New Baby & Gaming

[Templetroll]

Congratulations! New babies barely cut into gaming time at all; think of all the plotting opportunities that you'll have during 3am wake ups. While kids are in the squalling tube stage, gaming is still pretty easy. It's only when they top 2 years old that things become trickier.

Right, once they become independently mobile they are no longer under your control! Our daughter was in the same room we gamed in and would sleep. If we put her in a quiet bedroom, she would wake up!

 

[Cam Banks]

I wrote a great deal of the Bestiary of Krynn with my first son in my lap at three in the morning. I've not had quite as much luck with my second son, who is now 10 months old, but I think it's entirely possible even to maintain an existence as a freelancer after welcoming a new baby into the family, to say nothing of enjoying a regular campaign.

Cheers,
Cam

 

[hong]

Congratulations! New babies barely cut into gaming time at all; think of all the plotting opportunities that you'll have during 3am wake ups. While kids are in the squalling tube stage, gaming is still pretty easy.

"RPGs is a series of squalling tubes" -- Piratecat (paraphrased)

 

[Remus Lupin]

When our first was born, we weren't living in a place where I could game easily, so it wasn't an issue. After the second, I don't think I missed more than a couple of sessions. Fortunately, my group is just a few blocks away, and my wife was very understanding.

 

[Gwaihir]

Babies (theyre now 2 & 4) changed my gaming life drastically: I only can play once per month. Life is just too busy to play weekly.

 

[Qualidar]

A month ago 2 of my players had babies within a week of each other. We played for the first time last week, so not too much down-time. I'm the DM, though, and we play at one of their houses, which makes it easier for him. Hopefully we can maintain that through the next baby-wave; we have three more due in the next couple of months.

In other news, congratulations Rebelais!

~Qualidar~

 

[Morrow]

We took off a few months after our son was born. Now he's nine months old. These days we mostly play on Friday nights after he has gone to bed. We do have the occasional weekend afternoon game. That just requires us to take turns gaming and playing with the baby, or gaming and feeding the baby. He's a good sport about it and we've become pretty good at multitasking. DMing and playing with the baby is still pretty difficult, though.

Morrow

 

[TarionzCousin]

One of the players in my game joked that it would be the last time they would see me behind the screen.

The single-most important thing is this: when you do finally return to behind the screen, you give out some high-quality phat lewt to your players. They need to be enticed back to the table and convinced that you are ready to adequately reward them for all the "I'm not quite dead yet" damage you've inflicted on them in recent months.

P.S. Congrats!

 

[Mark Hope]

Well, congratulations of course And I'll echo those who have said that it depends on you, your better half and your respective schedules. It also depends on the wee one, as no two are alike.

After the birth of my first child, I only gamed about four times during the first two years of her life, following which things got back to normal. That said, I didn't want to game during that time - I just wanted to be with my little girl. My son was born last year and he is now just over three months old. I haven't gamed at all since about a month before his birth (apart from an Xmas one-off). This time around, though, things are a little different and I am about ready to start gaming again in the next week or so. Unlike with my first child, I am now the primary carer and spend all day with my boy, so I don't feel the need to dedicate every spare evening to being with him (when my daughter was born, I was working full-time in a crazy demanding job and every minute outside the office was family time). So things change from child to child.

A simple (if somewhat trite) answer is that only you and your family can set the timing. You'll know when it's the time, just as you'll know when it's too soon (and if you don't, your other half will doubtless let you know...)

 

[Kapture]

Since Poppy was three

Her movie night has been Sunday, which coincides with the game I run (my wife plays). We start at 7, her movie stops at 8, we put her to bed and game until 10 or 11.

We probably could have done the same right from the first year, when we adopted her. However I wasn't running and we moved the next year and didn't have a group at all for another year.

We missed the first year, with sometimes rough sleep schedules and feeding schedules. I wouldn't have tried it then, but if you're not a two gamer family that wouldn't be a problem unless your group is really loud. Less of a problem if you go out to game.

It's one of the very few times we use the TV as a baby sitter. We rationalize that it's healthy for her to see us socializing.