I will become daddy for the first time in January or February max. I was wondering for those of you who went through this wonderful moment, how does it change your woodworking habits? Do you put all your tools to rest for 2 years or you managed to get a few things done between the kid's naps? The neander way late at night kept your skills sharp until you can fire up the power tools again?
Just wondering if I should start the severage now or go the opposite way, rush all my projects to completion so I get enough of it to hold for a while...
Do yourself and the kid a favor - do _NOT_ have a silent house when they're sleeping. If they don't get used to noise while sleeping, you'll be stuck being silent for the next couple of years. Go about your normal business, just not in the room they're sleeping in.
You'll be plenty tired for the first month or two, but it's like any other noise in the house. If it's normal, let it be a normally heard noise.
I'm with Mr. Hinz. Don't go with the silent house. Your child will learn to sleep through the noise quickly.
I've known people who did the "SSH! Baby sleeping!" thing, and you couldn't fart quietly without waking the baby up. We just did our normal stuff with both our kids... The downside is that my son can sleep through the smoke alarm. The upside is that I can run the lathe after he goes to bed (in my basement shop).
I agree with the other postings about not having a silent house. I kept the tools running and can't recall a single incident where I woke up the children. Exhausted wife, on the other hand, requires extra caution.
Just get in the habit of keeping the power away from your tools when you're not there, and sharp or heavy stuff away from edges where they can be pulled down. It's just common sense, really. You've got about two years to prepare for having a two year old, and from that time on they just get faster. If you're lucky the lock you use will slow them down enough for you to arrive in time to supervise.
And forget about rushing your projects to completion. You'll be interrupted a lot. Enjoy the interruptions, 'cause eventually they'll be gone and you'll want them back.
I found my woodworking time was reduced to some degree. It came down to short periods of time in the shop, rather than long one, and sometimes these periods were frequently, other times not. Start building up your immune system because once they reach pre-school, or childcare age, and if you do send them to care, they bring back every illness known to man :-( Despite these downsides, kids are fun to play with. The first 6 months are the easy part. Once they become mobile, and once they start talking, that's when the fun begins :)
Teach them early not to touch daddy's tools and machinery. They will elarn quick and soon be repeating safety instructions back to you :)
Hah. The fun begins when they get potty trained and can eat real food. :)
I had my son doing something or other with my DP when he was about four or so. Four is a good age. Ten is better. Or maybe nine. At ten, he's already starting to get a little bit of an attitude. Urf. Teen minus three years and counting.
Dittos the comments on maintaining normal household noise levels. My fifth child just turned two, so listen to the voice of experience. :-)
I suspect you're already going through a bit of self-examination in your woodworking. With every thing you do, you should be thinking, "Now, how would I teach this to Junior(ette)?" There is no better tool for learning than teaching. Ability to teach others guarantees a solid understanding of the process.
As for Neandering, that's always a good thing. It takes you back to basics, forcing your to examine the most efficient and wood-friendly way to do things. Nahm's way isn't the best way to teach kids. (Neither is ÜberNeander Roy Underhill's, but then, I prefer to teach the kids to count to ten without taking off their shoes.)
Having a young'un about can teach you the real joy in woodworking: a sharp crosscut handsaw, and the Cub Scout manual. A sharp block plane. A folding rule, try-square, and a sharp pencil. A small hammer, 8 penny nails, and a screwdriver and screws.
A birdhouse in 3/4 stock.
A breakfast tray for Mom.
A carpenter's tool box for Junior(ette), to tote his/her Very Own Tools.
Children aren't an interruption to woodworking. They are the reason for it, and the future of it.
I've got twin 2 year-old boys. They really seem interested in Daddy's tools. So much so that I will probably put a lock on my tool room to keep them away from the air nailers, saws, etc. When they get older, I'll start training them and let them handle things.
As for timing, you definitely have to time your workshop time. More so as they get older. Their first 6 months he'll just sleep and eat and sleep...
Your whole life is about to change, and for the better. You may not realize it at 3 a.m. when the %$*#% kid won't stop crying, but try to look at the Big Picture. Someday you'll be a grandpa and your grandchildren will pay it back for you.
I'll add my Congratulations to the others. My twins will be 3 shortly and the oldest boy will be 4 1/2.
I *disagree* with keeping normal sound levels. We kept our house quiet. But what the hey - this is something for you and your family to decide.
Personally, I put my 'dorking on hiatus for about 3 months. Now, my shop time is pretty much in the early morning hours, when they're still asleep. Or for an hour one day of the weekend when my wife gives me some time off.
YMMV - but when I have free time and when they're awake, I usually prefer them over the shop.
I think just coming to grips with the fact that a "typical weekend project" is now a three month endeavor helps.
Look at this as an opportunity. Not only are you a father but you now have amore variety built into your hobby. Judging from the number of cradles, rocking horses, toys and other kid-projects discussed here and in ABPW, you will have plenty of things to expand your portfolio of projects.
I did plenty of projects for my kids as they grew and the list grows as a grandfather.
My kids are now 15 and 18. In all that time (including when they were infants) I kept the WW activity normal. My shop is in the basement under their bedrooms. Most of the time my work is with power tools - jointer, planer, etc. Not once was there any complaining.
Both kids are recipients of a number of things - a couple of desks, bookcases, a bed and a dresser. I imagine someday when they move out they may want me to make more stuff.
Congratulations! My first is weeks old as of yesterday. I have been averaging only about an hour a week on ww projects since the baby was born, down from 6-10 hours a week before. I could get 6-10 hours a week in the shop if I wanted, but I'd rather spend the time with my boy.
It's not impossible to get time in the shop while caring for an infant, depending on SWMBO. Just expect lots of interruptions.
Congratulations. My first was born on Nov. 1, just six weeks old. I have spent a grand total of 6 hours working on my projects since the baby was born. I'm only getting about an hour a week to work, but I could squeeze out my usual 6-10 hours if I was trying. Even at this basic care giving stage, my son is far and away the more interesting and rewarding project.
I think it depends a lot on your relationship with your wife and what kind of father you imagine yourself being. I know some guys who went right back to their old routines a few weeks after their first kid came home from the hospital, leaving their wives to take care of junior, the house, and themselves as they recovered from the delivery (and tried to master breast feeding at all hours of the night). Myself, I found that my three biggest hobbies (guitar playing, wood working, and reading) largely fell by the wayside for the first 9 months or so after my daughter was born-- I was too tired out from getting up in the middle of the night. As she got older that stopped, but managing to keep up with basic housework meant all free time not spent playing with her (i.e. after bedtime) was shot. On weekend, I feel torn between wanting to play with her and feeling like I *have* to play with her to give my wife a break...we both work demanding jobs that sometimes keep us out evenings or weekends.
So, for me it's meant that I do a lot more reading about woodworking late at night, and a lot less woodworking. Once the kids are in school and/or old enough to entertain themselves for longer periods on weekends, I'll probably have more time in the shop. For now, it's rare that I can get an hour in every couple of weeks to complete some small project. But I don't care that much-- playing with my daugher is more fun, and while I can always make sawdust later in life she will only be three for a few more months.
So keep up the noise, but keep your wife in mind too...being a good dad often means skipping what you want to do and doing what your wife or kids need you to do. Time for yourself comes last for the next few years, which takes getting used to, but it's certainly worth the investment in your family.
Mon, Dec 13, 2004, 9:29pm snipped-for-privacy@nfoe.com (Wally) needs to know: or you managed to get a few things done between the kid's naps? The neander way late at night kept your skills sharp until you can fire up the power tools again?
What you absolutely do NOT want to do is walk around saying, "Shhh, they baby's taking a nap". You do that, then the least little noise is gonna wake the kid up. Believe me. Don't fire the saw up next to the kid's ear while he's sleeping, but don't worry about making normal noises either.
We did the Shhh stuff with the first kid. The second one, we were in the midst of putting the interior in the home place. Lay the kid down on a blanked, then start hammering. Believe me, the kid had no problems at all sleeping.
If you're planning on making a cradle for the kid, I wouldn't. Make a rocking chair instead. The kid outgrows the cradle, it takes up room. Sit in a rocker, rock the kid until he/she goes to sleep, then you can put 'em down anywhere and they'll sleep, then sit back down in the rocker, and rest. And, you'll be able to keep using the rocker, for years and years.
JOAT We cannot direct the wind, but we can adjust the sails.
Don't even think about stopping work. There are dozens projects that are overdue right now. Shelves, toyboxs, dollhouses, treehouses. Why are you wasting time? A daddy who can "make stuff" a rare thing. You children will have the envy of every other kid on the street. Roger Poplin dba snipped-for-privacy@aol.com
The best thing isn't the envy of the other kids on the block. The best thing is teaching everything you know to the kids. Thirty years ago my teenage sons and I were in a little sheet metal lawn building at Fort Lewis, WA learning to make things with a screw cutting lathe. You'd be surprised how good a sleepers they get to be with a little exposure to shop noise. Keep it up.
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