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@Curious There is a new Pack N Play from Graco that just came out. It has a higher raised portion on the bassinet (not the napper that is unsafe, but the actually bassinet bit goes a second step higher now) and it even has a travel toddler bed with it. A bit pricey, but it would last quite a while. (We just had to pull ours (bottom portion) back out because littlest out thought it would great to eat his wood crib as a midnight snack.) I hope it is ok to give the link? https://www.amazon.com/Graco-Pack-Newborn2Toddler-Playard-Mahan/dp/B07N3CJ7DN?th=1

I also wanted to share a crochet blanket story. I had my first at 17, and while that was a fight and I was shamed (to this day) subtly, my nana made a crochet blanket for him. I really treasured it. Fast forward 13 years later when I was pregnant with my second, my nana has Alzheimer's and does not do any crocheting anymore. I was in tears realizing this baby would not have a handmade blanket. I was so surprised when my step-grandmother (with whom I do not have the best relationship) offered to make one. It meant so much to me. I have no idea what I will do for the next kids (though they will likely not be babies), but I think it is wonderful that you are making these things. The pictures are all really lovely. Early Congratulations!


 

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16 hours ago, Curious said:

Since I'm photobombing the thread with stuff I've made, I really like this blanket.  Not the best picture, unfortunately.  My kids love cats and I have 3 grandcats (which I would have been happy with had they decided not to have human children) so I thought they would like this one for the baby.

kitty.blanket.jpg

This is so gorgeus, may I ask for the pattern?

My mum just started crocheting and has a few feline headships :)

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2 hours ago, CarrotCake said:

You would probably think that the 45min drive to my parents is still local :my_biggrin:

My pain dr. is a 45 minute drive :)

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36 minutes ago, StraightOuttaArkansas said:

@Curious There is a new Pack N Play from Graco that just came out. It has a higher raised portion on the bassinet (not the napper that is unsafe, but the actually bassinet bit goes a second step higher now) and it even has a travel toddler bed with it. A bit pricey, but it would last quite a while. (We just had to pull ours (bottom portion) back out because littlest out thought it would great to eat his wood crib as a midnight snack.) I hope it is ok to give the link? https://www.amazon.com/Graco-Pack-Newborn2Toddler-Playard-Mahan/dp/B07N3CJ7DN?th=1

I also wanted to share a crochet blanket story. I had my first at 17, and while that was a fight and I was shamed (to this day) subtly, my nana made a crochet blanket for him. I really treasured it. Fast forward 13 years later when I was pregnant with my second, my nana has Alzheimer's and does not do any crocheting anymore. I was in tears realizing this baby would not have a handmade blanket. I was so surprised when my step-grandmother (with whom I do not have the best relationship) offered to make one. It meant so much to me. I have no idea what I will do for the next kids (though they will likely not be babies), but I think it is wonderful that you are making these things. The pictures are all really lovely. Early Congratulations!


 

Thank you :)   That is the exact one I suggested to them.   My son's father and I offered to split the cost of a more expensive bit of baby gear so I was ok with the price point.  Plus they will be able to use it for years/with another baby if they have one.   I looked at SO many bassinets and was surprised to find that they are pretty low to the floor for the most part.   The tallest one I found, you could add extenders to the feet to make it 30 inches, but then you couldn't move it around.   It made me feel sorry for any tall people that want to use bassinets.

That's lovely that your step-grandma offered to make you a baby blanket.  I'm sorry you were shamed with your first, though.   I know it's not the same, but there are some really lovely handmade baby blankets on Etsy.   I know that everything I make is made with love, even if it's going to someone I don't know.   I don't sell on Etsy, but I do donate to our local NICU every couple years and I hope the people that receive things I have made realize that and they feel just a little better.   So maybe that would be an option for you in the future if necessary.

18 minutes ago, squiddysquid said:

This is so gorgeus, may I ask for the pattern?

My mum just started crocheting and has a few feline headships :)

Absolutely.  I got the pattern here: https://www.etsy.com/listing/685044481/crochet-baby-blanket-pattern-cat-baby?ref=shop_home_active_10&crt=1

Here is a better picture from the merchant's page.

image.png

Her main store is here:  https://www.etsy.com/shop/OwlBHooked?ref=simple-shop-header-name&listing_id=688584788

She is super nice to work with.  I had a problem on the blanket I'm making now (the cactus one) and she was able to get me back on track after I sent her a picture.  She responded super quickly, too.

I'm making the dinosaur after I get the cactus done.   I really want to do the flower one in a pretty ombre yarn, as well.

She has a new pattern, the whale, and I think I might have to get that one too.  You can't have too many baby blankets right ;)

 

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3 hours ago, CarrotCake said:

It is interesting to read here about living close to kids/parents.

My sister lives in the same town as my parents so they see my niece every week. I dont have kids yet but I do sometimes worry that I live ‘far away’.

But then I read here and I realize that far away here in the Netherlands is nothing compared to the US ?

You would probably think that the 45min drive to my parents is still local :my_biggrin:

45 minutes definitely is still local to me! But I can see how that would be far when others live much closer.

We are a 16.5 hour drive from family currently. The closest we have been since having kids is 7 hours, but we move every 1-3 years (military husband). We will likely be much much further away after our next move. My family isn't great with travel, and it's so tough for us to visit with two toddlers and my husband's super unpredictable schedule, and I do feel bad for my mom and grandma. I know this isn't how they envisioned being grandparents, and my brother is still single / no kids... so it's a bummer for them. 

I grew up with both sets of grandparents and even a set of great grandparents all within 15 minutes of my house, so my daughters not being near family stings a bit for me. I saw all of my grands AT LEAST weekly growing up, and they see theirs two or three times a year + Skype. 

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11 hours ago, Curious said:

awww thank you :) My grandma died when I was 15, but we were very close and we lived with her when my mom was single and she lived with us when she got older mainly because it seemed silly to have 2 separate residences when I was always at her house or she was at ours.   I still miss her every day.   

I hope to be the best grandma I can be.   I try to ask them beforehand if I am going to buy something potentially questionable.  My son is a bit quirky and has some really specific ideas that I think he's going to find do not work in reality once the baby gets here.   I try to gently tell him that his expectations might be a little ambitious in reality and then I shut up unless he asks me for advice.

He recently told me that they don't want any clothing with writing on it and I had already gotten a couple onesies on clearance for them so I apologized and said I didn't know that when I bought the ones I sent them.   Then he explained what kind of writing he didn't want....things that put opinions on the baby when we don't know what her opinion really is.  So like no "I want to be a princess" or things like that.   I said oh ok so the ones I got are ok?  He said yeah.   Then he explained why they went with the no writing rule.

The ones I sent were "party at my crib" and "I'm a baby what's your superpower?"   The ones his MiL sent "I'm beautiful like my grandma" and 3 others I've forgotten the text but they were all similar.

She makes it pretty easy to be the best Nana.   I could probably do nothing and still be better ;)

People who crochet do as well.   I see the trend now is to call yourself a "maker" which covers all things I guess.   I don't really have any RL friends that craft.  My bff used to crochet once in a while before she got so busy with work, her rescue work and now 2 grandkids.   I joined a fabulous group on facebook though for knitting and crocheting and they are wonderful if you have questions or problems with what you are making or you just want to show off something you've made.

One piece of advice that might be helpful for them (if they need it or want it) is what my mom says to every new parent. I’m paraphrasing, but the general idea is:

You're going into parenthood with all sorts of ideas about what kind of parent you’re going to be and what kind of things you’re going to accomplish, but you are going to fail every single day to meet that ideal. And that’s normal and it’s ok! 

She then goes on to give a specific example of a time she failed to meet her own ideals early on. The story she uses is how she fully intended to make all the baby food for my older sister herself. This was back in 1986/1987 though when the baby food machines were a massive pain to take apart and wash, so she gave up after the second try. And you know what? My sister turned out perfectly fine anyways.

As for living far away, we were closer to the grandparents who lived an hour away than we were to the grandma who lived 20-30 minutes away. We’re also closer to my mom’s brothers and SIL, all of whom live on the other side of the country, than we are to my dad’s brother and SIL who live in the sane town as my parents. Part of that has to do with our parents’ relationships with their parents and families, but it also has to do with how we meshed as individuals with our own unique personalities. You already have a good relationship with your son and DIL, so as long as you nurture that and are respectful of them (and other family) in front of your grandchild then you’ve already won half the battle. :) 

4 hours ago, CarrotCake said:

It is interesting to read here about living close to kids/parents.

My sister lives in the same town as my parents so they see my niece every week. I dont have kids yet but I do sometimes worry that I live ‘far away’.

But then I read here and I realize that far away here in the Netherlands is nothing compared to the US ?

You would probably think that the 45min drive to my parents is still local :my_biggrin:

It depends on the state. In bigger states (Texas, California, etc.) then you might be right. I’m in Connecticut though, which is one of the smallest states in the nation. I wouldn’t consider 45 minutes to be local to us personally. Under 30 minutes yes. Anything over that no. 

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3 minutes ago, VelociRapture said:

It depends on the state. In bigger states (Texas, California, etc.) then you might be right. I’m in Connecticut though, which is one of the smallest states in the nation. I wouldn’t consider 45 minutes to be local to us personally. Under 30 minutes yes. Anything over that no. 

Yeah, I'm from Alaska originally and still consider 'local' anywhere I can get to in less than 4 hours without flying.  @VelociRapture may take offense at this, but when I lived in NYC I regularly went to New Haven (in Connecticut) for meetings and considered that pretty much local.  So it probably varies a lot, but for me it's kind of funny to think of 45 min as far away.  

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12 minutes ago, lumpentheologie said:

Yeah, I'm from Alaska originally and still consider 'local' anywhere I can get to in less than 4 hours without flying.  @VelociRapture may take offense at this, but when I lived in NYC I regularly went to New Haven (in Connecticut) for meetings and considered that pretty much local.  So it probably varies a lot, but for me it's kind of funny to think of 45 min as far away.  

Lol! No offense taken. It all has to do with what you’re used to. I’m a lifelong resident of Connecticut, so I don’t have experience living in a huge state like you do. It makes sense to me that we’d both view a distance like that the way we do.

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5 hours ago, CarrotCake said:

It is interesting to read here about living close to kids/parents.

My sister lives in the same town as my parents so they see my niece every week. I dont have kids yet but I do sometimes worry that I live ‘far away’.

But then I read here and I realize that far away here in the Netherlands is nothing compared to the US ?

You would probably think that the 45min drive to my parents is still local :my_biggrin:

My Grandmother lived across the other side of the world and used to come visit for long stretches of time every couple of years.  45 minutes would be fairly local here for me too (Australia).  Maybe not a distance that you want to travel every day (though some do in the larger cities or from country areas for work).

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@Curious I wish I could crochet as good as this.  I've been "crocheting" for about 3 years and I still suck, I can't do patterns at all, I can do basic SC & DC stitches on scarves and blankets. I'm making a baby blanket for my step sister and I'm going to a friends house so she can either show me how to do a trim or do it for me. I have 3 weeks to finish the blanket so she may just have to do it for me as she can bang out a baby blanket with cute little designs in a day, or just a plain blanket in about 3 hours, she's super fast and good. 

I've also been trying to teach myself how to knit but damn I can't get the hang of it.   

1 hour ago, Someone Out There said:

My Grandmother lived across the other side of the world and used to come visit for long stretches of time every couple of years.  45 minutes would be fairly local here for me too (Australia).  Maybe not a distance that you want to travel every day (though some do in the larger cities or from country areas for work).

My sister and brother live about 45 minutes away and it is considered local, they are a Northern suburb of Des Moines and I live in a southern suburb, I drove 30 minutes a day to my job, and they are 15 minutes away from where I work. I have driving up to their places on the weekend because I make that trek Monday - Friday, I don't want to do it if I don't have too. 

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17 hours ago, OyToTheVey said:

Technically speaking, they can appropriate any Old Testament name and name their daughter a Jewish name. I mean Jill already named a kid Israel, I wouldn't be surprised if any of them name their kid Nichama or even Sarah. 

Last week I found out my partner had been assuming for the last couple of years that one of our acquaintances, named Rachel, was Jewish. I had to tell him no, her name is just Rachel. :pb_lol:  He probably couldn't wrap his head around a Christian fundie kid named Israel.

(This is more a function of where we grew up than him just being stupid, to be fair!)

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4 hours ago, Curious said:

   I don't sell on Etsy, but I do donate to our local NICU every couple years and I hope the people that receive things I have made realize that and they feel just a little better.   So maybe that would be an option for you in the future if necessary.

Mom of a NICU baby here!! We didn't get any blankies from the NICU (except the super awesome flannel ones I stole) but we STILL have the teeny little green hat someone crocheted for him and he was wearing on his first St. Patty's Day! 


Thanks for all you do for NICU babes!

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19 minutes ago, Meggo said:

Mom of a NICU baby here!! We didn't get any blankies from the NICU (except the super awesome flannel ones I stole) but we STILL have the teeny little green hat someone crocheted for him and he was wearing on his first St. Patty's Day! 


Thanks for all you do for NICU babes!

Same here! No blankets, but they sent us home with at least two hand made hats our daughter used while there. One is white with rainbow colored trim at the bottom (that’s the one she wore home from the hospital) and the other is a little red and white Santa hat since she was born shortly before Christmas. I get a little emotional looking at those sometimes because they’re so tiny. It’s crazy how fast she’s grown! 

The Nurses also sent us home with one of the preemie sized Halo sleep sacks she used. I can not recommend their sleep sacks enough by the way. Those were an absolute game changer for us when our daughter was young since they’re pretty much sleep deprived parent proof to use. Our daughter still insists on using them (in the appropriate size) for naps and bedtime actually. 

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I get looking forward to seeing milestones in your baby's life and I think walking your daughter down the aisle is a big one for dads. Not that you have to get married I just think a lot of people do think about that. Also I think the 20 years thing was a random number I think they're just fine with 18. In fact I think if they weren't famous they'd be okay with 16/17 too for the girls. 

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I agree it was a little strange that was the first thought Ben had when he held his daughter. I mean maybe if he had the same thought about the boys and just really likes weddings, then I would give him a pass. My husband said the thought of our daughter getting married gives him anxiety.

I've always encouraged my kids to just be who they are, love who they love and follow whatever dream makes them happy. Currently my soon to be 6 year old (son) is going to be a Paleontologist, marry his best friend Taylor and have 7 kids. My soon to be 4 year old daughter on the other hand is going to be a super hero and informed me last weekend that she hates babies when we were visiting with my husbands cousin who has a newborn. We will see how this plays out. 

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We drive about 30 minutes for my hub's radiation appointments (each way, every day). If he has an appointment at the main VA hospital it's 40-45 minutes. I used to drive 45 miles one way for an offsite job. The am trip was about 50-60 minutes, the pm trip could literally take hours. 

Now, I'm hideously lazy (as you all know)  and consider anything over a 10-15 minute drive a horrible imposition...

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45 minutes is definitely local to me! My parents are about that far away without traffic and we see them pretty often, it also makes it easy to find places in between to meet if we dont want to drive the full distance. It's a short enough drive that we can easily just visit for dinner (or a couple hours), which really helps my relationship with them. My husband's parents are around 16-17 hours driving (3ish by plane) away. Growing up, my closest extended family were about 4.5 hours away and we would usually visit for day trips. The farther ones were about a 12 hour drive. 

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It’s funny, when I say we used to live some distance away, I meant about 4 hours. Which, compared to the distance I lived from my grandparents growing up (we were in Australia, they were in England, and this was pre-skype) is nothing, but it did mean that we’d see family four or five times a year when we or they would travel for a long weekend. Whereas now, we’re still in a different city about 2 hours from the in-laws (my parents are 20min away and definitely local) but since we can (and do) occasionally drive there for lunch and go home again the same day, it feels much much closer. I’d say the kids see my ILs at least once a month now, but it’s generally for a few hours at a time rather than a few days at a time. 

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23 hours ago, Curious said:

I see the trend now is to call yourself a "maker"

I call myself a artisan ...I am more than a crafter, and (in my opinion) less than an artist.    I crochet, everything from blankets to stuffed animals to bags and baskets.  But I also paint, refinish furniture, sculpt on occasion....in short I love to create.  

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19 hours ago, viii said:

Was Anne Boleyn a pawn? Most definitely. Did she do something to get there? That’s debatable. 

My mention of Anne Boleyn was a side note. I didn't transition clearly. I meant them saying they named their baby after Jane Grey - Jane is the one who was the pawn who did nothing to be queen for 9 days other than be a woman who couldn't say no to to the powerful / power hungry men in her life. Her life is not one to be inspired by.

Jane was mostly turned into a martyr by those of her own time who wanted to believe she was more than she was and Mary I was the eveilest of evil who killed her because she was Protestant instead of, you know, a usurper to the throne. Jane committed treason and that cost her her life - it wasn't her religion.

Allthough, yes, her religion played a role in her being the one used and religion is all tangled in everything from that era, but that was not the underlying cause of her being put to death. Once her family joined the rebellion there wasn't really anything else Mary I could do but follow through. 

Anyway. I just find it insanely uneducated to say Jane Grey inspires you and you even off handedly named your kid after her. 

There are thousands of women in the world, throughout history, and Protestant "heros" at that, who could be inspirational. To me, they don't actually know shit about Jane Grey and have swallowed the Protestant persecution line they've been fed.

Or, they just made it up on the spot because for some reason they didn't want to just leave it as "we like the names". 

 

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13 hours ago, Curious said:

You can't have too many baby blankets right ;)

 

Nope they are for a lifetime. I still have the full size blankets my grandma made for me and some clothes in a bin and I'm over 55. One is unraveling and I need to find someone who can fix it, if that can even happen. 

Regarding 45 minutes away that is an average, one way, daily commute for people that live in my area of @VelociRapture state. Many here commute at 3 hours a day for jobs in "the city".

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11 hours ago, Someone Out There said:

My Grandmother lived across the other side of the world and used to come visit for long stretches of time every couple of years.  45 minutes would be fairly local here for me too (Australia).  Maybe not a distance that you want to travel every day (though some do in the larger cities or from country areas for work).

We moved to my hometown to be close to my family. We used to have a 4 hour drive but now we have a 10 minute walk. Miniway plays with his cousins every week. Mr Way has a 45 minute commute to work though.

I wanted Miniway to live close to my family since he has the other half of his family on the other side of the world. And this way we can save up our travel time and money for Australia trips. Miniway is 5 and has been there four times. My inlaws has been to Sweden twice. We try to skype but the time difference makes it hard. 

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8 minutes ago, fundiefan said:

  Jane is the one who was the pawn who did nothing to be queen for 9 days other than be a woman who couldn't say no to to the powerful / power hungry men in her life. Her life is not one to be inspired by.

 

Unless you see doing nothing as the ideal in godly behavior; then she’s aspirational!

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1 hour ago, WiseGirl said:

Nope they are for a lifetime. I still have the full size blankets my grandma made for me and some clothes in a bin and I'm over 55. One is unraveling and I need to find someone who can fix it, if that can even happen. 

Regarding 45 minutes away that is an average, one way, daily commute for people that live in my area of @VelociRapture state. Many here commute at 3 hours a day for jobs in "the city".

I’m guessing you’re somewhere in Fairfield county. That’s where I grew up. The traffic heading towards the New York State line is absolutely insane. 

I’m a SAHM now, so my “commute” usually consists of driving to the store if we need something at this point. Anything over 30 minutes seems long to me because of that now. ?

When I was still working my commute was closer to 35 minutes, though it was often longer with traffic. So I would have said anything under an hour was local a few years ago. 

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This is the pattern  I used for my grand wolves, one in blue, one in yellow. It was the pattern my mum used. Sadly, I have 2 grandsons who are not interested in learning to knit, and a daughter and DIL who aren't interested either. Blanket only, no pillow. I've made larger ones in different colors for Meals on Wheels. I got 1st prize at the state fair for one I made in white. Yeah, I'm bragging.

Our knitting group also knits for our low income moms clinic, so I still get to knit for littles.

Now back to your regularly scheduled snark.

IMG_20190605_181706.jpg

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