As a parent, I can only do what I think is best when raising my daughter, right?  There is no way I will handle every situation perfectly, but I will try to be the perfect parent nevertheless.  I’m like most parents (hopefully) and want to raise a responsible adult who can have a positive impact on society.  This leads me to my question for today.

When does my responsibility of a parent end and my daughter’s responsibility for her behavior begin?

Kim posted a similar article on today 7daybuzz, but I wanted to ask here, in my own way.  I’m sure you’ve been at the store, seen little Johnny (that kid gets blamed for everything) on the floor screaming and said, “She isn’t going to do anything?”  Of course the “she” would be his mother who looks down hopelessly at her child roll around on the floor making all kinds of noise.  Of course she isn’t going to do anything because she would possibly go to jail if she went “Old School” on him.  Society really frowns on physical - not abusive - discipline to the point of the police or CPS paying the parent a visit.

How long is this going to last?  At some point my child’s behavior has to shift from my responsibility to her responsibility right?  Is it when she turns 16?  What about 18 when she can vote?  Surely I can’t be held responsible until she is 21.

I feel like it will be one of those situations where I will blame myself for any negative actions and beam with pride when she does something good - during the good times I will probably give most of the credit to her for being good kid.  Even though I ask the question, I think I already know I will feel somewhat responsible for her forever, but that sounds OK to me!  Does that sound about right?

I’m obviously not going to be the one nursing or anything like that, but having an infant will no doubt change my daily responsibilities.  I’m already thinking time managament so I will be able to be an efficient dad.  Hopefully my job is helping me prepare.

I work in a training environment with a lot of young people.  Whatever can go wrong does go wrong and the best laid plans get changed on a daily basis.  As a matter of fact I have been in crisis mode for the last week putting out fires I normally wouldn’t have to; when manning dictates, even the supervisor must pull their weight.

I’ve heard over and over again how sleep will become a luxury once the baby is born.  Can someone tell me specifically, with an example, of what we can expect and how to cope with it?

Today I put together K’s bassinet.  It is one of those mobile models with wheels on one end.  It is actually pretty nice, at least it seems to be mobile enough to move around without too much hassle.  Kim is going to want the baby nearby whether that be in the bedroom or family room and that is to be expected.  There is one thing I’ve been firmly against though.

The baby will not sleep in the bed with us period.  I know some people are in favor of a “family bed”, but it scares me to death.  I’ve been on this earth for 37 years and I have a hard time believing I’m going to instantly be used to sleeping in a bed with an infant.  I’m so afraid I would roll over on the baby or something - it just isn’t going to happen!

I read an article titled “Where Will Your Baby Sleep?” about this subject and it seems like some experts are torn about the whole family bed concept.  One thing they agree on is having the baby sleep in a car seat or bouncer isn’t a good idea.  I hadn’t really thought of this, but now I know some people must have done it.

Where did your baby sleep when he/she first came home and for how long?  Eventually, she is going to get some use out of that crib - it was expensive enough - but when she first comes home she will be fine in the basinet beside Mom and Dad.

K will be born in less than three weeks and we can’t wait.  In a way it is surreal; it has been just the two of us since we’ve been married (almost 8 years).  Since we’ve become homebodies the baby will not change much about our lifestyle.  I do have a question I hope someone can answer for me though.

How many kids really change our ease of movement - regular things like going to the mall or normal errands?  I was told that one child will not change much, but two will make a difference.  This is just another in many questions to come.

I would also like to know how parents who read this feel about having an only child.  What is the ideal number of children to have in today’s day and age.  I grew up with 4 siblings and my wife is an only child.  At this age I will be OK with one child, but people keep telling me that will not be fair to K.  I’m not sure if fair or unfair is the correct way to look at it, but I do know I will be OK with K (AKA Pooh Bear, AKA Pooh).

How many kids do you have and how is it?

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