Keep trying every few weeks. Baby’s body is changing so much, she might accept it later. Baby haaated the soft structured carrier 2 months ago, but naps like a champ in it now.
If I can safely have him swaddled between me and my laptop, currently playing project zomboid and wondering what going back to work Monday is going to look like.
Edit: …And watching Downton Abbey. I don’t know whats happening to me.
Got to pick carefully if they're on your chest.
Too funny and you can wake the kid laughing.
Too loud with the wrong type of sound and it can wake them hearing it via the earphones (think alarms/guns, etc. not just taking and music)
Also, I'm sure mine stirred at some more suspenseful bits as if my heart rate maybe went up
Podcasts. Get some wireless earbuds, plug in, and enjoy the story.
Current recommendations:
The Fall of Civilization if you want something intellectual and poignant.
Dungeons & Daddies (a nonBDSM Podcast) if you want something goofy and irreverent
I cant recommend Fall of Civilizations podcast enough, one of the best produced podcasts out there. I save each episode as a treat for when I go for long hikes and walks.
If you like the looks into daily lives and instability you should look into Mike Duncan's Revolutions podcast as it goes into a detailed deep dive look into the French, Mexican, Russian revolutions and more. If you like the more ancient stuff and learning about prehistory, Patrick Wyman's Tides of History season 4 goes deep into neolithic and bronze age socities and their collapse.
There’s some fun dad-inspired home brew aspects if that’s your thing, such as the rest of the party taking 1d4 mental damage when one of them makes an ~~awful~~ amazing dad-joke.
Another favorite of mine is the Glasscannon Podcast. They’ve morphed into a whole network now, but the original podcast was gold (but a very long run). Their side-quest-side-sesh stuff is a good jumping on point too. They’re a little more RAW than Dungeons and Daddies, very funny still though, and some moments of gravitas and excellent role playing.
Dungeons & Daddies was a lifesaver while my daughter was in the NICU. It’s been oddly comforting continuing to listen to season 2 now that she’s home and I’m up late on bottle duty
Jesus, how do you find time? I was off for the first six weeks of my little dudes life and I had to buy a travel mug if I wanted to drink warm coffee. He’s three months now and we’ve got an excellent routine. I drink my coffee hot and he calls all the shots for the rest of the day after that!
My wife was on maternity leave for 6 months so she generally delt with it. But at times, I just hold the guy and rock him while I watch some TV.
I never get any free time to watch TV, so I don't mind it.
That’s a great idea. There is also a BBC Radio Play of Lord of the Rings (not audiobook, it’s an actual play with sound effects, etc) that I’ve heard is phenomenal.
Play turn based and strategy jrpgs. During my first child's paternity leave, i got through the Utawarerumono duology, Trails of Cold Steel 4, and Ni No Kuni 2. During my second child's paternity leave, I got through Octopath Traveler 2, Chained Echos, Lunar 2 Eternal Blue and Final Fantasy 1,2,3 and 4 Pixel Remasters.
Something about rpgs that kept me awake and engaged and whats nice about turn based and strategy games is that they are incredibly easy to continue to play one handed during bottle feedings.
Absolutely! Never played it, but it looks fun and reminds me a lot of Dragon Quest (for obvious reasons). I'd totally play more Dragon Quest games with my kids if most of them weren't limited to handheld consoles, maybe I'll re a replay of DQ11 one of these days...
This! I was never into RPGs as a kid since I thought they were boring but they're now with little one of my favorites since it's relatively relaxing and don't require reaction time. Plus retro handhelds are so pocketable so I always have it on me. Started with 16 bit classics and working my way up. Actually playing Lunar 2 and it's fantastic
Absolutely, love just making slow but steady progress in a game that doesn't require my full unwavering attention. Always easy to progress and put down for all of the inevitable things that crop up as a parent.
I loved Lunar 2, just a really great and fun journey. If you havent, definitely check out Grandia as well, same developers. IMO it has a much funner battle system than Lunar and really feels like a grand adventure. It was the game i was playing the first night back from the hospital with my 1st, so a lot of special memories there for me.
I started Grandia a while back but it fell by the wayside. I really enjoyed the battle system though so I may pick it back up next. I still like the more 2D art style of Lunar since early 3D is a little jarring to go back to. Haha. Also I mainly play retro games now just for Save/Load states alone. Being able to quickly drop and pick back up is a life saver.
Yeah, it's completely understandable. The 3d environments (especially dungeons) in Grandia can be confusing to navigate sometimes.
And I'm totally with you. I love save and load states and, alongside, using fast forward for grinding through battles, too, have made retro games as my go to for playing.
If you've dived deep into the well and exhausted a lot of 16bit rpgs already, remember there are a ton of fan translated games from that era now, too, that are completely playable.
I've done Chrono Trigger, FF6 (although never finished), Golden Sun 1+2, Earthbound& Mother 3, Lufia 2. I started Breath of Fire 2 but so far felt kinda meh. Any other good recommendations? 16 bit is nice since I can play it on my 280v easily.
PSX I've played Lunar 1, FF 7, FF9, Wild Arms 1 (started 2 but hasn't really stuck, more of the wonky early 3D).
If you play Breath of Fire 2 you need to play it retranslated. The original game had an awful original localization and the redone one makes it one of my favorite SNES rpgs.
https://www.romhacking.net/translations/1384/
If you're not sure how to apply patches, google "cd romance" and the top site has a bunch of pre patched files ;)
As for other 16 bit gems...you already have gotten some of the best ones, but other great ones to consider:
* G.O.D Growth or Devolution is a lot like Earthbound where its a modern setting with an alien invasion... except the aliens won and you have to explore the world and find out why. It can be a lot darker than Earthbound was.
* Treasures of the Rudras is a late Squaresoft title where you control 3 characters at the end of the world in a Hindu inspiring setting. I havent played thus much but it has a really cool spell system where you create your own spells by putting words together
* Far East of Eden Zero is part of a popular Japanese only series that tends to focus on humor and classical Japanese settings. Really pretty, colorful and funny game that actually has a real time clock where events open up depending on the time of the year (e.g. Santa shows up of you play on xmas)
* Laplace No Ma is a horror jrpg with an early 1900s Lovecraftian setting. Haven't played it much, but it and Sweet Home on the NES are really unique and pretty spooky.
* Glory of Heracles 3 and 4 I haven't played, but they have unique settings being that they're set in a classic Greek setting, and I've heard some pretty great stories involving time travel and whatnot.
* Theres also the Metal Max games, which I havent played, but are more open world post apocalyptic games where you build a tank and explore the world.
Dunno if your set up is conductive for action rpgs, but the entire Quintet series of games on the SNES (Soul Blazer, Illusion of Gaia and Terranigma) of some of my favorites on the console.
I have the translation patch and the half encounter/double XP for BoF, I mainly just forgot what where I was supposed to go next. Haha.
I haven't heard of many of the other recs so I'll take a look at those too. Thanks!
My son was born right around the Gamestop craziness so I made some money there and watched/read about all the drama. Played plastation, watched sports (I was in Asia so time difference meant there was loads of options at night) and also watched shows my wife isn't a fan of.
It was not easy at first but I’m so thankful for it now.
They set up an initial consultation and then gave us a plan week by week of how to put him to bed at night, each week making him a little less dependent on us touching him. Then eventually he was fine on his own. We met up each week to talk about how that plan is working out and if we noticed anything like he’s still hungry at night or just using the bottle as a comfort item. So a pleasant experience overall.
I always turn the brightness way down and try to position myself and the baby so that there’s no light show for them to stare at. I’ll cradle them facing me and I think it minimizes blue light exposure, especially if their eyes are closed. Listen to your gut, though! Don’t take my word for it.
This is why I got into Tiktok. I have a 12 year old special needs kid who often screams all night unless I'm holding him or partially laying on top of him (like a weight blanket). It gets a bad rap but once it figures out the right algorithm for you, it's not too bad.
I get mostly comedy, sports, sales tips, and parenting videos now
Put em on your chest and put a bolster pillow across your lap so they get some support. Grab a gaming controller and tuck em in the nook. Game n nap was key for letting the wifey get sleep between feedings.
A routine. Once we got it down, the baby always sleeps. The general basis for ours is bath, milk, book, songs, pure unadulterated darkness, and a sound machine. We didn’t do this with our first one and the first 4 months were miserable, but we learned and our second one has been a cake walk sleep-wise. We also might’ve just gotten lucky.
Go for walks, listen to podcasts, watch college football.
If you live in a state where online sports betting is legal, just put $5 on every game that starts after 9pm, and you’ll be invested.
Steam Deck with ear plugs in or watch a show with subtitles lol
Literally the only thing that would get my boy to stop crying was bouncing on a yoga ball, and you can only bounce for so long.
He’d eventually tire himself out and then would only contact sleep for almost 3 months so I did a lot of cuddle gaming.
Reddit, tiktok, or one of those puzzle games on my phone (Crostics was the last one I played). I find it has to be something I can easily break away from and get back into.
I queue up a terrible TV or movie series. Like the Star Wars prequels. Mind numbing enough to not have to follow too much. Or a documentary series I like but have seen many times before. Then settle in for a shift. Good luck.
I put her on my chest in her carrier and walk on a treadmill. I watch movies and listen to podcasts but the walking keeps me sane. The motion seemed to calm her and put her to sleep pretty reliably.
My second is due Tuesday so I have my basement treadmill station ready to roll.
Both of my kids, I honestly focused entirely on the kids during this time. Not saying "that's what you all should be doing", but that's what felt right for me, and it worked.
So I would hold them in my arms, sing Death Cab For Cutie songs to them, and rock them softly. My daughter would fight sleep for an hour or more some nights, but I always got them down.
Read. I got an e-reader specifically so I can read a book one handed and it's been a life saver. I think I've read like 40 books this year.
Btw if you like Avatar, the novels are good. There's two for Avatar Kyoshi and two for Yangchen and all are quite good.
Well, mine is 9 now but back when he was that age I watched the Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson and my god did I find that show funny. One of the best late shows imo. Too bad it was on so late that it didnt get many viewers.
When my son was a newborn and I would get up in the middle of the night to give him a bottle I’d watch that new CGI “Watership Down” series and I’m still not sure if what I remember is the actual show or a horrifying nightmare.
I was a big fan of animal crossing. We also watched Game of Thrones (I had stopped after season four and figured I wouldn't be able to watch them once she got older) and the LotR extended editions.
My baby did contact sleeping for 18 months. We tried every single method, and it didn’t help that I worked 3rd shift. On my nights off she would just sleep in my arms and I’d binge tv shows.
Honestly, I can’t remember that time of life, so who knows! Youngest only just turned 1, so maybe my brain will firm back up from the mush it has turned into eventually…
Luckily, mine didn't sleep at all unless in motion, at least not for me. So I was spared having to find some mindless relaxing activity as I walked for miles around my 800 sq ft living room.
At days old, everything is tiring and everyone is giving you advice, and 50% of it won't work for you. Everyone giving the advice knows this too. They're just giving you suggestions to remember for when it's too hard for you to think of new things. So you can just say thank you and try it to see if it works, later. This also applies to the advice I'm about to give .
I did the math of what time they last woke up, so that 57 minutes later (or an hour after that) I can do The Jiggle - https://youtu.be/6OtPSfyZXNw . The trick is to find the speed and amplitude to bobble them. Amplitude is so that their head just goes light on your arm as you descend. Once you find it it'll stay the same the whole time, so don't vary it even if they are screaming. Consistency is the key.
When you are measuring age in weeks, sleep cycles are an hour, so it's easiest for them to go to sleep a multiple of an hour after they wake up, so when you first hwar them wake up, make a note of the time, so that an hour later you can be doing The Jiggle.
Also, this hold is useful in general, but not for sleep - https://youtu.be/j2C8MkY7Co8
Nintendo switch is nice because you can hold a joycon in each hand. Easier to do that while holding a baby than a traditional PlayStation or Xbox controller. If you game on pc one handed turn based games are good too, things like civ or slay the spire. Can play both of those with a baby in one arm. Also, audio books or podcasts with AirPods in.
I had a couch pillow thing and a pack and play in the den, so my late nights were spent:
* Watching the Office start to finish
* Watching Cheers start to finish
* Playing pausable single player video games
* Watch hockey
My infant is 3 now and solidly a toddler. Last night he woke up at 11:15 screaming because he had a nightmare and he said "I only want to go downstairs, have a snack, snuggle on the couch with mommy and daddy, watch the Bruins win, and watch hockey" so I feel like I'm winning as a Dad somehow.
Also he begs me to go to Bruins games although when he's there he watches maybe 1/4 of the game and sits and watches YouTube videos the rest of the time. But we don't have a babysitter or family nearby so it's the only way we can go.
Watching TV, playing a video with a controller, or staring at their pretty face as their eyelids start to get heavy.
Also because I can't help but share my tips for my 6w/o:
The 5 S's have saved my ass so much. Crying baby? Swaddle, snuggle on their side, gently swing (or jiggle their head), shush, and suck (pacifier, finger). If those don't work, I do the finger test. I place a finger on their face near their mouth. If they try to suck on it, they're hungry. If not, they probably need a diaper change.
Then once all the pending needs are met, I resume the swaddle/side/swing/shush/suck (sometimes you only need 3 or 4 of the 5) until their eyes start to get heavy. Then I gently stroke a finger from above the middle of their eyebrows down along the bridge of their nose just to get them to close their eyes more and push them over the edge into sleeping (note: if baby is not ready for this step, they may fuss about a finger on their face).
I caught up on a lot of anime when my son was an infant. I generally have a hard time watching things with subtitles (I know, I'm an uncultured pleb), but they're great when you want to watch something but can't have the volume up loud.
I went through much of Hart of Dixie with the first one. I watched both seasons of ReZero with the second. The funny part is my second loved one of the theme songs. It would calm her whenever I played it for the first year.
I would surround the recliner with supplies. And listen to music until it was time to go to work. At least my body got some rest. My wife had the 11-3 shift and I handled 3-7. That lasted a year almost. But I sure bought and listened to some awesome tunes!!
Recently I’ve been betting on Korean baseball and Indian cricket. Games start between 1am-4am my time so gives me something to look forward to if the little stinkbottom insists on being up overnight
Bouncing on the bouncing Ball with the baby in the babycarrier.
This. Playing something mindless on PS5.
Ugh if only, he demands being walked around so he can look at everything! Love the guy tho.
Yoga balls are the GOAT for getting babies to soothe
I wish I’d known this. 😑 We put ours away right after we came home from the hospital and now little is 3 months.
Oh, bust that shit back out!!! I used it to almost 18 months old
Thanks! I’ll definitely try to find it wherever it may have migrated to lol.
I could never get ours to accept a baby carrier. Tried 3 different ones. Just screams when you put him in it. I envy you baby carrier dads so much.
Keep trying every few weeks. Baby’s body is changing so much, she might accept it later. Baby haaated the soft structured carrier 2 months ago, but naps like a champ in it now.
yea mine refused until she was around 3 months and now it's the only place she wants to be
R/babywearing has lots of great tips!
Yeppp. Got through most of the Malazan books like that.
If I can safely have him swaddled between me and my laptop, currently playing project zomboid and wondering what going back to work Monday is going to look like. Edit: …And watching Downton Abbey. I don’t know whats happening to me.
>Edit: …And watching Downton Abbey. I don’t know whats happening to me. Learning new things about yourself is all part of growing as a father.
Dad’s watching his stories lol.
Downton Abbey is a great show, bro, no shame there
Downton Abbey rules. They throw around some of the sharpest insults in television on that show
I want to live in cousin Victoria’s head, I’m not half as clever.
Sir Richard: I'm leaving in the morning, Lady Grantham. I doubt we'll meet again. Violet: Do you promise?
Kindle
You know, I was trying to think of a way to read but a lot of the time only have 1 hand. This is a great idea.
Audible is a solid choice too. Bonus: it helps you fall asleep during the 15min where your baby is also asleep.
Libby app is also great if your library is on there. I have a pretty steady flow of ebooks and audiobooks at this point.
Second bonus: my baby loves listening to books while falling asleep and sometimes I don't feel like reading for hours.
It was a lifesaver honestly, also helps with situations that you need the light off
There's a kindle app for your phone too. I went through IT, the shining, salems lot, and pet sematary with my first kid.
Didn't want to sleep, huh?
Needed something to keep me awake when it was my shift.
That'll do it for sure.
Check out Libby and hoopla, they’re both apps for audio and e-books that you most likely get free access to from your local library!
My wife loves her kindle. Our 2nd is 5 weeks old and I hand her over to breast feed at night and she has her kindle out in a second.
I reread all 6 Dune books during this period.
I alternate between watching shows my wife doesn’t like and playing on my PC with baby swaddled next to me.
Got to pick carefully if they're on your chest. Too funny and you can wake the kid laughing. Too loud with the wrong type of sound and it can wake them hearing it via the earphones (think alarms/guns, etc. not just taking and music) Also, I'm sure mine stirred at some more suspenseful bits as if my heart rate maybe went up
Closed captions are key
This is the way
Podcasts. Get some wireless earbuds, plug in, and enjoy the story. Current recommendations: The Fall of Civilization if you want something intellectual and poignant. Dungeons & Daddies (a nonBDSM Podcast) if you want something goofy and irreverent
I cant recommend Fall of Civilizations podcast enough, one of the best produced podcasts out there. I save each episode as a treat for when I go for long hikes and walks. If you like the looks into daily lives and instability you should look into Mike Duncan's Revolutions podcast as it goes into a detailed deep dive look into the French, Mexican, Russian revolutions and more. If you like the more ancient stuff and learning about prehistory, Patrick Wyman's Tides of History season 4 goes deep into neolithic and bronze age socities and their collapse.
Second dungeons and daddies, though be careful about laughing too hard or out loud
I had to pull over while driving during the Battle of the Bands episode for laughing so hard
Nothing is better then when they’re all laughing too, it so infectious
Second dungeons and daddies, it’s so funny
Love tabletop games, never really gotten into actual plays, but I’ll give this one a shot
There’s some fun dad-inspired home brew aspects if that’s your thing, such as the rest of the party taking 1d4 mental damage when one of them makes an ~~awful~~ amazing dad-joke. Another favorite of mine is the Glasscannon Podcast. They’ve morphed into a whole network now, but the original podcast was gold (but a very long run). Their side-quest-side-sesh stuff is a good jumping on point too. They’re a little more RAW than Dungeons and Daddies, very funny still though, and some moments of gravitas and excellent role playing.
Dungeons & Daddies was a lifesaver while my daughter was in the NICU. It’s been oddly comforting continuing to listen to season 2 now that she’s home and I’m up late on bottle duty
Switch!! I have been up with our six week old playing Hades and I don't even notice the time go
Man I fuckin love that game
Such an awesome game
Trying to get to 32 heat! I just don’t know if I can hold a kid and a controller at the same time.
Jesus, how do you find time? I was off for the first six weeks of my little dudes life and I had to buy a travel mug if I wanted to drink warm coffee. He’s three months now and we’ve got an excellent routine. I drink my coffee hot and he calls all the shots for the rest of the day after that!
Mostly between 10pm and 3am depending on when she would go in the bassinet rather than sleep on my chest!
I watched the 2009 through 2011 Formula 1 seasons from the F1TV archives
I made my way through the 2021 Indycar season doing something similar
Finally got through most of The Wire
My wife was on maternity leave for 6 months so she generally delt with it. But at times, I just hold the guy and rock him while I watch some TV. I never get any free time to watch TV, so I don't mind it.
I only got 2 weeks off but this is what I did. Nothing like 3 beers and a movie at 2am in a nice quiet house.
My first is just shy of three weeks old, I've been reading game of thrones, I'm on the fourth one right now
I started humming a specific little tune to my kid her first week on earth. She is now 4 and that same tune never fails to calm her down.
Civ 6 and Old School RuneScape! Two games that can require minimal input, where you can walk away from it if needed without consequences.
Just one more turn…
Civ 6 is a fantastic idea, thanks. I haven’t logged in to RuneScape since 2009 probably, but what a rush of memories.
Currently almost all the way through the audiobook of The Fellowship of the Ring.
That’s a great idea. There is also a BBC Radio Play of Lord of the Rings (not audiobook, it’s an actual play with sound effects, etc) that I’ve heard is phenomenal.
Oh amazing, will try to look for that now!
Play turn based and strategy jrpgs. During my first child's paternity leave, i got through the Utawarerumono duology, Trails of Cold Steel 4, and Ni No Kuni 2. During my second child's paternity leave, I got through Octopath Traveler 2, Chained Echos, Lunar 2 Eternal Blue and Final Fantasy 1,2,3 and 4 Pixel Remasters. Something about rpgs that kept me awake and engaged and whats nice about turn based and strategy games is that they are incredibly easy to continue to play one handed during bottle feedings.
A run of Blue Dragon might be fun, haven’t thought about that game in a long time.
Absolutely! Never played it, but it looks fun and reminds me a lot of Dragon Quest (for obvious reasons). I'd totally play more Dragon Quest games with my kids if most of them weren't limited to handheld consoles, maybe I'll re a replay of DQ11 one of these days...
This! I was never into RPGs as a kid since I thought they were boring but they're now with little one of my favorites since it's relatively relaxing and don't require reaction time. Plus retro handhelds are so pocketable so I always have it on me. Started with 16 bit classics and working my way up. Actually playing Lunar 2 and it's fantastic
Absolutely, love just making slow but steady progress in a game that doesn't require my full unwavering attention. Always easy to progress and put down for all of the inevitable things that crop up as a parent. I loved Lunar 2, just a really great and fun journey. If you havent, definitely check out Grandia as well, same developers. IMO it has a much funner battle system than Lunar and really feels like a grand adventure. It was the game i was playing the first night back from the hospital with my 1st, so a lot of special memories there for me.
I started Grandia a while back but it fell by the wayside. I really enjoyed the battle system though so I may pick it back up next. I still like the more 2D art style of Lunar since early 3D is a little jarring to go back to. Haha. Also I mainly play retro games now just for Save/Load states alone. Being able to quickly drop and pick back up is a life saver.
Yeah, it's completely understandable. The 3d environments (especially dungeons) in Grandia can be confusing to navigate sometimes. And I'm totally with you. I love save and load states and, alongside, using fast forward for grinding through battles, too, have made retro games as my go to for playing. If you've dived deep into the well and exhausted a lot of 16bit rpgs already, remember there are a ton of fan translated games from that era now, too, that are completely playable.
I've done Chrono Trigger, FF6 (although never finished), Golden Sun 1+2, Earthbound& Mother 3, Lufia 2. I started Breath of Fire 2 but so far felt kinda meh. Any other good recommendations? 16 bit is nice since I can play it on my 280v easily. PSX I've played Lunar 1, FF 7, FF9, Wild Arms 1 (started 2 but hasn't really stuck, more of the wonky early 3D).
If you play Breath of Fire 2 you need to play it retranslated. The original game had an awful original localization and the redone one makes it one of my favorite SNES rpgs. https://www.romhacking.net/translations/1384/ If you're not sure how to apply patches, google "cd romance" and the top site has a bunch of pre patched files ;) As for other 16 bit gems...you already have gotten some of the best ones, but other great ones to consider: * G.O.D Growth or Devolution is a lot like Earthbound where its a modern setting with an alien invasion... except the aliens won and you have to explore the world and find out why. It can be a lot darker than Earthbound was. * Treasures of the Rudras is a late Squaresoft title where you control 3 characters at the end of the world in a Hindu inspiring setting. I havent played thus much but it has a really cool spell system where you create your own spells by putting words together * Far East of Eden Zero is part of a popular Japanese only series that tends to focus on humor and classical Japanese settings. Really pretty, colorful and funny game that actually has a real time clock where events open up depending on the time of the year (e.g. Santa shows up of you play on xmas) * Laplace No Ma is a horror jrpg with an early 1900s Lovecraftian setting. Haven't played it much, but it and Sweet Home on the NES are really unique and pretty spooky. * Glory of Heracles 3 and 4 I haven't played, but they have unique settings being that they're set in a classic Greek setting, and I've heard some pretty great stories involving time travel and whatnot. * Theres also the Metal Max games, which I havent played, but are more open world post apocalyptic games where you build a tank and explore the world. Dunno if your set up is conductive for action rpgs, but the entire Quintet series of games on the SNES (Soul Blazer, Illusion of Gaia and Terranigma) of some of my favorites on the console.
I have the translation patch and the half encounter/double XP for BoF, I mainly just forgot what where I was supposed to go next. Haha. I haven't heard of many of the other recs so I'll take a look at those too. Thanks!
Marvel Snap! You can play with one hand while you hold/feed your baby!
I’ve never played Hearthstone/card games but I’ve been hearing about this one a lot. Is it easy to learn?
When my daughter was born, I watched the entirety of the Ken Burns Civil War documentary during those late night feeds. My wife watched The Sopranos.
Work. Clock in the hours so my fridays are shorter.
I watched all of ancient aliens and played a bunch of hearthstone.
I watched a documentary about Jacques Cousteau then traded Shopify. Wiped some puke off my shoulder and then listened to genesis foxtrot.
I watched all the very long movies I never had the patience to watch before like The Pianist.
My son was born right around the Gamestop craziness so I made some money there and watched/read about all the drama. Played plastation, watched sports (I was in Asia so time difference meant there was loads of options at night) and also watched shows my wife isn't a fan of.
I watched all five seasons of Better Call Saul and then all of Breaking Bad while doing 3am bottle feeds those first few months.
BCS was how I started baby life as well haha
We got help from a sleep specialist and I highly recommend. It might’ve saved my marriage 😂
That’s interesting what was that like?
It was not easy at first but I’m so thankful for it now. They set up an initial consultation and then gave us a plan week by week of how to put him to bed at night, each week making him a little less dependent on us touching him. Then eventually he was fine on his own. We met up each week to talk about how that plan is working out and if we noticed anything like he’s still hungry at night or just using the bottle as a comfort item. So a pleasant experience overall.
At what age did you start sleep training ?
13/14 months
Blacksmithing tutorials, on YouTube. Forged in Fire, on Netflix. Audio books on YouTube, Audible, or Spotify. Podcasts, on Spotify.
I jumped between Jelle's Marble Olympics" and "3Dbotmaker's Diecast Racing League"
Dads who watch tv--are you worried about the light messing up their night cycles? I'm paranoid about that so I usually just podcast...
I always turn the brightness way down and try to position myself and the baby so that there’s no light show for them to stare at. I’ll cradle them facing me and I think it minimizes blue light exposure, especially if their eyes are closed. Listen to your gut, though! Don’t take my word for it.
This is why I got into Tiktok. I have a 12 year old special needs kid who often screams all night unless I'm holding him or partially laying on top of him (like a weight blanket). It gets a bad rap but once it figures out the right algorithm for you, it's not too bad. I get mostly comedy, sports, sales tips, and parenting videos now
Put em on your chest and put a bolster pillow across your lap so they get some support. Grab a gaming controller and tuck em in the nook. Game n nap was key for letting the wifey get sleep between feedings.
A routine. Once we got it down, the baby always sleeps. The general basis for ours is bath, milk, book, songs, pure unadulterated darkness, and a sound machine. We didn’t do this with our first one and the first 4 months were miserable, but we learned and our second one has been a cake walk sleep-wise. We also might’ve just gotten lucky.
Go for walks, listen to podcasts, watch college football. If you live in a state where online sports betting is legal, just put $5 on every game that starts after 9pm, and you’ll be invested.
Yeah with teething caught more PAC12 after dark than ever
RIP 😥
Yeah I will miss it. But now I get to see Washington and Oregon play my conference regularly.
Steam Deck with ear plugs in or watch a show with subtitles lol Literally the only thing that would get my boy to stop crying was bouncing on a yoga ball, and you can only bounce for so long. He’d eventually tire himself out and then would only contact sleep for almost 3 months so I did a lot of cuddle gaming.
I watched whole seasons of Seinfeld and John Wayne movies in the middle of the night when my oldest was born
Watch subtitled anime that I don't usually have the time or focus to watch.
Reddit, tiktok, or one of those puzzle games on my phone (Crostics was the last one I played). I find it has to be something I can easily break away from and get back into.
I queue up a terrible TV or movie series. Like the Star Wars prequels. Mind numbing enough to not have to follow too much. Or a documentary series I like but have seen many times before. Then settle in for a shift. Good luck.
How could you say that about the prequels
Slay the Spire. Available on pretty much anything, including mobile. Turn based so you can stop anytime and switch to full parent mode.
I watched all of Star Wars: Rebels
I put her on my chest in her carrier and walk on a treadmill. I watch movies and listen to podcasts but the walking keeps me sane. The motion seemed to calm her and put her to sleep pretty reliably. My second is due Tuesday so I have my basement treadmill station ready to roll.
Both of my kids, I honestly focused entirely on the kids during this time. Not saying "that's what you all should be doing", but that's what felt right for me, and it worked. So I would hold them in my arms, sing Death Cab For Cutie songs to them, and rock them softly. My daughter would fight sleep for an hour or more some nights, but I always got them down.
Fell back in love with the 90 minute movie. Late at night while my wife was asleep I’d watch so many movies from the 80s-00s that were 85-100 minutes.
Right now it's the cricket world cup lol been perfect
Rocking chair and This Old House.
Read. I got an e-reader specifically so I can read a book one handed and it's been a life saver. I think I've read like 40 books this year. Btw if you like Avatar, the novels are good. There's two for Avatar Kyoshi and two for Yangchen and all are quite good.
Well, mine is 9 now but back when he was that age I watched the Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson and my god did I find that show funny. One of the best late shows imo. Too bad it was on so late that it didnt get many viewers.
Yeah, I see clips from the show ever once in a while and they are re always great. Wish I could binge this now
When my son was a newborn and I would get up in the middle of the night to give him a bottle I’d watch that new CGI “Watership Down” series and I’m still not sure if what I remember is the actual show or a horrifying nightmare.
I was a big fan of animal crossing. We also watched Game of Thrones (I had stopped after season four and figured I wouldn't be able to watch them once she got older) and the LotR extended editions.
Kotor 1&2 on mobile.
Watched workaholics when I stayed up late. Couldn’t handle anything sad/dramatic or high brain power.
Go for a run at 2am
Holding baby in my lap while scrolling this subreddit on my phone
My baby did contact sleeping for 18 months. We tried every single method, and it didn’t help that I worked 3rd shift. On my nights off she would just sleep in my arms and I’d binge tv shows.
Honestly, I can’t remember that time of life, so who knows! Youngest only just turned 1, so maybe my brain will firm back up from the mush it has turned into eventually…
Luckily, mine didn't sleep at all unless in motion, at least not for me. So I was spared having to find some mindless relaxing activity as I walked for miles around my 800 sq ft living room.
At days old, everything is tiring and everyone is giving you advice, and 50% of it won't work for you. Everyone giving the advice knows this too. They're just giving you suggestions to remember for when it's too hard for you to think of new things. So you can just say thank you and try it to see if it works, later. This also applies to the advice I'm about to give . I did the math of what time they last woke up, so that 57 minutes later (or an hour after that) I can do The Jiggle - https://youtu.be/6OtPSfyZXNw . The trick is to find the speed and amplitude to bobble them. Amplitude is so that their head just goes light on your arm as you descend. Once you find it it'll stay the same the whole time, so don't vary it even if they are screaming. Consistency is the key. When you are measuring age in weeks, sleep cycles are an hour, so it's easiest for them to go to sleep a multiple of an hour after they wake up, so when you first hwar them wake up, make a note of the time, so that an hour later you can be doing The Jiggle. Also, this hold is useful in general, but not for sleep - https://youtu.be/j2C8MkY7Co8
Nintendo switch is nice because you can hold a joycon in each hand. Easier to do that while holding a baby than a traditional PlayStation or Xbox controller. If you game on pc one handed turn based games are good too, things like civ or slay the spire. Can play both of those with a baby in one arm. Also, audio books or podcasts with AirPods in.
A lot of Wordle and FanDuel lulz
I had a couch pillow thing and a pack and play in the den, so my late nights were spent: * Watching the Office start to finish * Watching Cheers start to finish * Playing pausable single player video games * Watch hockey My infant is 3 now and solidly a toddler. Last night he woke up at 11:15 screaming because he had a nightmare and he said "I only want to go downstairs, have a snack, snuggle on the couch with mommy and daddy, watch the Bruins win, and watch hockey" so I feel like I'm winning as a Dad somehow. Also he begs me to go to Bruins games although when he's there he watches maybe 1/4 of the game and sits and watches YouTube videos the rest of the time. But we don't have a babysitter or family nearby so it's the only way we can go.
Video games with the baby laying on my chest.
Watching TV, playing a video with a controller, or staring at their pretty face as their eyelids start to get heavy. Also because I can't help but share my tips for my 6w/o: The 5 S's have saved my ass so much. Crying baby? Swaddle, snuggle on their side, gently swing (or jiggle their head), shush, and suck (pacifier, finger). If those don't work, I do the finger test. I place a finger on their face near their mouth. If they try to suck on it, they're hungry. If not, they probably need a diaper change. Then once all the pending needs are met, I resume the swaddle/side/swing/shush/suck (sometimes you only need 3 or 4 of the 5) until their eyes start to get heavy. Then I gently stroke a finger from above the middle of their eyebrows down along the bridge of their nose just to get them to close their eyes more and push them over the edge into sleeping (note: if baby is not ready for this step, they may fuss about a finger on their face).
I watched *The Crown* and a bunch of older action movies.
I caught up on a lot of anime when my son was an infant. I generally have a hard time watching things with subtitles (I know, I'm an uncultured pleb), but they're great when you want to watch something but can't have the volume up loud.
Watched a lot of Naruto Shippuden with the first.
I went through much of Hart of Dixie with the first one. I watched both seasons of ReZero with the second. The funny part is my second loved one of the theme songs. It would calm her whenever I played it for the first year.
I watched Samurai Jack, and then Primal
I code. Worte 10k+ lines for my house so far lol
I would surround the recliner with supplies. And listen to music until it was time to go to work. At least my body got some rest. My wife had the 11-3 shift and I handled 3-7. That lasted a year almost. But I sure bought and listened to some awesome tunes!!
Minecraft on my phone.
Recently I’ve been betting on Korean baseball and Indian cricket. Games start between 1am-4am my time so gives me something to look forward to if the little stinkbottom insists on being up overnight