MGoNewborn POSBANG Thread

Congrats.  I have two little ones and it is awesome!  Don't get me wrong, I still enjoy some alone time, but it was a great positive change to my life

My unsolicited advice for all new parents is... don't take unsolicited parenting advice.  Everybody thinks what they do is the best thing, but you have to figure out what works for you and your family.

Congrats again and Go Blue!

There isn't a better feeling or a bigger responsibility in the world than being a parent. I found everything took a back seat to my family once my children were born (I had quadruplets 6 years ago). It was funny, I went from being a thrill seeking nut job to being a pretty cautious indidvidual because all of a sudden I had people depending on me. It also put things into perspective in that I learned UM losing wasn't REALLY the end of the world (which I thought it was up to that point). As long as the family is healthy, fed and clothed lots of other things seem pretty minor.

Anyway, congratulations on the birth of your child. Ihope this day is as happy for you as it was for me. Also, the one piece of advise I would give is sleep when your baby sleeps. I had 4 at once so it may be different in normal circumstances but we got very little sleep and if we didn't shut our eyes during their brief naps we wouldn't have slept at all. Good luck and GO BLUE!

The wife and I are trying, sort of against my will. I don't want kids, but she wants two, so we're settling with one. Being a papa terrifies me and my bank account.

Congratulations!! Glad mama and baby are doing great. We have found indoctrination to be quite easy. My son especially loves the MMB, and loves going to games to watch them. He cannot sit through an entire game yet, at fives years old. We have found watching games at home easier when he has a friend over. Having a tv in the playroom also helps. Go Blue!

Congrats to you and your family!!  Being a dad is the best thing ever! 

Reinforce what others have said - becoming a parent means everyone else now knows exactly what you're doing wrong and how to fix it. Keep a sense of humor and remember there are almost as many ways to be a good parent as there are kids. As far as specifics for fandom, everything, including fandom, takes a back seat to family needs. You'll have less time for anything going forward, so using the time you have becomes more important. For me, that meant dropping some of my less enjoyable hobbies, and spending less time on the rest - including DVRs and watching what I said and did while watching. Another change is that while you and your partner have gotten used to each other and have a lot of subtle and nonverbal ways of interacting, the kids won't understand that for a while ... But they'll perceive it sooner than you'd think. It's amazing what they pick up on - after all, you're their whole world and will be for years. As far as night feedings go, your wife might find that pumping out her milk is an option. It might be more comfortable for her - especially if she uses a really good pump - and let her continue even after, say, she goes back to work. And if she does, then you can take that first feeding. If you have access to a lactation counselor they might be able to help you both explore that - ask your doctor? Ours was really good but we ultimately couldn't make pumping work for us. Two specific pieces of advice: multitasking works while they're in the eat/sleep/poop stage, but once they start interacting more they can tell when you aren't giving them your full attention. Sometimes that matters a lot more than you'd think, so be explicit - if it's really important that you watch The Game live, rather than DVR, make sure you and your partner have that straight beforehand. The other thing is that if you want to share your fandom, figure out how they can have fun participating with you. If saying Go Blue and doing a "wolverine dance" before games is fun for them, but not actually watching the game with you, go with that - they'll eventually get intrigued by this thing you spend so much time on, and either share your interest or not. But if you force it on them, I suspect you won't like the results. Congrats again, Go Blue, and good luck!

I also have a daughter (now 4).  Speaking as a fan/dad, I've learned that it is fine to not watch games live, as I'd rather spend time with my daughter than watch the game (although I watch every second on replay).  That said, I now love night games because I can watch games live.

My daughter shuns M gear because, in her opinion, anything with words/logos on it is for "boys".  She was singing The Victors at an early age.  Let me tell you, having your kid sing the Victors is AWESOME.

Anyhow, as for advice - don't worry too much.  After the first week or so, you'll get the hang of it.    

As a man with active, aggressive two year old boy going through the dreaded "terrible twos" stage, and a five month old girl, just know your sleep as you knew it is over. Your whole world just changed, but it's all for the better. I tell people all the time I haven't slept in two years, but it's all worth it. Enjoy this first year. Its a very precious time.

Congrats!  When she gets old enough, you can dress her up as M-Lemon before the big game!

My first is almost two. He was born in November, so his first season was short. Your daughter will likely sleep through most of the games and won't be able to see the details anyway. Get ready for a much quieter (if you're like me, you yell at the tv) game watching experience. I sing The Victors every time I change his diaper. He loves it and can now supply lyrics I intentionally omit. Whenever any football game is on, he says, go Blue. Just pick a few things and do them consistently, and she will pick up on them over time. Unrelated to football, for about the first month or so, I really felt no attachment to my son. He certainly did not have one to me, as he relied exclusively on my wife for nourishment. I thought maybe I'm a sociopath, but several other dads told me they felt the same way. It went away shortly, as we built a bond. Be warned - the first few months are tough. Congrats again and go Blue.

 

Taking the boy home from hospital 5.5 years ago:

 

Taking the girl home from hospital 3 years ago:

make it fun.  make it a big deal when michigan is playing.   sing the fight song while feeding her.  have more children (c.f. - my mgoname) and get them involved.  it works great.   all of our kids love michigan.   i remember one of the boys when he was 2 1/2 yrs old and had put his two big teeth out by walking into a piano with a parachute over his head.   he was singing the victors in the dentist chair while the dentist was taking out what was left of those two teeth.

and this is a way better than my twins born last night....you know, in the barn, with the other cows, sheep, goats, chickens, etc.

My First "Pos" goes to you.  Congrats!!

Being a father is great!

Congrats and have fun on the ride! Parenthood is crazy in the early months. As was earlier mentioned, watch out for sleep deprived fights, those can be nasty. Do as much as you can to help your wife as often as possible, be it with feedings, changing the diapers, etc, because she'll come to resent you quickly if you don't help at all.

My son who is almost 3 now isn't as in to Michigan as I would like him to be, but with the season going now, we'll see if I can get him to pay more attention to football. He's too busy playing with his cars. He did learn to say "Go Blue" "Michigan" and "Wolverines" as some of his first words though. I'll have to stock up at M-Den for some more shirts for him the next time I'm in Ann Arbor, I'm a Chicagoland native like you and it's hard to find stuff for him here to wear. He's got 1 UM shirt in his size, compared to many many comic book hero shirts.

and I have decided that all of the advice I have gotten comes from every one just making it up as they go along. Which is now my strategy, since the advice will always be there if I need it. 

Congrats man. The only piece of advice I got that has stuck with me: make sure you have plenty of caffine stocked up for that first month and a half. 

Perfect timing, too. Tomorrow's a good day to introduce your daughter to Michigan football; just have them wheel a flat screen into the hospital room and you'll be good to go...

I'll give you the same advice I give all new parents, sleep when the baby sleeps.

I can't speak to having newborns at football season, but my twins were born right before the burke tourney run. I caught some, dvr'd the rest.. avoided Facebook and my phone to miss spoilers. the first2-3 months sucked, and life is so different. I'm typing this message with baby girl(18 months) on my chest in a rocking chair now. I've got the twins able to raise their hands for touchdown, but they have no clue what it means. only valuable advice i have is Ignore all advice and survive. second, sleep whenever you can. work sucks on 90 minutes sleep a night. I've got a 3rd on the way in January (Dr's said less that 1% chance we'd ever get pregnant naturally so I'm already slating the little man to play in Wimbledon one day..) but I've heard 1 is way less difficult than twins. let's hope they are right!! I got a box of mgohandmedowns from mgobloggers, the wife was really touched by that. it's great to welcome another wolverine to the family!

Say "to hell with notre dame" as much as possible and you are off the a perfect start

Congratulations!!!  You're going to lose some sleep and it's true what everyone says;  it's one of the biggest life-changing events you'll experience. 

I'm still a fan but I can't devote as much time to watching the games as I used to back during the old bachelor days.  I have to DVR the games or download them and watch whenever everyone is asleep.  On Saturdays, when the games are on, if I sit down to try to watch it live on the big screen, I'll eventually get bumped by someone who wants to watch "Spongebob Squarepants" or the like.  We're not in the Midwest so Michigan doesn't get a huge amount of press coverage, so unless I decorate a room like Wolverine Devotee, my kids don't have a huge amount of awareness of the Wolverines.

And if I do get to sneak some time watching the game live, eventually I'll get The Look from the wife who'll then ask me if I'm going to do the things she asked me to do (yes, the dreaded Honey-do list)  or if I'm going to take an offspring to a lesson, party, playdate, etc.  My wife's an alum from a Pac12 school that doesn't have as big as a football tradition as Michigan so she doesn't quite understand my fandom. 

That being said, I wouldn't trade it for anything else in the world.  You'll find your child to be just this amazing interesting little person.  Watching her grow and having her mature into her own person is an experience that really can't be surpassed.

Go Blue!