5AF Parenting Thread

[Morkle]

Sent the little dude back to my In-Laws for "daycare (one day a week)" until our daycare opens up, and we're comfortable to send him beyond family.

We basically decided we can't not let the kid be with close family, and we'll distance as much as possible. Daycare is a different story, ours opens June 1st, but we're waiting a few weeks after that to decide to go back.

[count2infinity]

First day of daycare for little c2i... my wife and I were chatting and she was worried that mini me was going to latch on tight and not want to go back. I pretty much assumed the opposite would be true. Sure enough, a text from my wife this morning: "She didn't even give me a hug or a wave."

She was soooo excited to be back, and I don't blame her. Apparently one of her favorite teachers from her former room came running upstairs when she heard that she was there and gave her a big hug. I have zero expectations of social distancing for a 2 year old, so at least she can feel loved.

[mac5155]

Lil mac starts back next Tuesday. I'm expecting the same reaction.

[Beveridge]

Hopefully my kid gets there. Turns 16 months in a couple days but it's a complete meltdown at drop off each day.

[shafnutz05]

My wife doesn't want to send ours back until August

[robbiestoupe]

We’re waiting 3-4 weeks after daycare has been open to send the 2 youngest. We found a summer program for the oldest who will start around the same time.

We’ve already begun to hang out with grandparents and small groups with little kids (one family at a time). We’ll know in a couple weeks whether that was wise or not.

[Morkle]

We’re waiting 3-4 weeks after daycare has been open to send the 2 youngest. We found a summer program for the oldest who will start around the same time.

We’ve already begun to hang out with grandparents and small groups with little kids (one family at a time). We’ll know in a couple weeks whether that was wise or not.

Same here - ours opened today, we're not sending my son back until end of June.

[NTP66]

I have no intention of sending ours back until 2021.

[tjand72]

$1500. Probably more than I wanted, but it's amazing what some of these things cost. I also wanted to get it now instead of later on in the summer when people realize they need something for their kids to do.

We'd love to go to the playground, but who knows when that will be feasible.

Playset update:

• Happy with the purchase, but two pieces arrived split. The company is sending replacement pieces with no questions asked, but of course they're on back-order. Who knows when they'll be sent. Luckily, they're for the "third floor", so everything else is put together and usable at the moment.
• The weight limit per person is 100 lbs. A metal set would have had a slightly higher weight limit. I'm around 250# and I can climb into it if I'm careful, but it's still a little sketchy. I can sit on the swings, but that's it. I wouldn't dare try out the slides.
• A $1500 set doubles in total cost fairly quickly. $400 for gravel base (if you go by the "recommended" area like I did), $250 for 6x6 timbers to hold in the gravel, $100 for landscape fabric and staples to keep weeds down, $60 for rebar to secure timbers. I was going to rent a mini-excavator to level out my already-relatively-level yard for about $300, but I have a friend that did it for that price with his equipment as a favor. He said his regular price for that would have been about $800.
• I was surprised that the only anchors were 7 pieces of rebar with a washer welded onto the ends. It seems pretty solid with that, though. I'm glad I didn't have to pour any concrete, so it will be easy to tear down when the time comes.
• I think pea gravel as a base was a good decision. Relatively inexpensive, reusable if/when the set is torn down, spreads easily, and no decay like mulch. Plus, it's fun to play in. Who doesn't like playing with trucks in rocks?
• If you are organized and read the instructions, assembly is pretty straightforward and enjoyable, provided you don't have a deadline. It helps to have at least one other person for a couple of steps, but it was largely doable by myself.
• I'd do it all again in a heartbeat. It was great seeing my kid enjoy it for the first time. I already have plans for a bigger rock wall, a pulley/lift system, flag pole, and a host of other dumb things over the next few years.

Missing the top floor.

[Freddy Rumsen]

Very nice

[mac5155]

Good work!
Did you entertain rubber mulch by chance?

[tjand72]

I thought about it at the very beginning, but the cost would have been 3-4 times the cost of the gravel. I'm sure it's nice, but I couldn't justify the cost. Plus, I imagine disposal is tough when the time comes.

[mac5155]

My mother in law drives me insane. And my wife won't say anything to her about anything I complain about. Today she took lil mac (we've been letting her see him Fridays since about memorial day weekend). And she takes him to a freaking hospital while she has to get blood work done. That really perturbed me

Then, she calls around 3 (we usually get him around 430)and says "oh he didn't sleep one bit, he didn't want to sleep". This kid sleeps RELIGIOUSLY for 2 to 3 hours between 1130 and 330 DAILY. With us, with my mom. But he never seems to want to sleep with her. Maybe because he's not even 2...hmm..so anyway. Now his schedule is all off, and it's 941, he's still uncontrollably crying now, and an hour and a half past his normal everyday bed time.

Her incompetence literally ruins every Friday night for me and my wife as we spend 2+ hours trying to get him down, or ends up ruining our Saturday morning when we put him down at 630 and he's up at 5. It's so aggravating and even worse that my wife won't say anything.

[Shyster]

I thought part of the point of parenting was that grandkids are way to get back at your own children. "Here's your kid back. I fed him an entire box of Pixie Stix and bought him a drum kit. Good luck with that!"

[mac5155]

If it is, I'm not a fan

[robbiestoupe]

Yeah mac, except for the hospital part, that’s an unfortunate part about using grandparents as babysitters. My mom is the worst, and my wife complains all the time.

It’s a bit strange telling my mom what to do and talk to her like she’s a child, but she doesn’t seem to listen.

My in-laws aren’t as bad, but they do tend to leave with things all out of order. At least they try to clean up, it’s just aggravating not being able to find things.

[NTP66]

Just picked up my daughter's belongings from school, so the school year is officially over for us.

[meow]

baby meow - three in august - has effectively vetoed naps and by some grace of God, is in a way better mood all the time. She was a bit of a grump prior to naps and she would wake up hard afterwards, so for like 4 hours a day so was grumpy, napping, grumpy. Since ditching the naps, she is a peach all the time. It makes no sense, but I'm cool with it

[shafnutz05]

Our son (8.5 months) just isn't a great napper. He's tough to put down during the day, and even then he usually naps on one of us. Usually only 2 hours or so of total nap time during the day, which is not a lot at that age. Makes it tough with us both WFH.

Night time, he has been much better. Since he was about 6 months, I'd say he sleeps through the night (730 - at least 630) about 60% of the time. When he does wake up for a quick night feeding at 3:30 or so, he will sleep till 730-8. Always a trade off.

[Freddy Rumsen]

None of my boys napped worth anything. Not sure if that is the native to the species.

[count2infinity]

My kid has kind of gone the other way than Meow's. She's become great at naptime and an absolute bear at bed time... it's odd. I'll ask her at 12-12:30. "Do you wanna go take a nap?" "Yeah, take a nap..." Boom. Done. She's taking a nap. In the evening "Do you want to go get in the bath and get ready for bed?" *MELTDOWN*

Maybe I should start calling bedtime naptime...

[shafnutz05]

I forgot how wonderful baby bathtime is. So awesome to see him get so excited when we walk into the bathroom. His new favorite thing is to see how far he can pee as soon as I put him in his tub

[DigitalGypsy66]

With most camps and day programs canceled here this summer, we’re already struggling to find things for the kids to do to keep them from playing video games for 16 hours a day.

My wife, being a teacher, has them doing math for an hour a day each day to help minimize brain drain. That’s always a big hit. My rising 9th grader basically stopped learning new math once they went to eLearning. His 8th grade math teacher couldn’t handle the switch, so he got review worksheets a couple of times a week. So she’s trying to get him ready for high school algebra, which is a chore.

Keeping them stocked with books they like reading has been a challenge with the local public library being mostly closed. I’ve got some books from my work library, but we don’t have the YT book collection the public library does.

[NTP66]

Source of the post With most camps and day programs canceled here this summer, we’re already struggling to find things for the kids to do to keep them from playing video games for 16 hours a day.

We have two new kittens, and my daughter would spend 24 hours a day playing with them if we allowed her to.

[DigitalGypsy66]

That’s very wholesome tbh. I would prefer that then Ark Survival and Modern Warfare all day though.