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Advice for a Dad-To-Be?
chrysrobyn asks: "Huzzah! After a few years of trying, my wife is pregnant (due 5 November). I've read about fellow Slashdot readers who are some new and experienced parents. I've certainly read about lots of people getting engaged and married. I'd like to ask for advice on the matter from people in my demographic. What do you wish you had known before child #1 was born? I'm not asking 'how does a geek raise a child?' or 'how do I overclock the activity sets?', but I don't personally know many two income families who are in this position. We sometimes work long hours, and that will either come to an end or we'll put in lots of effort to work around that. What do I do? What do I expect? Are there any products to stay away from? I'm going to be a dad!" Congratulations, on your new family member, chrysrobyn!
1. Food goes in the noisy end.
2. Diapers go on the stinky end.
3. NEVER EVER get those ends mixed up.
All Troll + "offtopic" mods are meta moderated as "Unfair", because you abused the system.
Never ever leave an unlocked keyboard. Even Linux crashes before the mighty baby! No matter how safe PC parts seem, don't leave them laying around. Experiments in edibility are a baby specialty. Sleep whenever you get a chance. You won't get many. Being a geek, caffiene is already your friend, it will become moreso. And most important: remember your wife! She is the one going through the pain and labour that makes upgrading an old VAX server to run Linux look like a walk in the park!
You can have it fast, accurate, or pretty. Pick any 2.
I'm sick of these Ask /.s that can be solved with a simple Google search! If you can't figure out raising kids with a quick Google search, I don't know how you can call yourself a geek!
Seriously though, keep your sense of humor and perspective on the whole experience. If you have the humor of a kid, then you can understand a lot of what makes them tick, and can see things from their point of view. If you work on this, then you can see the world through your kids eyes. This not only helps your personal enjoyment of living, but help you see how to deal with those arguments/fights/frustrations as well. If you can see it in your kids perspective, then you'll be better able to troubleshoot or debug the situation.
For reference, I've got a 5 year old boy and a 4 year old girl (with apraxia). Congrats and have fun!
I am, and always will be, an idiot. Karma: Coma (mostly effected by
Step One: lighten up. You're the dad, and you're married. You won't get to do the fun stuff unless they let you. 'They' is your wife, her friends, her sister(s), your sister(s), your mother, your mother in law, etc. All of this is good, as if you start to smell poop, you run for another room. Doesn't matter which room, as long as the kid isn't there. Another good hint is to look at her sister, your mother, etc. and say "Oh, isn't it cute when Junior does this?" then run to the other room. Their ability to let a kid sit around in a poopy diaper is much less than yours. Trust me.
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While naked kids running around are kinda funny in a Lord of the Flies way, they will piss on things even more indiscriminantly than a vile cat. You have been warned.
Read my journal, and look at my friends list. I've written plenty on the subject. Go to www.marotti.com and look for my 'geek dad' writings. Honestly, I've already covered most of the basics on the subject.
What else... Learn to work the repeat function on your DVD player. The kid's favorite Disney flick plus A->B repeat equals hours of peace and quiet.
Newborns and infants don't do much. Oh, it'll be interesting as hell for you, but they really don't do anything. Eat, crap, sleep, repeat. If you're lucky (there's two types of luck;) you'll get a screamer. That would be my sister and her husband as infants.
Cut back on the work. My father is a physician. Did and does work 60+ hour weeks. Mother used to run his office, and did the same. I had more toys and other shit growing up than probably 99% of the people out there. Didn't make me any happier than spending time with the folks.
Enjoy the sex while you can. It IS going to change. But I'm sure you can get plenty of advice on masturbation from almost anyone on
Jesus was all right but his disciples were thick and ordinary. -John Lennon
Also, read these books , NOW!
If all this should have a reason, we would be the last to know.
This is only funny because of my house. Liquor cabinet is in the living room ankle high. Living room coffee table is plate glass just high enough to clothes-line a running toddler. Room full of computer equipment for them to hassle, and the drawer with the big knives in the kitchen is also the on the bottom.
...
Why don't I just leave my loaded pistols out in plain sight while I am at it, instead of carefully hiding it underneath my pillow. Oh wait
Glonoinha the MebiByte Slayer
Have you ever tried aiming the remote at the television set?
:)
- Sometimes you're the pidgeon, sometimes you're the statue.
Of course, most of those never get watched.
Like ER.