MGoNewborn POSBANG Thread

Congrats to you and your family! 

Congrats!  Also, how can you start a thread like this but not include pictures?

Congrats.  Take the first feeding each night.

Just watch the cussing once they hit 1-1/2 or so. You'd be amazed how they won't repeat "yes", "no", "mommy", or "daddy" but "you shit mothereffingc--ksucking ref you go to hell!!!111" they'll recite with ease in front anyone who'll listen.

Be willing to watch the replay of the game when everyone is asleep as opposed to live when there are numerous dsiatractions.

As a fellow Chicagoan MgoDad, here are some thoughts:

(1) The first month of being a parent is brutal. Anyone who tells you otherwise is lying. Nonstop waking up in the middle of the night just wears on you. The good news? Babies sleep way more than they're awake, which is clutch for football season. So, no, you probably won't be watching at the Diag, but you'll be surprised how easy babies are when it's not 3am. 

(2) I "care" the same about UM's outcome, but I can't prioritize game watching like I used to. However, I record every game on DVR and watch it after the fact. 

(3) Never too soon to indoctrinate. My son's first multiple-word phrase was Go Blue. He thinks all blue/yellow shirts are "Go Blue Michigan" shirts, and he's now learned the fight song. Those area a ways off for you, but not as much as you think!

Some of this is a tongue-in-cheek. Just enjoy man, being a parent is freaking awesome. I spent half of the Sugar Bowl and the entire Bama game rocking my fussy son to sleep. I considered it a gift from him to me for the Bama game... If you gotta take a break from UM FB for awhile, don't worry; it;ll be waiting for you when you and your little one are ready!

Any advice for me? I'll get plenty of parenting advice from my friends and family in the real world.

Life is improved with facial hair. It's a quality that my father passed down on to me, and you should pass down to your kid - a long luxurious mustache, combined with a resplendent mullet lets people know you're a manly man who isn't afraid to express himself. I went to Toys R Us and purchased my first plastic mustache at age 8.

The girls in 2nd grade gossiped over it. I grabbed a toothpick from the cafeteria, donned a hand-me-down jeans jacket, kicked my feet on the desk and told that teachin' lady the only letters I needed to know were U, S, and A - just as my pop said. (One of the few memories I have with him in our double-wide trailer - he left soon after) By 5th grade I was spitting tobacco into the juice cup my mom packed in my Dukes of Hazard lunch box.

you should get a comment out on the thread so that the upvotes get to you.  The ones on the OP don't get applied.  You are the only one really deserving of the upvotes anyway.  Maybe they'll help you recover from the lack of sleep you're about to experience...

How did having a newborn at the start of football season impact my life? I tried hard to name him "Tshimanga", thinking we could call him "Tim", but was voted down by his mom, who got first name rights. 

Seriously, congratulations to all, and just focus on being a great dad, fandom will come, and no matter how hard you try, she'll turn out to be her own girl, and in the end probably resemble you in more ways than you can see and she'll be willing to admit. 

Remember its never too early to start teaching "good pad level." 

Congrats.  Remember there is always something that has been written or that someone has done that tells you that you are parenting incorrectly.  Parents are always eager to give advice because they want to help and they may have a few things that were positives in their adventure.  This can overwhelm, so remember that all kids are different, with different personalities, skill sets, talents, and react to different stimuli.  What works for one may not work for another.  Learn to smile and nod politely.

I got my daughter a stuffed wolverine from the M Den which we named Charles.  We taught her to say "go blue".  She recognizes Michigan and football so when I get excited and shout during the game she says "go blue." 

Indoctrination is important from a fandom perspective, but I'm going to try to leave the academic side of it out.  If my daughters go to college I want them to be able to make an objective decision.  We like to joke about the poor academics at other schools, but when it comes down to it success academically and professionally is on the student and not the educator. 

I hope you enjoy yourself.  Kids are fun to have around.

Great news--congrats.  As someone who just dropped our youngest off for her freshman year at Michigan, my advice is to start saving now--especially if you plan to be out of state!

when Michigan scores. I scared the crap out of my daughter getting excited about games when she was an infant. Now she loves to watch football with me, so who knows. . . 

My sister (a Michigan alumni too) just had her first child; she agrees to start the fandom early.

Best wishes and Go Blue!

Congratulations!  You have passed on your genes.

Congratulation of course.

I'll tell you something Michigan related that I learned soon after becoming a dad.  My daughter was born on september 7th, so she was an infant during football season just like yours.  I found out how much I really love dvr and how much I really hate espn announcers for games.  I had to watch every game on mute (liked it better not hearing idiot announcers), and I constantly had to do little chores like bottle cleaning or diaper changing (so I iused the dvr).  

I know anyone with a dvr will already say "duh" because it's great to skip commercials, timeouts, halftime, etc.....but you really gain an extra appreciation for it when that kid is such a hog for attention.

I have a 21 month-old son, and my sports watching has definitely been altered. It is difficult at times to watch the entire game live (as THWARD said, the first few months are brutal...), so I DVR many of the games to watch when the little guy is either napping, or in bed at night. That means I have to turn off my phone, but overall I can still watch every game, commercial free...He watched a few minutes of the App State game with me, and he will watch a little of this game just before bed...

The indoctrination portion: every night before bed, I sing the UM fight song, and just before putting him down I say go blue, and for the last two weeks, he has said go blue in return! 

Whatever you do with them, or want them to enjoy, just make it fun, and they will like it too! That is just my two cents. Again, congrats, being a Dad is an awesome thing, that is hard to explain, but amazing to do. 

1) My children being born did not in any way diminish my passion for Michigan sports. If anything, being a parent increased it by making the time I have to indulge that passion more scarce. It's a huge change, as I'm sure you know, going from 0 kids to 1 kid. I spend way less time on sports and everything else in general now. But sometimes - like when a football game is on, or a big basketball game - I just say "This is daddy's time, I get to do something fun for me, too." The kids get it.

2) I don't know. I've wondered this myself. I'm not pushing anything too hard. My main strategy for raising future Wolverines has just been to make my enthusiasm contagious. Can't say it's working too well, but on the other hand, my oldest (a daughter) is still not in kindergarten. But yeah, I hear you on pushing it too hard, Last thing I want to do is force my kids to do something just because I like it.

Had my first a few months ago.  What I learned this past weekend is I need to cheer less suddenly, and less loudly.  Also, because that adjustment is difficult, it is important to DVR the game because you will need to spend time calming the baby who is concerned by your yelling.

1)  you've getting a world of people telling you what you need to do and how it's gonna be.  Some of this info is right and true and much of it isn't.  I promise your experience will be new and different every day.  Just keep your copy of "What to Expect" around for junior level advice/confirmation and you'll do great.

2) "You Know It's Great .. To Be.. A Michigan Wolverine" is the best family cheer ever.  I highly recommend it as soon as the kid can dance and celebrate and punch her little paw in the air.

3)  The Victors!

Congratulations!

Sounds like a possible Womens Softball recruit around the year 2031. Hopefully we get her LOI by '33, possibly '34.... Go Blue!!!

My advice for fatherhood is this. Once you get into a routine with your new daughter, try to find a night once a week or every other week that you can give her mom a night off. I started this with my wife somewhat out of necessity about a year ago and I wish I had done it a lot sooner. It gives her some much needed relaxation and "normal" time (not mommy duty) and it gives me some awesome daddy time with my girls. Whatever you do, just enjoy this time because it goes by so fast!!