Kaci Lynn is here - Whitney and Zach's 2nd baby

[Screamapillar]

The previous owners of our house had the entire living room covered with similarly styled, over photo-shopped creepy newborn pictures of their four kids. And some of the pictures were HUGE, like 24X36 canvas wraps. It was actually pretty unsettling. When the realtor walked us through that room she said, "I'm sorry, I told them they should have taken these down before the showing." My husband dubbed it the "children of the corn room." Loosely related to the topic of our fundie friends, the previous owner of the house was a preacher at one of those enormous stadium sized churches we have here down South.

[Coconut Flan]

I laugh on these threads.  My granddaughter has no cabbage rose headbands.  She had three small ones and I taught her to remove them very early in life.  She cried the entire time the first one was on until I helped her pull if off.  She figured out how to remove the clips herself.  I got rid of all the net princess dresses.  They die in the wash anyway.  Granddaughter has pronounced them yuck and only suitable for flinging off the stairs  so we're in agreement.  She has been known to stick a tutu on her head for a few minutes.

I have begun to have a great dislike for Pinterest except for recipe finding.  I'm very thankful no one in our family likes the overdone baby pictures either and even the professional photographer ones are the regular ones with clothes and normal looking kids. 

I never thought I'd turn into a grumpy old lady, but Pinterest succeeded where almost everything else failed.

[JermajestyDuggar]

I'm not a huge fan of overly fru fru type stuff but I also don't hate all things girlie, pink, or princess themed. Some little girls like that type of stuff. Oh well. I don't think it's necessarily good or bad to like ruffles, pink and sparkles just because I'm not into it. If a baby hates head bands or bows, then take them off. If a baby doesn't mind, then what's the problem?

[nelliebelle1197]

Someone upthread said these pictures look like those creepy newborn dolls. Have to agree. Poor baby. It is not her fault her photographer is weird.

[VelociRapture]

3 hours ago, Coconut Flan said:

I laugh on these threads.  My granddaughter has no cabbage rose headbands.  She had three small ones and I taught her to remove them very early in life.  She cried the entire time the first one was on until I helped her pull if off.  She figured out how to remove the clips herself.  I got rid of all the net princess dresses.  They die in the wash anyway.  Granddaughter has pronounced them yuck and only suitable for flinging off the stairs  so we're in agreement.  She has been known to stick a tutu on her head for a few minutes.

I have begun to have a great dislike for Pinterest except for recipe finding.  I'm very thankful no one in our family likes the overdone baby pictures either and even the professional photographer ones are the regular ones with clothes and normal looking kids. 

I never thought I'd turn into a grumpy old lady, but Pinterest succeeded where almost everything else failed.

I'm almost out of my first trimester right now, so I've been browsing Pinterest more for Nursery ideas and good articles on pregnancy/parenting. 

(Spoiler alert: We're doing ocean animals for the nursery! )

Which, of course, means I'm constantly getting posts recommended for those very glowy/photoshopped newborn pictures or about different ways to document your pregnancy. Some people love that stuff and that's fine. I'm not really one of them though, so it gets a bit tiring to scroll through all that stuff to find something that actually interests me.

I have found a ton of recipes on there that we like though. So I'll call it a win. 

[NakedKnees]

On 7/4/2016 at 1:29 PM, Flossie said:

I despise the tight swaddling fad.  When my kids were born I was taught to swaddle, but much more loosely.  I was also told to stop after two or three months, sooner if the baby indicated that it didn't like it.

Now these poor babies are bound so tightly they look malformed.  I once saw a picture that had the baby swaddled so tight, it looked like a big head poking out of a cocoon.  I was horrified, thinking that the baby had been born without arms and legs.

I agree with this 100% as well. I didn't want to mention this initially but I have to now... who here's seen Eraserhead? THAT baby is what that particular swaddle reminded me of. Creeptastic. I'm not against swaddling, but that tightly in gauze with the baby's head sticking out like that? Yeah... no thanks.

[OyToTheVey]

I will agree to disagree. Swaddling in the first few months is beneficial for the baby. They feel like they're in the womb and it calms them down. Plus their arms aren't waking them up. If my nephew wasn't swaddled he'd wake himself up. This kid would just end up smacking himself from moving so much. I'm not saying that awful gauze thing but a comfy soft blanket is perfectly fine.

[elliha]

I also liked the little hat for the 4th of July picture, but the rest? No... 

Swaddling is fine for some kids. Some hate it others love it. I regret I did not use it more with my daughter, she had sensitive reflexes but as a first time parent I was too scared to swaddle in case she would not wake up properly.

[doubleT]

There is a picture today on Zach and Whit's Instagram of Zach holding Kaci and Zach looks like he has lost more weight since the last episode that aired of BUB.  (Which was probably filmed in February or March?)  Maybe he's on the same diet Lawson is.  

[LawsonBatesEgo]

8 hours ago, JermajestyDuggar said:

I'm not a huge fan of overly fru fru type stuff but I also don't hate all things girlie, pink, or princess themed. Some little girls like that type of stuff. Oh well. I don't think it's necessarily good or bad to like ruffles, pink and sparkles just because I'm not into it. If a baby hates head bands or bows, then take them off. If a baby doesn't mind, then what's the problem?

My boyfriend has a cousin who insisted that her now 3.5 year old daughter would not be a 'frilly pink princess' and would be in gender neutral clothes and she'd not be buying into the 'princess' trend.

By the time she was 2 and old enough to express a preference, all this little girl wanted was PINK! BALLET! SPARKLES! RUFFLES! BOWS! TIARAS!

I know Kaci is too young to express a preference right now, but it is not uncommon for little girls to genuinely want to wear super girly stuff. 

[trustworthy]

1 hour ago, LawsonBatesEgo said:

My boyfriend has a cousin who insisted that her now 3.5 year old daughter would not be a 'frilly pink princess' and would be in gender neutral clothes and she'd not be buying into the 'princess' trend.

By the time she was 2 and old enough to express a preference, all this little girl wanted was PINK! BALLET! SPARKLES! RUFFLES! BOWS! TIARAS!

I know Kaci is too young to express a preference right now, but it is not uncommon for little girls to genuinely want to wear super girly stuff. 

It's true.  Every kid is different, and there's nothing wrong with letting them choose what they like to wear, etc.  The problem is when a certain style or stereotype is forced on them.  When my sister was three, my parents got her a doll for Christmas.  When she was four, they got her a Susie Bake Oven.  I'm female, but when I was three, I got a little red wagon. When I was four, I got a scooter.  The writing was already on the wall and thank goodness my parents saw it and just went with it!  I never owned a doll, but did play with stuffed animals and then with GI Joe, blocks, Legos and Hot Wheels.  Today I wear a lot of pink, a lot of dresses, have long styled hair, manicured nails and toes. Because I truly want to.  You've got to just allow your children to be what they are when they want to be it.  I remember one mom lamenting, "How did I get such a girly girl?"  If that's what she is, let her be it -- just don't force it on her.

[JermajestyDuggar]

1 hour ago, LawsonBatesEgo said:

My boyfriend has a cousin who insisted that her now 3.5 year old daughter would not be a 'frilly pink princess' and would be in gender neutral clothes and she'd not be buying into the 'princess' trend.

By the time she was 2 and old enough to express a preference, all this little girl wanted was PINK! BALLET! SPARKLES! RUFFLES! BOWS! TIARAS!

I know Kaci is too young to express a preference right now, but it is not uncommon for little girls to genuinely want to wear super girly stuff. 

Ha! I don't want my boys to think girlie stuff is bad. It sends the message that things related to being a girl is bad. Sure I'm not into pink and glitter but I refuse to demonize it. I do love gender neutral stuff for practicality though. I can give it away to anyone with a baby when I'm done with it. Not just people I know with babies of a certain sex. 

[Kittikatz]

On 30/06/2016 at 9:22 AM, elliha said:

Am I the only one creeped out by these types of pictures? I think the baby looks unreal and almost dead in some cases. In particular the first type scare me.

You are not alone. My skin crawls when I look at this type of sleeping baby pic. I think the babies in these shoots looks dead or drugged... mind you I also can't abide realistic baby dolls for the same reason, so I may just be over sensitive for some reason. But I'm not paying for them, so as long as the parents are happy and the kid wasn't harmed in the course of the photo shoot, it's all good.

[Pixie_Ham]

3 hours ago, Kittikatz said:

...But I'm not paying for them, so as long as the parents are happy and the kid wasn't harmed in the course of the photo shoot, it's all good.

Are we sure they are paying for them? I was thinking about this earlier. I know that Zach and Whit aren't A List celebs but they certainly provide Taryn with a big level of exposure. Maybe they have a deal worked out? 

On the topic of the filters and posing etc. I think it's the posing that unnerves me more than the filters. It seems, and correct me if I'm wrong, that the way Kaci is posed isn't a natural or particularly comfortable looking pose. I get that it's fashionable but I feel like it makes the baby's head look somehow bigger than its body...

[HereticHick]

3 hours ago, Pixie_Ham said:

Are we sure they are paying for them? I was thinking about this earlier. I know that Zach and Whit aren't A List celebs but they certainly provide Taryn with a big level of exposure. Maybe they have a deal worked out? 

On the topic of the filters and posing etc. I think it's the posing that unnerves me more than the filters. It seems, and correct me if I'm wrong, that the way Kaci is posed isn't a natural or particularly comfortable looking pose. I get that it's fashionable but I feel like it makes the baby's head look somehow bigger than its body...

All the Bates photo shoots have giving Taryn tons of national exposure. I assume that the Bates get a deep discount, or totally free, or at least UP pays Taryn for the times she's been on the show

[VelociRapture]

10 hours ago, trustworthy said:

It's true.  Every kid is different, and there's nothing wrong with letting them choose what they like to wear, etc.  The problem is when a certain style or stereotype is forced on them.  When my sister was three, my parents got her a doll for Christmas.  When she was four, they got her a Susie Bake Oven.  I'm female, but when I was three, I got a little red wagon. When I was four, I got a scooter.  The writing was already on the wall and thank goodness my parents saw it and just went with it!  I never owned a doll, but did play with stuffed animals and then with GI Joe, blocks, Legos and Hot Wheels.  Today I wear a lot of pink, a lot of dresses, have long styled hair, manicured nails and toes. Because I truly want to.  You've got to just allow your children to be what they are when they want to be it.  I remember one mom lamenting, "How did I get such a girly girl?"  If that's what she is, let her be it -- just don't force it on her.

Pretty much exactly how I feel about any super specific gender items. When they're babies they'll have gender neutral most of the time - for special occasions maybe I'll dress them in more specific gender outfits, but nothing over the top (they grow so fast that it doesn't make sense to buy a ton of fancy outfits!)

Once they're old enough to tell me what they like its a different story. If my son or daughter wants to wear Princess dresses all the time then we'll have to compromise - like you can wear it at home and occasionally out, but there are times you'll have to wear a different outfit (like a Princess t-shirt and shorts.) Same goes if they only want to wear something with monster trucks or something stereotypically directed at boys. 

Theres a balance that can be struck once the kid is old enough to make their opinion heard. But until then I just prefer gender neutral stuff a lot more.

[JermajestyDuggar]

4 hours ago, VelociRapture said:

Pretty much exactly how I feel about any super specific gender items. When they're babies they'll have gender neutral most of the time - for special occasions maybe I'll dress them in more specific gender outfits, but nothing over the top (they grow so fast that it doesn't make sense to buy a ton of fancy outfits!)

Once they're old enough to tell me what they like its a different story. If my son or daughter wants to wear Princess dresses all the time then we'll have to compromise - like you can wear it at home and occasionally out, but there are times you'll have to wear a different outfit (like a Princess t-shirt and shorts.) Same goes if they only want to wear something with monster trucks or something stereotypically directed at boys. 

Theres a balance that can be struck once the kid is old enough to make their opinion heard. But until then I just prefer gender neutral stuff a lot more.

You might change your mind once you have an obstinant 3 year old that refuses to compromise. I would let my 3 year old wear a bra on his head if it means getting him out the door faster ;-)

Also I just want to warn you, if you have a shower, people will buy you gendered clothing if you find out the sex. And I doubt you will want to take back a bunch of clothing when you're 9 months pregnant. I didn't find out the sex with my kids so I didn't get much clothing before they were born.

[VelociRapture]

48 minutes ago, JermajestyDuggar said:

You might change your mind once you have an obstinant 3 year old that refuses to compromise. I would let my 3 year old wear a bra on his head if it means getting him out the door faster ;-)

Also I just want to warn you, if you have a shower, people will buy you gendered clothing if you find out the sex. And I doubt you will want to take back a bunch of clothing when you're 9 months pregnant. I didn't find out the sex with my kids so I didn't get much clothing before they were born.

I've been thinking about that actually. My husband wants to have a shower (because he thinks it'll be useful) and we have decided to learn the sex (because of my miscarriage were really trying hard to celebrate every little milestone we reach this time; we're hoping learning the sex will aid us in bonding with this baby further.) I'd rather keep it to ourselves until the birth or at least until the shower. I'm not sure if my husband will go for either idea though.

I'm not overly concerned about the clothes though. My sister has a ton of gender neutral clothes from her son that she's setting aside for us to use. So even if people insist on getting us that stuff, we'll still have plenty to choose from. 

And I totally hear you on stubborn toddlers. I was like that with my mom - I'm pretty sure she should qualify for Saint status at this point . I figure that's something we can tackle as it pops up and I'm sure some days will be easier than others will be.

[JermajestyDuggar]

2 minutes ago, VelociRapture said:

I've been thinking about that actually. My husband wants to have a shower (because he thinks it'll be useful) and we have decided to learn the sex (because of my miscarriage were really trying hard to celebrate every little milestone we reach this time; we're hoping learning the sex will aid us in bonding with this baby further.) I'd rather keep it to ourselves until the birth or at least until the shower. I'm not sure if my husband will go for either idea though.

I'm not overly concerned about the clothes though. My sister has a ton of gender neutral clothes from her son that she's setting aside for us to use. So even if people insist on getting us that stuff, we'll still have plenty to choose from. 

And I totally hear you on stubborn toddlers. I was like that with my mom - I'm pretty sure she should qualify for Saint status at this point . I figure that's something we can tackle as it pops up and I'm sure some days will be easier than others will be.

I will also warn you that I've been to SO MANY showers in my life and people buy ridiculous amounts of clothing for girls compared to boys. If you are having a boy, you will get more baby gear and less clothing (but you will still get boy clothing). If you are having a girl you will get so much girl clothing because a.) people tend to enjoy buying girl clothing and b.) there is way more girl clothing available than boy clothing. So be prepared for an onslaught of girl clothing even if you don't tell anyone the sex until the shower. Because people will buy girl clothing and bring it to you when they first meet the baby, lol.

[Melissa1977]

More pictures of Kaci WITHOUT headbands. Maybe they are only using headbands on special days or to match fancy dresses. Or maybe Kaci cries with the headbands and her parents respect her (ok, that's probably dreaming too much).

 

[Melissa1977]

13 hours ago, JermajestyDuggar said:

I will also warn you that I've been to SO MANY showers in my life and people buy ridiculous amounts of clothing for girls compared to boys. If you are having a boy, you will get more baby gear and less clothing (but you will still get boy clothing). If you are having a girl you will get so much girl clothing because a.) people tend to enjoy buying girl clothing and b.) there is way more girl clothing available than boy clothing. So be prepared for an onslaught of girl clothing even if you don't tell anyone the sex until the shower. Because people will buy girl clothing and bring it to you when they first meet the baby, lol.

It's not only in showers. I have 2 boys and I like them to have a nice amount of clothes  (I mean, I'm not cheap regarding clothes), but the girls I know have ALWAYS much more clothes and shoes than my kids or other boys. I'm talking about similar socio-economic environtment.

People say that there's much more variety on girls's clothing and this makes you buying more. 

[19 cats and counting]

2 hours ago, Melissa1977 said:

It's not only in showers. I have 2 boys and I like them to have a nice amount of clothes  (I mean, I'm not cheap regarding clothes), but the girls I know have ALWAYS much more clothes and shoes than my kids or other boys. I'm talking about similar socio-economic environtment.

People say that there's much more variety on girls's clothing and this makes you buying more. 

I have two nieces and I will keep buying them clothes as long as my sister tells me what sizes they're wearing (and sending me pics of them wearing the things I bought them).  My nieces have 3 aunts and 1 cousin (well 1st cousin once removed) buying them clothes.  This is before grandparents and parents open their wallets.

Little girls are very fun to buy clothes for.  Not sure what I would do for a nephew, but I'll address that when/if the time comes.  I will say Carson Paine was wearing some cute baby boy clothes.

[VelociRapture]

1 hour ago, 19 cats and counting said:

I have two nieces and I will keep buying them clothes as long as my sister tells me what sizes they're wearing (and sending me pics of them wearing the things I bought them).  My nieces have 3 aunts and 1 cousin (well 1st cousin once removed) buying them clothes.  This is before grandparents and parents open their wallets.

Little girls are very fun to buy clothes for.  Not sure what I would do for a nephew, but I'll address that when/if the time comes.  I will say Carson Paine was wearing some cute baby boy clothes.

I have one nephew who is almost five months old - Bradley and Carson got NOTHING on my adorable little chunky love! 

For their shower we got them the sheets for his crib and a ton of adorable gender neutral clothes in various sizes (they opted not to find out his sex ahead of time). A lot of people bought him clothes now that I think of it. And every time I'm in Target I have to stop from buying him more because the clothes are really kind of adorable. I admit to having a real problem.

For his baptism we got him a Children's Bible from me (I'm his Godmother) and added money to his college fund. Hubby and I agreed for birthdays and holidays we'd decide on an amount to spend for each niece or nephew we have at the time and try to divide it up as follows:

- Part will be in check form for a college or savings account.

- Part will be for any clothes they may need.

- Part will be for a fun gift, like a toy or book.

(If we cut out a category, it'd be the clothes though. So many people buy him clothes that our money would be used best elsewhere.)

We figure it's best to do a mix of practical with fun. I know my sister and BIL always appreciate what he's given, but they were extremely grateful for any money directed to his college fund. 

[19 cats and counting]

3 hours ago, VelociRapture said:

I have one nephew who is almost five months old - Bradley and Carson got NOTHING on my adorable little chunky love! 

For their shower we got them the sheets for his crib and a ton of adorable gender neutral clothes in various sizes (they opted not to find out his sex ahead of time). A lot of people bought him clothes now that I think of it. And every time I'm in Target I have to stop from buying him more because the clothes are really kind of adorable. I admit to having a real problem.

For his baptism we got him a Children's Bible from me (I'm his Godmother) and added money to his college fund. Hubby and I agreed for birthdays and holidays we'd decide on an amount to spend for each niece or nephew we have at the time and try to divide it up as follows:

- Part will be in check form for a college or savings account.

- Part will be for any clothes they may need.

- Part will be for a fun gift, like a toy or book.

(If we cut out a category, it'd be the clothes though. So many people buy him clothes that our money would be used best elsewhere.)

We figure it's best to do a mix of practical with fun. I know my sister and BIL always appreciate what he's given, but they were extremely grateful for any money directed to his college fund. 

I didn't go to older niece's baby shower (I was on the road then and I despise showers in general so it was better for me).  For her 'welcome' present I got her a personalized piggy bank (ordered after she was born as I didn't know her name ahead of time).  (I did the same for younger niece, again ordered after birth as I didn't know her name).  I figure every kid needs a piggy bank (and if I have a nephew he'll get that too).

My sister and BIL are very financially well-off (he made 6 figures right out of college) so I don't contribute financially as their parents can do that.  Gifts to them are usually a toy (Kitty Surprise was such a hit at Christmas that she likes to text me pics of it-- yes I get texts from a 3 yo) and an outfit (something with cats on it) and cat ears if I can find them.   Their birthdays are coming up and so far I haven't found anything (clothes yes but I need sizes and am waiting for coupons) so I have to take a trip to Toys R Us.

My sister sent me a pic of both of them this morning dressed as crazy cat ladies.  My training is working >^..^<  (I only give them cat items as that's my signature.  They have a very tolerant kitty who lets them use her as a pillow.)

[Glasgowghirl]

The forced gender stereotypes annoy me, I liked some girly stuff growing up but I prefered playing with my brother's old toys or plastic tools, my dad had his own window company and i'd pretend I was helping him, I even had a toy measuring tape. As I got older I lived in tracksuits and my Celtic football shirt and didn't start dressing girly until mid teens. Fundie parents seem to force the overly feminine stuff on girls and dont allow the boys to show any feminine side.