Gamer mom/dad thread

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Condor_

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When I joined in 2004, having a baby was the furthest thing from my mind. Now, 7 years later, I have a 2 month old at home who (almost) always makes me smile.

I've seen several posts and blogs about guys having babies (look at Wombat with 2 kids now) so I wanted to start a thread where we could share some advice and stories. For example, where do you find the time to play games?? Or the cheapest deals on diapers, which so far has been Amazon for me.

edit to add picture of my son doing his best Spartaaaaaaaaaaaa impression :lol:
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Joined!! I have a 7 year old and another on the way. My son is a great gaming partner and he usually gets the best off me if i'm not on my "A" game.
 
[quote name='encendido5']where do you find the time to play games?? [/QUOTE]

Whenever you can sneak it in - I usually play between 10 and 11 p.m. only. It sucks because you can't play nearly as much as you used to but it's enough to still play through the AAA games when they come out as long as it's not some huge RPG like Oblivion or Fallout.

P.S. it gets way worse as the kids get older as far as time goes. Hopefully your kids will like to play games and you can do that together. My daughter sort of likes them but my son loves them - he can finish Lego Batman which is pretty good for a 4 year old.
 
Congrats. I remember posting on CAG the day after my son was born, when I was home to shower and change clothes quickly, after spending the night in the hospital. Now he's almost 5, a daughter that's 2.5, and hopes to get a third, then call it quits.

The boy is old enough that we play the Lego games and a few others together, mostly while the 2 year old is napping. Other than that, I pretty much only play at night, once the kids are in bed (around 8:30pm)

My household is total chaos, but way more fun than when it was just my wife and I. Good times.
 
My son recently turned 1 year old. Pre-baby I used to find a good hour a day for some game time. Now between the little one, my work load and the normal stuff around the house that needs done I get an hour a week.....if I'm lucky.

I don't really miss the lack of gametime. There are a few games that I'm going to make time to play this fall, like Gears and Batman but for the most part I really don't miss my game time all that much.

I'm sure as he gets older we will play games together but for the time being the little guy wants to spend as much time as he can outside, chasing the dogs or just trying to pull everything he can on to the floor and then into his toy chest.

I have also found Amazon to be the cheapest and more importantly the most convenient way to buy diapers and have them shipped on a set schedule to ensure there are no last minute trips out to the store to pick up diapers.
 
My son is 7 months old and I play video games while he's taking a nap. I place him in bed with me so I can watch over him and put on headphones so I don't disturb him.

We usually buy our diapers at Sam's. They have pretty good prices.
 
I have 2 month old son and I normally play when he is asleep or away with my wife. I have been putting off playing Assassins Creed: Brotherhood until he got here but I mainly stick with Black Ops when I get a chance to play.

I have been lucky when it comes to diapers cause we got a ton of them from the baby shower and my friend works for a local pharmacy chain that had a clearance on infant diapers so we're good so far.

Edit: This is my son and one of the few pics his mother caught him with his mouth open.
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My kids are a little older (11 and 9). When they were younger, I would generally play after they went to sleep. Just make sure you have an arrangement with your wife / significant other so that you are not ignoring her. If you kids are in the bed by 8 or 9, you can get an hour or more in each night. now that my kids are older, I can play with them or they are off doing their homework or their own thing, so I can play a little after dinner and before they go to bed. Just make sure you spend quality time with them while they are young.

I generally go diapers from Costco or BJ's. They were not always the cheapest, so it pays to constantly check around. I also noticed that the store brands generally held up close in function compared to the national brands. Luvs seemed to be the the most cost effective nation brand overall. Finally, if you haven't already, see if your grocery store has a kids club. Kroger and Publix both had/have kids club and if you sign up, you some pretty amazing coupons. Some would give you free items, other were several dollars off. very much worth it.
 
[quote name='encendido5']When I joined in 2004, having a baby was the furthest thing from my mind. Now, 7 years later, I have a 2 month old at home who (almost) always makes me smile.

I've seen several posts and blogs about guys having babies (look at Wombat with 2 kids now) so I wanted to start a thread where we could share some advice and stories. For example, where do you find the time to play games?? Or the cheapest deals on diapers, which so far has been Amazon for me.[/QUOTE]

About the only time I have to play games is after 9 or 9:30 when the kids are asleep. The kids aren't quite interested in games although a few of the :ds: Nick JR games hold their interest.

The 6 year old is too hyperactive to sit and play console games, and he'd rather have the TV to himself. The 3 year old is okay with watching games but you just have to put up with constant yelling of "Now, jump! And jump!" along with "Watch out Daddy, watch out daddy."

Maybe the next one will be slightly more normal and share in my hobby but I really dont have my hopes up.

Also as for diapers, the cheapest option is to go with cloth diapers. It's more expensive initally but far cheaper in the long run through the years.
 
Gamer Dad pro tip: When making the case that a game like Fallout New Vegas isn't gory, don't use a unarmed character with the Bloody Mess perk activated to make your case. It will not end well.
 
Great advice in here! Like Stryffe2004 said, I guess I have to find a balance between taking care of the baby and spending quality time with my wife. I also have to start studying for the PE exam I'm taking in April, so my gaming time is pretty much 0.

I've been sticking with Amazon on the diapers mainly because of the stacking Amazon Mom discount and the Subscribe and Save discount. I think together it ends up coming out to around $.13 to $.15 per diaper, which is pretty good considering it's typically around $.20. I'm going to stay away from Pampers though because my son was crying more than normal when he was wet. I don't know if it was an allergic reaction to the "dry max" stuff, but it was pretty bad. We switched to Huggies and so far he's been ok.

Target clearance has also been awesome. Back in February, they cleared out a lot of their baby stuff and we managed to get a stroller/car seat combo, high chair, bouncy chair, bottles, etc. for 50-75% off. I'll keep an eye out for the next big clearance for you new dads :)

Here's a pic of my son doing his best Spartaaaa impression :lol:
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I have a 4 year old son and a 2 year old Daughter. I usualy game once theyre sleeping, but I do play Lego Star Wars with my son. Just got him LEGO Clone Wars so it'll be a blast to play through that.

@encendido5 Also check out Bj's Wholesale (I lol'd too) or BulkSUperstore, used to get a great deal on diapers and pullups (both are potty trained now)
 
I'm a stay at home dad to my 11 month old daughter. Best job in the world - but it's a job. My gaming has basically dwindled down to nothing. I play games on my ipad almost daily but those are just piddly little casual games. I'm with BillyBob29 though - I don't really miss it much. Maybe a little but I think there just needs to be a good game come along to really capture my attention. We get outside a lot now - walk a couple times a week in the neighborhood, hike every Sunday (4 miles yesterday!) and go camping/fishing frequently (next week - can't wait!) That's been my fun lately as opposed to gaming. I've also designed and created a couple of small (1800ish ci) lightweight daypacks over the past few weeks in my tiny little bit of personal spare time.

We stocked up on Pampers at Amazon back when you could use Amazon mom, S&S and stack dollar off and percentage off coupons - really stocked up! So we've bought a few from a clearance sale at CVS or Rite Aid or somewhere and my mom has bought us some from Dollar General (which are actually very decent diapers in my opinion) but mostly still going strong with our stockpile.

We are pretty avid yard sale/thrift store shoppers - it was sorta a big hobby of ours before our daughter came along but now it's turned into a big money saver for clothes and other such baby necessities.

*Edit* It's kinda sad to me but I hesitated and backed out of posting this bit here twice I suppose for fear of ridicule from some of the CAG community here but then I just said fuck it... We have been "potty training" our daughter for 4-5 months now. My wife read a book on "Elimination Communication" (EC) and we got this tiny little babybjorn one piece potty. We have been teaching her sign language for a few things and one is potty. She goes around twice a day in it. Not much but hey it's something. We aren't pushing it at all or anything and she's nowhere near being "trained" or what have you but it's pretty cool nonetheless.
 
[quote name='bordjon']*Edit* It's kinda sad to me but I hesitated and backed out of posting this bit here twice I suppose for fear of ridicule from some of the CAG community here but then I just said fuck it... We have been "potty training" our daughter for 4-5 months now. My wife read a book on "Elimination Communication" (EC) and we got this tiny little babybjorn one piece potty. We have been teaching her sign language for a few things and one is potty. She goes around twice a day in it. Not much but hey it's something. We aren't pushing it at all or anything and she's nowhere near being "trained" or what have you but it's pretty cool nonetheless.[/QUOTE]

Whatever works man. That seems a little young to me but what do I know - my son just turned 4 and he still has a hard time with taking a dump in the toilet. My daughter basically just decided to be potty trained once she was about 2-1/2. We asked her if she wanted to try going on the potty and she said yes and hasn't had a single accident since. I still think it is amazing. My son on the other hand is impossible.

People don't know until they have kids - it's like that old Louis C.K. bit: "What did that shitty kid do to that poor woman?" (go to 6:19)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4u2ZsoYWwJA&feature=player_embedded#!
 
I have a 13 month old girl. Gaming has defiantly taken a hit and I never play games with her around. So playing games during the day is a perk long since past. I honestly don't want her to play games when she gets older. As a gamer I know what a giant waste of time it is. I only get a couple hours at night but I'm not complaining. I love spending time with my daughter so I don't really miss it, especially when shes this cute.

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My girlfriend and I found out we were having a kid last month. A few days ago we just found out we are having TWINS! I now have to dismantle my mancave for the babies. Im gonna convert my garage so I can still have a room for gaming but I would of gave it up if I didnt have the room.
 
[quote name='Rodimus']I have a 13 month old girl. Gaming has defiantly taken a hit and I never play games with her around. So playing games during the day is a perk long since past. I honestly don't want her to play games when she gets older. As a gamer I know what a giant waste of time it is. I only get a couple hours at night but I'm not complaining. I love spending time with my daughter so I don't really miss it, especially when shes this cute.

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[/QUOTE]

Christ, your baby (or whoever dresses her) has a good sense of style!
 
I have a one year old daughter and a another daughter due in december!! congrats on your son!!

Diapers, I stock up when i see them on sale at amazon and we have found Target diapers to be the best. We have tried them all and store brand target is our favorite and they are priced right.

My first year it was hard to find time to game especially FPS, I had her swing in the living room and I didn't want her seeing me play Battlefield 2. Now i get to play a little bit more but my main gaming time is 8p-11p.



set
 
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[quote name='encendido5']) so I wanted to start a thread where we could share some advice
[/QUOTE]
Here's some advice guys: Use a condom correctly. HEY OHHH!
 
[quote name='Dead of Knight']Christ, your baby (or whoever dresses her) has a good sense of style![/QUOTE]

Thanks for noticing. It's a bit of both my wife and myself. We always like to dress her up nice. My relatives have very poor taste in clothes for babies. They kept buying her those cheesy cheap shirts that say stuff like "I love Daddy" or "I'm a cute little bug." from Carters or Wal-Mart. I hated them so much I told them all to stop buying clothes for her. But since her daddy's such a nerd I have to sneak in little nerdy tees like Spider-Man & Star Wars. I even had my my wife make little onesies with Mega Man and Pac-Man on them. She's way too big to wear them now but they were really cute. She was an Ewok for last Halloween.
 
I have two girls. They like some games (Castle Crashers oddly enough) but I don't get much play time during the day. Most of my time is after they go to bed on the nights the wife wants to do her own stuff. So after 9pm until I get tired.

WHy it took me a month and a half to finish Lost Odyessy.

So they're a good bit older now but these are the joys of my life but the bane of my gaming.

jojo-1.jpg

and
glare.jpg
 
My son is 10 so I don't have anything to offer in the way of diapers, but....
When he was younger, my wife and I would swap out taking care of him. She was mostly a stay at home mom and I worked 4 - 10hr shifts so I was off three days/week. Generally, my wife and I would spend one day together with the kid, then one day or the other I would watch him while she had the day off and vice-versa.
Here's a helpful tip. They don't just require a whole lot of work as babies. Change the diaper, feed them, they sleep. That's when you get your gaming time in. Don't forget about the s.o. however. Don't want her being mad.

Edit to add: I really like playing games with my son. I started him off early with VSmile then PC, N64, Xbox, 360, and Wii. He's currently playing Oblivion for the second time on PC. I have to watch out though because games we play against each other - he's just about getting good enough to overtake the old man. Damn cat-like reflexes of a youngster!
 
I have a 17 month old son. He takes up a lot of time and causes restrictions on what types of games I can play in front of him. He likes to take the controller from me and press on the buttons to make things happen on the TV. He also sucks on the analog sticks which turned out to not be a good thing for the controller. So have a spare junk controller they can play with.

I get diapers from Walgreens; I liked them better than the Target, Wal-Mart, or Dollar General generics.
 
I tried the Target ones and they seemed ok. The only problem is they don't have that catch flap in the back so stuff came out a couple of times. I picked up a 192 pack of Huggies from Amazon for around $20. I still haven't had a chance to check Costco though.

I tried gaming some last night while my wife and son were sleeping, but it was already 11pm and I could not stay awake. I must have played maybe 10 minutes before I called it quits and went to bed.
 
Get diapers from Amazon. They're cheaper than the store and delivered right to your door. You have to subscribe and register to Amazon Mom/Dad.
 
[quote name='Rodimus']Get diapers from Amazon. They're cheaper than the store and delivered right to your door. You have to subscribe and register to Amazon Mom/Dad.[/QUOTE]

This. I get all my baby product from Amazon. Im am a proud Amazon Mom member :bouncy: which gives me Free Prime Membership.

Also i have a 15 Month old Daughter which eats up most of my free time. I typically can only play games around 9:30-11pm at night on weekdays. But i wouldnt have it any other way.:applause:
 
Cloth diapers are cheaper in the long run. Albeit more work dealing with poopies. Can't believe I'm the only one here who uses them.
 
[quote name='eldergamer']Cloth diapers are cheaper in the long run. Albeit more work dealing with poopies. Can't believe I'm the only one here who uses them.[/QUOTE]

I think people dealt with the significant inconvenience of having to scrub turd out of cloth diapers, realizing they were saving money in the long run, but when it was determined that all things considered, the environmental impact of cloth diapers was on par with that of plastic diapers, those on the fence about it went to plastic. As an infant when the poop is all watery, that's one thing (although I'm not crazy about the idea of a bunch of poopie diapers in the same washing machine that my work clothes would be in), but when they start eating solids, and they're pooping human-esque turds? No thanks. I'll gladly pay a premium if it saves me and my wife an hour a week of scrubbing poop out of a handful of cloth diapers.
 
[quote name='Rodimus']I honestly don't want her to play games when she gets older. As a gamer I know what a giant waste of time it is.[/QUOTE]

I get your point (I don't think kids should spend excessive amounts of time playing games and not being exposed to other activities), but how is it any more of a waste of time than any other hobby? I always laugh when people say that to me and then tell me about their 2-3 hours worth of reality TV they watch each night. Or what about people who just love tinkering around with their car for no reason? For that matter, you could easily say fishing is a waste of time too.

Honestly, even reading books isn't THAT much more "noble" of a hobby. If it's something somebody enjoys, who cares? I'd never argue that playing video games should get in the way of leading a productive life, but if we're talking free time, I see no reason why they're any less valid than the million other things people "waste" their time doing.
 
[quote name='eldergamer']Cloth diapers are cheaper in the long run. Albeit more work dealing with poopies. Can't believe I'm the only one here who uses them.[/QUOTE]

We use cloth diapers. They're really not that much harder to use than disposable honestly. Though the cloth diapers that are easier to use are also a bit pricier up front. Still substantially cheaper in the long run than disposable.
 
[quote name='eldergamer']Cloth diapers are cheaper in the long run. Albeit more work dealing with poopies. Can't believe I'm the only one here who uses them.[/QUOTE]

I don't have kids, but I have friends/people I know with kids and a lot of them do use cloth diapers. It is rising back in popularity.
 
Our daughter is now two... and I'm now able to devote considerable more time to gaming (once she's in bed). I have a general rule that I follow... if she's awake, I don't play. I'd rather play with or entertain her.
 
[quote name='berzirk']I think people dealt with the significant inconvenience of having to scrub turd out of cloth diapers, realizing they were saving money in the long run, but when it was determined that all things considered, the environmental impact of cloth diapers was on par with that of plastic diapers, those on the fence about it went to plastic. As an infant when the poop is all watery, that's one thing (although I'm not crazy about the idea of a bunch of poopie diapers in the same washing machine that my work clothes would be in), but when they start eating solids, and they're pooping human-esque turds? No thanks. I'll gladly pay a premium if it saves me and my wife an hour a week of scrubbing poop out of a handful of cloth diapers.[/QUOTE]

You're being over dramatic. The human sized turds usually plop right out. And for the worse ones, yoiu get a little bidet/sprayer thing to the side of your toilet to spray them off. You always do a seperate load of laundry for the cloth diapers of course.
 
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I used to get a bunch of playing time when the kids were younger, as I could get them to fall asleep on me while I played. Now, I get about 10 hours in a typical weekend with almost no time during the week. My five-year-old loves everything Kirby related and has put over 100 hours (usually in less-than-an-hour-per-day increments) into Kirby's Epic Yarn. My son loves to watch, but thus far hasn't shown any interest in playing with the exception of the occasional Wii Sports Resort.
 
I have a two month old at home. For the first month and a half, I think I was able to play a game once, with the exception of the week I had paternity leave when she was first born. Now that we have her on more of a routine, we put her to bed around 10:30.

She sleeps in a little bed in our bed, between us. She'll wake up if one of us isn't in the bed beside her, so my wife and I take turns getting ready for bed, then we sit on our laptops or watch TV. I've been able to play a bit on the laptop, fortunately. The only problem is that it's four or five years old, so it won't run too many games. I have been able to play Plants vs. Zombies, though, which has been great. It's pretty convenient, too, because it can be played in short sports and can be easily paused and resumed.

We're using cloth diapers. We just retired some that were too small for her and ordered 10 more to replace them. We bought a new washer and dryer back in December to prepare for doing laundry all the time. With the rate at which she's using them, we wash them every other day. So far, it's not too bad, but she's just on breast milk for now, so all we have to do is throw them into the washer. We have the sprayer that attaches to the toilet for later.

It's a bit more of an upfront investment, but it'll be cheaper in the long run, especially since we'll reuse them for later children. We also bought most of them used from a friend of ours, so that saved a lot of money.
 
Just sent my youngest off to college :)
And as he is the third, and all three are at four year schools, we are broke most of the time.

Last night my wife started on her masters. I sat down to play for the first time in months, only to find that my kids had taken all my xbox 360 controllers with them. :(

Once they get old enough to hold a controller, go for it.
Playing against / with them is extremely fun, especially when they get older/better.
 
[quote name='eldergamer']You're being over dramatic. The human sized turds usually plop right out. And for the worse ones, yoiu get a little bidet/sprayer thing to the side of your toilet to spray them off. You always do a seperate load of laundry for the cloth diapers of course.[/QUOTE]

I dunno. My daughter is 2 and she's migrating to the potty, but the animal that comes out of her ass isn't plopping out, and it's not getting sprayed off. Maybe my kids just have a weird diet or something, but the amount of smush and mush that was in one of their loaded diapers would make cloth an absolute disaster for us.

I get that you do separate loads for diapers and clothes, but still, the idea that pee and poop soaked cloth is going into our home washing machine, followed by a load of shirts and pants isn't appealing. Cloth diapers are definitely not for us for multiple reasons.
 
[quote name='n8rockerasu']I get your point (I don't think kids should spend excessive amounts of time playing games and not being exposed to other activities), but how is it any more of a waste of time than any other hobby? I always laugh when people say that to me and then tell me about their 2-3 hours worth of reality TV they watch each night. Or what about people who just love tinkering around with their car for no reason? For that matter, you could easily say fishing is a waste of time too.

Honestly, even reading books isn't THAT much more "noble" of a hobby. If it's something somebody enjoys, who cares? I'd never argue that playing video games should get in the way of leading a productive life, but if we're talking free time, I see no reason why they're any less valid than the million other things people "waste" their time doing.[/QUOTE]

I'm sure she'll play games, I don't have a problem with that, but I don't want her to be exposed too much. I just hate those parents that let their kids glue their hands to a 360 or PS3 controller. But she's a girl so chances are I probably don't have to worry much.

We used a mix of coth and paper diapers for a while. While she was around the house it was cloth, and paper if we went out. But when she started squirming too much we went with paper exclusively. Sorry if that's bad for the planet but at least I tried a little.
 
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Great thread! I enjoyed reading the earlier posts. I can relate to many of them. My son is turning one this month. I can't wait until he's old enough when we can game together. Anyways, once we established a routine where he would go to bed around 8:30 pm, I would try gaming around 9 pm or 10 pm. Sometimes I'm just too tired to game and fall asleep in front of the TV before I can catch some gaming in. I haven't put in a lot of gaming time since my son was born. Part of it is that I like RPGs like Fallout, Oblivion, and Mass Effect that need a considerable time invested. So I've been playing handheld games that I can play in short spurts like Plants vs. Zombies. Now that my son is on a sleeping schedule, I'm hoping to get back into RPGs. However, that is unlikely come next year because I'm planning to pursue my doctorate. In the meantime, I'll regularly check CAG for great deals and add them to my backlog in the hopes that I'll get to them someday! LOL.

Regarding the diapers, since Pampers work the best, we buy them from Sam's Club.
 
I was on a "staycation" last week since my wife had meetings all week for the start of school. I actually got to play through the entire Back to the Future series, which was really good by the way!

The one bad thing about shopping at Amazon is forgetting to plan ahead. We ran out of diapers last night and I had to 'gasp' by diapers from CVS...
 
I might as well post here since I can't tell anyone I know yet but I just found out last night that I'm going to be a dad - again! I'm so excited - we had been trying for a while and it is good to know my boys can still swim. She is only 4 weeks along and I'm going to be nervous the entire time but nevertheless this is really awesome news for us. I just pray everything goes OK.
 
[quote name='Javery']I might as well post here since I can't tell anyone I know yet but I just found out last night that I'm going to be a dad - again! I'm so excited - we had been trying for a while and it is good to know my boys can still swim. She is only 4 weeks along and I'm going to be nervous the entire time but nevertheless this is really awesome news for us. I just pray everything goes OK.[/QUOTE]

Congrats, my good sir. I just found out my cousin who should not have children at all is about to have her second one. I already spend too much time helping her with the first one so this is going to be interesting.
 
[quote name='Javery']I might as well post here since I can't tell anyone I know yet but I just found out last night that I'm going to be a dad - again! I'm so excited - we had been trying for a while and it is good to know my boys can still swim. She is only 4 weeks along and I'm going to be nervous the entire time but nevertheless this is really awesome news for us. I just pray everything goes OK.[/QUOTE]

That's awesome, congrats!
 
Thanks guys. I'm pretty nervous - we lost one to a miscarriage between my two kids and my youngest is 4 already - we've been trying for about a year with no luck. Lots of fun - but no luck. I was really worried that stress at my job really taking a toll on me plus the fact that my wife is 36 makes it that much harder. I've got my fingers crossed for an uneventful, easy-going pregnancy though.
 
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