https://boards.hellobee.com/ Pregnancy, Baby and Parenting blog, by Hellobee en Tue, 14 Apr 2026 10:39:58 +0000 https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/are-you-the-type-of-parent-you-thought-youd-be#post-2009019 Sun, 04 Jan 2015 15:11:50 +0000 littlejoy 2009019@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I set out wanting to be really deliberate with my parenting (being patient with LO, and trying to not lose my cool). So far, I think I've stuck to it. What I'm most happy with is the way my partner and I parent together. I never put much thought into that piece. What I suck at, he's awesome at, and I just feel like we're a solid parenting unit. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/are-you-the-type-of-parent-you-thought-youd-be#post-2008996 Sun, 04 Jan 2015 14:36:28 +0000 Zbug 2008996@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I'm more of an attachment parent than I thought I would be (no sleep training, cosleeping, breastfeeding beyond a year), but I'm less strict about food than I thought I would be. DD is such a picky eater, so I'm generally happy if she eats anything. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/are-you-the-type-of-parent-you-thought-youd-be#post-2008853 Sun, 04 Jan 2015 11:59:50 +0000 Applesandbananas 2008853@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Haha, I am so much more survivalist than I ever imagined. Whatever it takes to get through the day! There are very few hills I've found to be worry dying on. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/are-you-the-type-of-parent-you-thought-youd-be#post-2008847 Sun, 04 Jan 2015 11:53:20 +0000 meredithNYC 2008847@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I am pretty much how I thought I would be - pretty traditional/old-school. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/are-you-the-type-of-parent-you-thought-youd-be#post-2008796 Sun, 04 Jan 2015 10:42:28 +0000 Little Misters Mom 2008796@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Your question reminded me of this hilarious someecard. I thought I'd spend my maternity leave wearing a slumbering baby in beautiful silk slings and perusing farmer's markets. Then I met DS and he had other plans that involved never leaving the house... </p> [attach=5233/15/nhnsyt.420x294.1344886845093_3235015.png] https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/are-you-the-type-of-parent-you-thought-youd-be#post-2008790 Sun, 04 Jan 2015 10:36:57 +0000 marionberry 2008790@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I'm very much how I thought I would be, except I'm more laid back and patient. I did think I would spend my life in books but most of the time it's just instinct. I am definitely more attached to him emotionally than I could have imagined. I'm always fearing something bad happening to him.</p> <p>On the other side, my husband is much less patient than I thought he would be and doesn't always handle being a parent so great. Don't get me wrong, he's an amazing dad but I am realizing he's not who he thought he would be with our kids either. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/are-you-the-type-of-parent-you-thought-youd-be#post-2008780 Sun, 04 Jan 2015 10:26:14 +0000 Cherrybee 2008780@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I'm much less competent than I thought I would be. I'm the kind of person who researches theories and plans how Im going to handle things. But I realised quickly that E does her own thing and the only solution was to just roll with it. All she has eaten today is custard. :meh: </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/are-you-the-type-of-parent-you-thought-youd-be#post-2008681 Sun, 04 Jan 2015 08:12:14 +0000 SleepyMonkey 2008681@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Way more laid back! I am very type A in other areas in my life and I made myself miserable trying to keep that up when she was born. so I had to let go and now I'm much more relaxed. I am still somewhat strict about sleep times but less so about other stuff. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/are-you-the-type-of-parent-you-thought-youd-be#post-2008672 Sun, 04 Jan 2015 07:54:07 +0000 looch 2008672@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I am a path of least resistance parent...meaning, if my son doesn't want a bath, we don't do a bath that night. I let him dictate the smaller, less critical stuff, within reason of course. </p> <p>There are some things, though, that I don't budge on, especially with discipline related things. If he doesn't follow the rules/instruction, he faces appropriate consequences. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/are-you-the-type-of-parent-you-thought-youd-be#post-2008621 Sun, 04 Jan 2015 01:27:23 +0000 gingerbebe 2008621@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>My parenting style has been totally dictated by my son. We were going to roomshare, I thought I would breastfeed on demand, be laid back about naps, and baby wear, etc. I wasn't going to sleep train until 4-6 months. However my son could not breastfeed for more than 2 minutes before passing out no matter what so we bottle feed and pump, he hates being worn because he gets so hot, he was a colicky reflux baby that never slept more than 20 minutes, and he is loud - like blow your eardrums out loud. He was chronically overtired, always angry, losing weight, and I was falling apart.</p> <p>So I became an EP-ing, early CIO sleep training, vigilant scheduling, separate rooming mama who forces her baby into his Ergo against his will to get through airport security and our son is now a chunky, happy, well-rested baby that started STTN at 3 months and takes decent naps during the day for the most part. </p> <p>But DH and I are as tough and no nonsense and practical as we thought we would be as parents - not too many frills in terms of baby gear - and we will most likely be pretty traditional old school parents in terms of discipline, manners, etc. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/are-you-the-type-of-parent-you-thought-youd-be#post-2008608 Sun, 04 Jan 2015 00:44:26 +0000 Espion 2008608@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>More laid back than I expected, but I think E's personality allows me to be. (So far, ha!) </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/are-you-the-type-of-parent-you-thought-youd-be#post-2008591 Sun, 04 Jan 2015 00:03:05 +0000 wonderstruck 2008591@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I'm stricter about nap/bedtime schedules than I thought I would be, but sticking to a routine is what works best for my kids, so it's what I do.</p> <p>I pay more attention to milestones than I thought I would, although I think that came as a result of L needing early intervention.</p> <p>Other than those two things I'm pretty much the kind of parent I thought I would be. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/are-you-the-type-of-parent-you-thought-youd-be#post-2008590 Sun, 04 Jan 2015 00:02:46 +0000 loveisstrange 2008590@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@keepcalmcarrie: Yep, same here. I really thought I was going to be a crunchy, turns out that I just cant be bothered. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/are-you-the-type-of-parent-you-thought-youd-be#post-2008588 Sun, 04 Jan 2015 00:01:27 +0000 blackbird 2008588@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Another that was more laid back than expected. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/are-you-the-type-of-parent-you-thought-youd-be#post-2008586 Sun, 04 Jan 2015 00:00:26 +0000 keepcalmcarrie 2008586@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@loveisstrange: I could have written my answer much more simply by saying what you said. I thought I'd be a lot crunchier, and it turns out I'm pretty old-school. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/are-you-the-type-of-parent-you-thought-youd-be#post-2008585 Sat, 03 Jan 2015 23:59:17 +0000 keepcalmcarrie 2008585@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I'm pretty intense about J's sleep too. Not to the extent that he has to go down at the exact same time for naps and nights every single day, but I aim to get as close to that as I reasonably can. It just makes life so much easier when they are well rested. Going along with that, I found it easier to sleep train at 4 months than I'd expected - if you'd told me before he was born that I would have done a modified CIO approach, I would have been horrified! </p> <p>I'm extremely laid back about what he eats. It's partly because he is a muscly, chunky toddler who eats a wide variety of foods, and partly because DH and I don't eat a strict or very healthy diet and we're both still in good health anyway.</p> <p>I'm a little more strict than I expected to be about behavior and setting limits, but he is more headstrong than I expected too! </p> <p>And I am wayyyy more attached than I ever expected to feel. Of course I knew I would love him, but I am dreading the stay at the hospital after LO#2 is born because it's going to be very weird to be away from J for "so long" (2 nights). He's going to come visit, of course, but I'm still sad. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/are-you-the-type-of-parent-you-thought-youd-be#post-2008584 Sat, 03 Jan 2015 23:56:57 +0000 loveisstrange 2008584@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Im actually a much more laid-back parent than I assumed, and far more "traditional".</p> <p>And I was way more of a nut about her sleep than I thought. That was more her decision than mine though. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/are-you-the-type-of-parent-you-thought-youd-be#post-2008578 Sat, 03 Jan 2015 23:32:29 +0000 Torchwood 2008578@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>No LO's yet, but I find it interesting to see how different I am (am going to be, technically, but I nannied for a while so I do have a good idea) than what I would have predicted just a few years ago. I was raised in the fundamentalist, Michael Pearl, "To Train Up a Child" mindset. Even after I moved away from religion entirely, for some reason it didn't occur to me to rethink my ideas on parenting. But at some point I stopped to consider, and I've since moved to a completely different mindset. I'm very pro-positive parenting, and like @Mrs. Sunshine, I now pretty much feel like as long as they're safe and not damaging anyone/thing, Ill let it go, which is about as far from what I used to think as it's possible to be. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/are-you-the-type-of-parent-you-thought-youd-be#post-2008502 Sat, 03 Jan 2015 22:19:06 +0000 Mrs. Sunshine 2008502@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I am insane about my LO'S sleep too. We are at great place with sleep and have been for awhile but just thinking about messing with it makes me sick to my stomach! That was unexpected. </p> <p>I was a nanny pre-LO and was pretty chill with those kids and aam the same as a parent. As long as she isn't breaking something or injuring herself/someone, I'm pretty much okay with her doing whatever she wants. DH tells her no for things that I would never even think to say no to. </p> <p>I also don't keep very good track of milestones and I thought I would.</p> <p>I'm a little crazy about what she eats but I'm also crazy about what I eat so it makes sense. I try to hide that crazy as much as I can.</p> <p>All in all, I'm handling it just about as I expected to. Haha </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/are-you-the-type-of-parent-you-thought-youd-be#post-2008491 Sat, 03 Jan 2015 22:10:24 +0000 DillonLion 2008491@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Are you more strict or more laid back than you anticipated? More particular about certain things and less worried about other things than you thought you'd be?</p> <p>I'm more particular about her sleep than I'd thought I would be. She is an excellent sleeper, but I still am pretty militant about an exact bedttime, undisturbed naps, etc.</p> <p>I became unexpectedly very concerned with breastfeeding, but now that she is older I'm pretty balanced on what she eats.</p> <p>I thought I would keep strict track of developmental milestones and read lots if parenting books, but I do not do any of that.</p> <p>I planned to become a domestic goddess SAHM, but I turned out to love being a WOHM.</p> <p>How about you? Any surprises on the type of parent you thought you'd be? </p>