Fatherhood anonymous; an open discussion on being a dad.

[riser4]

Attachment 481484

Kelty kid carrier. It carries really well and skis OK although the change in weight distribution is a bit of a shocker. She ends up sitting quite high and as a result I have to ski in a mild squat and way more front seat than I like. Takes a bit of getting used to and is definitely not conducive to getting rad, even if she's well strapped in there. I'm actually more gripped skinning up, any sidehilling or slippery skintrack becomes a serious ordeal. Eating shit is absolutely not an option.

Re: avi gear, as CG says I think needing it would be ground for being fired as a dad. Our excursions will be limited to going up the Alta summer road, the Millcreek/Porter road, maybe White Pine or Cardiff after a 2 week dry spell, or in this case Twin Lakes pass which looks pretty much like a groomer the whole way. I might consider getting her up high in the spring when things are completely welded but timing will be tough, it's slow going up and down and managing the cold of the AM vs things heating up later in the day might be too much of a hassle. For now it's mostly about getting her out, looking around at the white stuff, getting used to the cold and the wind in her face, and accepting the fact that her father will be dragging her out of her comfort zone any chance he gets in hopes that she'll repay him later by breaking trail, setting up top ropes, etc...

Edit: before someone asks, the rubber band aren't a cost saving measure. We do have gloves for her, she's wearing them, her arms are just way too short to pop out of the giant down suit. Her mom's part T-Rex with the shortest ape index I've encountered to date, I blame her.
The toes barely come out the bottom, thus the down "booties" which are basically tubes and make her look like she has hooves. It's actually tough getting the outfit right, she overheats more than she gets cold.

And once again I am reminded of 5 yo me laughing my ass off when my mom ate shit on skinny skis and my 6 mo old sister got her face packed with snow. The baby shrieks and howls were awesome. I was such an asshole.

[Danno]

For those looking to get their very young ones into skiing, look around to see if there is an indoor "ski gym" near you, like this: https://www.shredderski.com/

It was a great way to get a 2 yo into the whole idea without having to deal with the additional "cold" problem. We still did tons of snow stuff, just was nice to get her used to having ski boots on and skis on and walking and sliding without having to worry about her temp.

[Dromond]

I appreciate the range of experiences on two year old skiing. I definitely am not concerned with her learning quickly or anything like that - I just want to share the love of snow and winter which skiing is a big part of. I hadn't really thought of how ice skating could relate to skiing - never thought of that. I will get the plastic skis and start there to see how it goes. I just want going to the hill to be an adventure. She is a fun kid that travels really well, so I think it will work out. I had never ever thought of indoor skiing but could see it working when they are trying to practice those basic movements. Is there a toddler sized Skier's Edge?? I will get the plastic skis, put her on these and see how it goes. If she is super stoked we might try real skis, or wait another year.

No matter what, I think she will be excited to be moving in a new environment, and will get tired out quickly and need a three hour nap. Currently she is sleeping 15 hours a day. 9pm-9am and napping 1pm-4pm!

[::: :::]

Baby goes on top of the airbag. Duh.

[gaijin]

My kids' preschool was amazing because they had a quiver of boots and skis for walking around outside. That's it. A tiny 3ft vertical mound of snow was all they needed to learn to manage. The first day I took him skiing was almost mindless. Getting dressed was easy, socks were easy, snowpants over boots was easy. Goggles were easy. When it comes to kids, it's all the logistics that need the most practice. But furthermore, I think all those kids watching others flail and then succeed was what really sunk the nail. They weren't in it alone.

Zero instruction was given regarding skiing. It was just "this is how we play outside in winter." I understand how rare that is, but play dates could prove valuable for you here, if you have parent-friends that are keen. There's something to be said about kids figuring it out on their own.

[ghosthop]

Zion was a big hit over the weekend. It was really special to hike into a finger canyon as a family, let the boy run around on the wash between the walls while he called mama to make an echo.

[Yonder_River]

Nice, that was probably a chill time to visit. When he's older, I highly recommend the horseback tour there as it's great for kids. Also, scouts landing but you may end up with a death grip on your kid's hand at some spots like I did.

[caulfield]

checking in with my admission ticket to this thread, baby boy born 1/2

I really appreciate the TGR corner of the internet and look forward to being part of this sub-corner

el niño year in a good way

[phatty]

Congrats! One of the best things that will happen in your life. Enjoy the time! I'm still trying to figure out how I get back paternity leave for all my kids (I never got any). I had an employee just take 4 months off fully paid. That would have been awesome.

[lowsparkco]

If a 7 month old could say WTF it would look like this…. mom is playing peekaboo, little’s fav game, when dad comes busting in the garage door. Tgapp don’t watch this one or you’ll be pulling the goalie.

https://youtube.com/shorts/TsrJRtvk0...-shCZwURWHE5Jl

[californiagrown]

Ha! We stole 3 or 4 of those exact hospital blankets. My boy is 2 now and we still use them for things like bath time or potty accidents. One of the best pieces of advice that i was given was from my boss at the time who said to take AS MUCH FREE SHIT AS POSSIBLE from the hospital before you leave. Load up on diapers, wipes, blankets, pads, etc. Congrats on the baby boy!!

Congrats! One of the best things that will happen in your life. Enjoy the time! I'm still trying to figure out how I get back paternity leave for all my kids (I never got any). I had an employee just take 4 months off fully paid. That would have been awesome.

Does your company offer fully paid Paternity leave? I got 16 weeks as well, but they were paid by the state at a reduced rate which was around 60% of my normal pay. My buddy who worked remote from another more conservative state only got 4 weeks paid at the state's reduced rate. My BIL works for facebook and i am really jealous of the benefit package that he and, by extension, my SIL have... its pretty outrageously great.



My little guy turned 2 in september and in the past month or so has really hit his stride with the terrible twos. He wavers between the goddamn cutest, happiest, best boy in the world before devolving into a little emotional terrorist with hardly a moments notice. They say that animal babys are cute so that parents dont kill them when they are fussing and crying and causing sleep depravation... Id argue that theory better applies to toddlerhood when they are even cuter but also way bigger assholes when they go off the deepend. I guess if they were nicer/easier they would just have to be ugly huh?

[riser4]

My little guy turned 2 in september and in the past month or so has really hit his stride with the terrible twos. He wavers between the goddamn cutest, happiest, best boy in the world before devolving into a little emotional terrorist with hardly a moments notice. They say that animal babys are cute so that parents dont kill them when they are fussing and crying and causing sleep depravation... Id argue that theory better applies to toddlerhood when they are even cuter but also way bigger assholes when they go off the deepend. I guess if they were nicer/easier they would just have to be ugly huh?

Now that my youngest is 18, I'd say that this applies for all ages.

[californiagrown]

Now that my youngest is 18, I'd say that this applies for all ages.

My parents always say that i was a really easy kid to raise. Now im wondering what they mean by that

[tgapp]

WELP.

alright it's time to break the not so secret news, hanging out on this thread had some clear, unintended consequences that we are as excited as we are nervous about.

lots of emotions, lots of feelings of being overwhelmed, and for now, lots of morning sickness which makes me feel utterly powerless

special thanks to all the mags who have been so helpful in holding my hand through this and calming me down - ghosthop, buzzworthy, SFB, D-Roc, jackattack, doebedoe, and probably a few others that I'm forgetting. and of course, a huge thank you to everyone who has shared such great wisdom in this thread. this place is a really special community, and i feel blessed to have it as part of my life.

weird alien looking baby expected august 18, we are at once excited and wildly, unbelievably, unprepared.

for any lurkers who were in my position a little over 2 months ago, a few words of advice:

- stop watching videos of skiing groms
- stay the fuck out of this thread
- plan b is never really a great plan a


okay now to go deal with more morning sickness

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[lowsparkco]

Congrats tgapp! You’re going to have a lot of fun I promise!

[Buzzworthy]

I love a good little alien!

[Norseman]

Holy fuck bro your world is gonna git rocked.

But you'll be a great dad and your intuition and sense of selfless humanity will shine through to be a guiding light. Sheeit, I'm proud and stoked that you are taking on this challenge. Good luck, we got yer back.

[Duffman]

Congrats dude! It's def a challenge but it's a hell of a lot of fun. Skiing with the now 10 and 6 year old is a hell of an experience!

[yeahman]

Congrats tgapp! Don't worry about being unprepared, we all probably felt the same, I know I did. But when it comes down to it all you gotta do is feed the alien and let it sleep and hold it a lot. Damn I miss holding babies. Enjoy man!!

[riser4]

You're gonna have to build a secret BDSM dungeon behind a bookcase for use until your offspring is away at college.

[The Reverend Floater]

You were having sex?

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[tgapp]

You were having sex?

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Who, us? Isn't that sort of a prerequisite?

And re: the dungeon, we'll just drop off the grom with the grandparents and visit the Chicago dungeon as an annual date.


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[gaijin]

Congratulations, tgapp.

Don't worry about feeling unprepared. My oldest is 14 and I still don't know what the fuck I'm gonna do.

My middle kid had his 6th grade annual school ski day with the entire class earlier this season. (a PE thing in JP). He was bragging about how he was chosen to be in "the best group." as they divide students based on their performance the previous year. Then after he got home he was bragging about being chosen to be the group's leader.

I got him some new-to-him skis and boots second hand and was worried about how he'd do on longer skis and stiffer boots this year. "The gear was great. But my binding was too loose and I pre-released a few times." "Better than too tight and now you learned something about DIN."

I honestly don't care how good my kids are, but hearing how proud he was of himself was super rewarding.

Tip to all parents of little ones-- just build a closet full of gear that sizes up. Skis by 10cm increments, and boots by 1cm increments. I made business cards one year and handed them out to parents skiing with their kids. The card read: "Call me in the Spring when you want to sell that ski gear. I'll come pick it up." And that summer I got like 6 phone calls and dirt-cheap gear because I took the pain of selling it off their hands.

Now, admittedly, I do have a pair of boots that never got used that are already too small, and a pair of skis that also got skipped. But hey-- talk about a rad way to enter winter. Kids walk into the closet, try on gear and see what works or sucks. And all of it was sporadically purchased so I never felt a punch to the wallet. I have three kids and would definitely repeat this process the same way. Just a closet/rental shop.

Goggles, too. Buy every pair of cheap/on-sale goggles you see. I think I have like 9 pair of kids' sizes now and they're not really hand-me-down items as you all know the foam wears out or they crack a lens on the chairlift bar or just trying to carry their skis. Kids break shit.

[riser4]

Annual ski day is a thing at some schools here too.

[riser4]

Who, us? Isn't that sort of a prerequisite?

And re: the dungeon, we'll just drop off the grom with the grandparents and visit the Chicago dungeon as an annual date.


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I like my idea better.