I have just heard some good news. I am a soon to be father. I am bursting
with joy. Of course there is concern but it is minuscule to my happiness. I
was wondering how other fathers and mothers felt for the first time they
got news of there first born. advice would be nice too. I don't think I
have ever been so happy.
[Edited on 12/11/2003 by Dense]
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Anya
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posted on 11/11/2003 at 10:44 PM
Congratulations!
Dense
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posted on 11/11/2003 at 10:47 PM
Thankyou, Anya. I cann't stop smileing, it is starting to hurt.
____________________ i am a misunderstood genius... Nobody understands that i am a genius!
Merry_Widow
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posted on 11/11/2003 at 11:16 PM
Hey, rock on! All I ask, is that whatever you do, when the baby is born,
DON'T put those stupid little mittens on yer kids hands. How the hell are
they supposed to explore their world if one of their major means of
interaction is covered in some fuzzy mitt?
____________________ Okay, dazzle me.
Dense
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posted on 11/11/2003 at 11:42 PM
Don't babys wear them in order to prevent them from scraching them selves?
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Starlight
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posted on 11/11/2003 at 11:51 PM
I was living around a lot of hispanics growing up, and there were several
superstitions that the culture around there seemed to have. One of these
was that if you cut the baby's nails before they were a certain age/months
(I can't remember before what age it was), that they would go blind. So
that was the reason some of them put the mittens on the babies down there.
However, if you're gonna cut the babies nails so they aren't sharp, then
you shouldn't need to put the stupid little mittens on them.
btw Congratulations as well
[Edited on 11/12/2003 by Starlight]
____________________ "When choosing between two evils, I always like to try the one I've never
tried before." ~Mae West
Merry_Widow
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posted on 12/11/2003 at 02:22 PM
Hmmm...I wasn't aware of the superstition behind it. My mom is an L&D nurse
in San Diego, so I was also heavily exposed to facets of hispanic culture.
When I was shadowing her at work one night, I asked a new mother why she
was putting the things on her kids hands. Her reasoning was an issue of
social class. She told me that only lower class people don't use them. Same
thing goes for breast feeding. If you have the money, then you buy the
formula. That actual goes across the board culture-wise. Never mind all the
little prenatal classes these women attend that go on about the health
benefits for both mom and baby, breast feeding is just dirty, and they
won't do it if they don't have to.
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Anonymous
Posts: 116 Registered: 14/4/2002 Status: Offline
posted on 12/11/2003 at 04:53 PM
I live in san diego so I get exposed to the hispanic side alot too but I
didn't even know of eather belifs. The bigest superstion in my family is
that if you rub the mother belly the kid will come out bald.
Dense
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posted on 12/11/2003 at 04:56 PM
Opps, sorry that was me.
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Anya
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posted on 12/11/2003 at 07:08 PM
quote: I live in san diego so
I get exposed to the hispanic side alot too but I didn't even know of
eather belifs. The bigest superstion in my family is that if you rub the
mother belly the kid will come out bald.
C'mon everyone: start rubbing pregnant women bellies. Hey - it'll save on
shampoo and conditioning money in the long run.
LadyCygnet
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posted on 13/11/2003 at 12:50 AM
Congrats, Dense.
A piece of advice, since you're asking--start saving up now. Diapers and
whatnot are going to cost an arm and a leg, not to mention future
education. I don't have any kids of my own, but I have 3 nieces and 2
nephews (nieces were unplanned, nephews were not), so I've got a bit of
experience with the little buggers.
____________________ "To Live is to Annoy." -- Rev. Lambert Reilly, Archabbot, St. Meinrad Abbey
Domkitten
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posted on 13/11/2003 at 04:24 AM
Man it's got to be hard on a kid growing up hearing the Aunt say "you were
an accident."
____________________ It's like kegel exercises for your throat.~Monolycus
Dense
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posted on 13/11/2003 at 07:41 AM
Anya: My baby does not need to be bald. Kim has hair gorgeous red hair, and
mine is a dark brown with light brown or red highlights(depending on how
much the sun can be advoided). My kid will be able to seduce anyone he/she
trys to.
LadyC, not to mention the prices on baby furniture and clothes.
I don't think any Kid is an accident. Just a pleasent little suprise that
makes you think, "Oh sh*t, how to deal with this one!?!"
[Edited on 13/11/2003 by Dense]
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Merry_Widow
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posted on 13/11/2003 at 10:36 AM
Oh! Get a nice big set of headphones for mom to put on her tummy later on.
It's never to early to show a kid what good music sounds like.
And when the wee one is actually born, read to him/her. It does so much
for kids I can't even begin to list.
Babies are fun!
____________________ Okay, dazzle me.
Anya
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posted on 13/11/2003 at 04:56 PM
I was being sarcastic Dense.
LadyCygnet
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posted on 14/11/2003 at 12:21 AM
Just to clarify: "unplanned" does not equal "accident." I love my nieces
and nephews, and, speaking as someone who was referred to as a "mistake," I
wouldn't ever say anything about anyone being an "accident" or "the load
your mother should have swallowed."
Anyway, they're seriously expensive, but I know that neither of my sisters
regret having any of their kids.
____________________ "To Live is to Annoy." -- Rev. Lambert Reilly, Archabbot, St. Meinrad Abbey
Stille
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Posts: 42 Registered: 3/10/2003 Status: Offline
posted on 14/11/2003 at 07:44 AM
Congratulations, Dense!
A little advice: I've heard that music played to an unborn child will make
him/her smarter, but that may be just another superstition. put then, on
the other hand, the more a brain is stimulated, the better it becomes.
____________________
Dense
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posted on 14/11/2003 at 08:10 AM
Anya, It is a big joke in my familly too. The typical reply to it is along
the lines of :
"My baby does not need to be bald. Kim has hair gorgeous red hair, and mine
is a dark brown with light brown or red highlights(depending on how much
the sun can be advoided). My kid will be able to seduce anyone he/she trys
to."
It alows the parant to brag.
LadyC: I appoligize I used the wrong word. I hope I did not offend. I
adgree with you. It pisses me off when I hear, even in a joking context,
some one refur to thier child as an accident.
Kim is already planing on playing to the little on.
[Edited on 14/11/2003 by Dense]
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Meranda_Jade
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posted on 14/11/2003 at 08:56 AM
One thing about diapers: Luvs are the best ones. Pampers and Huggies are
too expensive, and besides, no matter what the commercials say, they leak.
A lot. Any of the bargain style, off-brand diapers leak. A lot. I know this
from trial and error through 4 babies, and Luvs was always the best choice.
I always regretted getting different diapers.
Breast feeding is best, and really should be done for at least the first
few months. There are chemicals in the first few feedings that keep the
baby from getting sick. Like natural immunizations. If it gets hard to
breast feed, and you have to use formula... there are a lot of them on the
market, and your baby might need a specific kind. I used Carnation. Less
spitting up with that one than with Similac. You're not going to know what
kind your baby will need until its here, so don't worry about actually
stocking up on it. Just save a lot of $$ because this stuff is around $10 a
can, and a healthy baby will go through roughly 4 cans a week. If you have
a dishwasher, the heat from it will sterilize bottles and nipples.
Get a swing. Kim will think it's the best baby accessory she has. Most
babies are sleeping within 5 minutes of being wound up.
Not sure about playing music, but I do know that the more stressed a mother
is, the more stressed baby is when it comes out. The best thing you can do
for Kim and the baby is keep her calm and happy.
____________________
LadyCygnet
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posted on 14/11/2003 at 10:07 AM
Dense: You didn't offend, hon; in fact, one of my biggest dreams was to be
a mother one day...but it looks like that isn't going to happen...*soft
smile* At worst, I'm just jealous.
Another piece of advice: Make sure Kim gets plenty of water, good food,
and visits her doctor on a regular basis. The WIC program might be
something to look into (I don't know your financial situation, but my
sister was able to get into it with my mom's lower middle-class income 8
years ago), especially for fruit juices and dairy products.
Also, you might want to get a copy of "What to Expect When You're
Expecting" (cliche, but it's handy) and visit places like webmd.com (they
have a customizable pregnancy calendar that gives you neat little details
about how the baby is progressing based on date of conception/due
date/first day of last period/etc).
____________________ "To Live is to Annoy." -- Rev. Lambert Reilly, Archabbot, St. Meinrad Abbey