Looking for advice from parents: Gaming with baby

[Mapleaxe]

Currently my wife and I game in a small group, just us and another married couple. we get together about twice a month, alternating between houses because we live about 90 miles apart ftrom each other. We're all friends and have fairly compatible play styles so, we're pretty comfortable with this arrangement.

My wife and I are expecting our first child in a couple months and are not sure how to best manage baby and gaming. I'm a bit concerned because a previous gaming group that we were in ran into problems when a couple in the group had a baby, though the size (smaller) and style (pretty laid back) of our current group may be able to work around it better.

Parents out there, particularly those in gaming households, how have you you dealt with managing baby and gaming?

 

[Reynard]

A baby isn't the problem. In a crib, sleeping in a carrier, or hanging out in the porta-crib are all easy compared to the dice swallowing, paper tearing, mini-sling power of a 2 year old.

 

[Thornir Alekeg]

Yep, they are fine when they are really little. We brought our kids to the games when they were about a year old. We had a sling that we would hold them in, or we would put them into a pack&play for naps. It is when they got older that it became more of an issue. My daughter got quite bored with us adults sitting around playing and not paying much attention to her.

Now, game days are usually accompanied by visits to grandma and grandpa's house. They watch the kids for the afternoon. Of course we don't play very frequently. If we played twice a month we would not be able to impose on my parents that much.

Also, one player, the most distant of us unfortunately - at least 90 minutes from everyone else, has a daughter about the same age as mine. If we play at his house, the kids play together and the layout of the house is good so that we can keep an eye on them playing while we play.

 

[DM_Jeff]

Baby

Our game group has plenty of experience with this. A new baby in a swing or crib is fine, in a nearby room. The next piece of advice is switch off week to week who will attend to the baby once any crying begins. That person may miss small tidbits at the table and have to catch up, but it is totally better than parents who decide to play a power struggle with each other: "let's ignore the baby until it makes the other so mad they have to go deal with it"...which is sick but we've seen it happen.

-DM Jeff

 

[fredramsey]

My group has a baby as well. In fact, he has influenced the outcome of dice rolls, while still in the womb. It seemed rubbing the dice on the mother's belly made the rolls come out better (only dad and mom did this )

The only "problem" now is the occasional crying fit (how can something that small make that much noise?). So the mom and dad are cool with the fact that we either take a 5 minute break, or that one of them are "out of the picture" as we continue.

It's taken some getting used to, but we've adapted.

 

[IronWolf]

Newborns are pretty easy looking back in it. But if it is your first baby you probably won't realize this until they are a little older. Then you think back to how much easier it was when you could put them on a blanket in the floor and they really didn't go anywhere. They also sleep a lot and don't really care if they are sleeping in a crib, car seat or swing.

You probably won't have much trouble gaming with a newborn. Follow some of the other suggestions here (determining who visits the screaming child before he or she is actually screaming, etc.).

 

[d20Dwarf]

A baby isn't the problem. In a crib, sleeping in a carrier, or hanging out in the porta-crib are all easy compared to the dice swallowing, paper tearing, mini-sling power of a 2 year old.

We had to quit our game because of just such a force. The 2, 5, and 8 year old were all too much to handle.

 

[der_kluge]

Kids can add a definite wrinkle into the mix. I think the problem is compounded when couples both play. I've been fortunate (?) in that my wife does *not* game, so she can stay home and watch the kid while I go game. We're expecting our second in November, so hopefully she supports me in this pattern.

I think if you time the guys to coincide around naptime, or bedtime, you should be ok. Our current group games on Friday nights starting at 8:00, so that seems to work out fairly well. Admittedly, you're going to have more problems down the line when the kids get older. But you shouldn't notice much of a change in gaming for the first year or so.

But, your life is going to be totally different, I can tell you that!

 

[cmanos]

I have a friend who used to play Warhammer with a guy who's wife walked out on him leaving him with the 6 month old. He's bring her to gaming, with a cradle and would rock her while he played. No one minded at all.

 

[jtone]

I would say that a lot depends on the baby. When our eldest was a baby, he was more than content to just lie there. Our daughter demanded lots of attention - right now! Our youngest loves to grab stuff, so he couldn't be near the gaming table but was fine otherwise.

I've found that gaming around them gets easier as they get older, provided that they have something to do. There are seven kids ages 2-10 roaring around when we game so there tend to be a lot of interruptions. Our group is quite tolerant of these interruptions, but they would probably drive someone without kids nuts.