Cynical Parent

Becoming a dad for the first time is pretty scary.

Every day you find yourself facing issues you’ve never dealt with before. And not only are you dealing with a new child, but likely a new mother as well (I think most mothers would agree that this adds a layer of complexity to the father’s experience).

The good thing is, billions of people before you have managed to become parents and more or less did an OK job. You aren’t expected to know everything, and most of what you need to know you will learn along the way.

As a first-time-dad-to-be, I researched this topic quite a bit.  There’s a lot of information out there for “first time parents,” but most of the writing is from a woman’s perspective and therefore tends to skew toward first time moms.

A lot of first time dad tips are the same, but there are some key differences.

What are they? Let’s get right into ’em.

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The first birthday is a special one. So much happens in that first year of life – for the baby and the parents – so it’s a milestone that tends to bring about big celebrations. When it comes to 1 year old girl birthday party themes, what are the options?

Themes are a little bit easier when your kids are older, because they have somewhat established what they like, whether it’s a particular movie, TV show, etc.  

Don’t worry though, we’ve dug up a lot of great 1 year old girl birthday party themes! 

We’ll go through them all below.

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Image credit: http://www.babysleepsite.com

Before you become a parent, you take sleep for granted.  After all, you can completely control how much sleep you get simply by adjusting your bedtime or wake-up time.
After having a baby, however, sleep becomes this unknown variable in your life; it becomes this elusive concept that changes from night to night.  As a parent of an infant, you often find yourself thinking…

CAN I JUST GET SOME F@#%!#& SLEEP PLEASE?!

Somewhere in the back of your mind, you know it’s temporary.  But when you’re going on your 10th straight night of only sleeping in 1-2 hour blocks, you start to lose that part of your brain that thinks logically.

After experiencing something like this, we knew there had to be a way to make it better.

But because every baby is different, there isn’t any ONE thing that will work for every baby.  So, we set out to compile the wisdom of many parents who have been through this and have found a strategy that works for improving their baby’s sleep habits.

And just as important, improving their own sleeping habits.

We tracked down 29 parents and asked them this question:

Keep reading, and we’ll reveal what everyone told us (and even share what’s currently working for us).  

(Warning: This post contains a ton of content – you may want to bookmark / pin it so you can refer back to it later. 🙂 )

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With Halloween around the corner, we’re trying to decide how to dress our little girl for her first “real” Halloween (she was a newborn during her actual first Halloween, so we don’t really count that one).

When your little one is just a baby, Halloween and the costumes are more for you anyway. She’s not going to remember it.

But what she will remember are the pictures you show her when she’s a little older… 😀

I have to admit, picking just ONE costume is going to be difficult, but let’s check them out.

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Have the toys taken over your home? If your home is anything like mine, the toys are everywhere!

And, with each passing year, my kids just keep accumulating more. No matter how hard I try – between birthdays, holidays, and grandparents – the toys have a tendency to take over the house.

If I step on one more Lego or teeny tiny Barbie shoe, I might lose my mind.

And I know I am not alone with this issue. My friends are always talking about the best way to organize toys, and I am always on the hunt for a new way to keep things more orderly and less likely to make me lose my mind.

For any other parent who has taken offense to the mess in their house and considered throwing all the toys in the garbage, I am here to offer some help in the form of toy organization.

Keep your home mess-free with these tips for the best way to organize toys, and reclaim your space again!

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Undoubtedly the single greatest challenge of raising a newborn child is something you’ve likely taken for granted your entire life: how to manage sleep.

And no, not managing sleep for the baby: the baby will sleep whenever it feels like sleeping.

Before becoming a new parent, you commonly hear two seemingly contradictory things:

1. Newborn babies sleep all the time (somewhere in the range of 16-20 hours per day)
2. As a parent of a newborn, you will get very little sleep

“What the f**k?”  you think to yourself.  If the baby is sleeping 16-20 hours per day, surely I can find my usual 6-8 hours of sleep in there somewhere, right?

Here’s the part where experienced parents laugh at you.

I thought the same thing when my daughter was born.  I knew sleep was going to be rough in the beginning, but with the baby sleeping most of the day, I thought for sure there would be some way to still get something close to my normal amount of sleep.

Ha…I was so wrong.

I’m not going to get into the exact details of why I didn’t sleep much, because it’s irrelevant for the topic of this post.  Every kid is different, and I can guarantee your experience will be at least somewhat different from mine.

But…we can all agree that nighttime sleep will never be the same while a newborn is in the house.  So, with that in mind, I want to discuss some strategies around how to tackle these nighttime duties in your average two-parent home.

It won’t be easy, but here it goes…

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With the current global pandemic, more people than ever are working remotely from home.  And with many schools out for the summer (and many staying virtual in the fall), lots of parents are faced with the challenge of working from home with kids.

It’s not easy (and that’s an understatement — it’s hard as hell).

It doesn’t even matter how old your kids are.  Each age comes with a different challenge. 

Babies and toddlers, who might otherwise be at a daycare, need constant attention.  Older children need activities (and some supervision, depending on age).  

Even teenagers or young adults can still interfere with your ability to work at home effectively.

So what can you do about it? How can you still be productive?

We’ve got some pretty powerful tips…

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We’re in the middle of a global pandemic where the general recommendation is for people to wear face masks when they’re out in public, especially when it’s not possible to socially distance.  This includes anyone aged 2 or older.  It’s easy enough to follow for most adults and older kids, but getting your toddler to wear a mask is a different story.

If you have a toddler, you know that they sometimes will do anything but what you ask them to do.  They don’t like being forced into unfamiliar situations and will sometimes resist things irrationally.

My 3 year old has a fear of little pieces of fuzz that you’d randomly find on the ground in your home.  She screams and acts like you would if you saw a giant spider. Makes no sense. But hey, that’s toddlers for you.

So when it comes to figuring out how to get your toddler to wear a mask in public, some parents are faced with a new challenge.  

We’ve done a little bit of research and put together some suggestions for helping you with this issue.

Let’s check it out.

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One of the most exciting parts of setting up the baby nursery is pick out decoration and signage for the wall. 

There are a lot of directions you can go, whether it’s a sign with the baby’s name, a cute phrase, an animal or some other object that matches the theme of the nursery…there are so many options! 

We’ve done our research on some of the coolest ideas for baby nursery signs.  Let me tell you, it wasn’t easy to pick out our favorites. 

Without further ado…let’s check ’em out.

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My playpen is one of my favorite things I own (as it relates to my kids’ stuff). It is so versatile and makes things like cleaning house, days at the beach, and traveling SO much easier when you have a young toddler or mobile baby always trying to get into trouble.

But how do you know if you’ve got the best playpen for toddler fun and safety?

A good playpen can be used for all sorts of things.

Not only can it be a safe place to put your little one while to take care of some chores or a portable napping spots, but the best playpens can be used for safe outdoor play, days at the beach, homemade ball pits, and so much more.

That’s why it is important to know that your playpen will grow with your little one. One of the most important things to look for when you are shopping playpens is its long-term usage. I use my playpen all the time, even now that my son is 2 years old!

Not all playpens are created equal. Only four made it on my list of the best playpen for toddler fun and safety.

Let’s check ’em out.

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