d have thought she was naked by the way Manhattanites of all ages were clucking at me. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/all-purpose-baby-pregnancy-and-parenting-thread/649725.md?page=6) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/all-purpose-baby-pregnancy-and-parenting-thread/649725.md?page=8)