Hi and new here

[Christmasguy]

Hello

I am new to this forum, We have two beautiful daughters, Sara is almost 4 and Sonya is almost 1.  THe oldest one has taken to being a big sister, a little too well it you know what I mean.  The younger one is growing ever day.  She already has three teeth,  which we thought this was amazing because Sara did not have any teeth well beyond her first birthday.

Sonya is giving us some problems because she is done with pablem, she will not eat any of those baby cereals.  At present she is living on 4 bottles, a piece of toast, cheerios and what ever fruit and vegtables we can encourage her to eat  I wonder if this is enough or not.  Any other parents have trouble getting their young one too eat?  WHat did you do?

We have recently moved to a small town and also finding it hard to make connections with other people.  This is in some ways a rather churchy, lack of a better word, town each church has a congragation off 200+ and there are at least 15 churches in town.  We have been going to the same church for almost 3-4 months and people are starting to remember our faces and our names.  Niether my wife and I are that outgoing and finding it hard to make connections.  My wife and I feel that this move and opportunity to be here is from God and are trying to trust him in building those relationships. If you are from a big church, what did you do to get involved and what do you do now to help other new people

With the move is some ways my wife and I have switched roles, in other words she goes off to work and I get to stay home and look after our girls.  I thank God everyday for this opportunity because my father was an abusvie parent and my mom had to work 40+ hours a week to make ends meet therefore I was raised by everyone else but my parents.  And I/We did not want that to happen to our children.  But we also could not pass up this opportunity that God laid on our path.

So in a nut shell I am struggling with;

*being main caregiver to our girls when I did not have a good role model

*trying to establish a home in a new small town

*trying to be a part of a much bigger church than we desire, agian knowing that God picked this church for us.

Thankyou for letting me ramble on and taking the time to read it.  Any encourging thoughts that you may have would be helpful.

Bryan

 

 

[karla]

Bryan

Hello and welcome! As far as Sonya's eating. I wouldn't be too concerned with it. I have a daughter, Kaitlyn, that is 2 years old and a son, Dylan, that is 5 months. When my daughter first lost interest in baby food (around 10 months) I was terrified that she wasn't eating enough. She practically lived on crackers, cheerios, and bananas. I would continue to offer her foods that we were eating, it was her choice wether or not she ate them. If kids are hungry - they will let you know. It wasn't until about 6 months ago that Kaitlyn really started to eat meats. Now she eats practically anything.

I admire you for being a stay at home dad. I am a stay at home mom and it is a wonderful way to spend your time, but it can also be frustrating at times. I think that women have more of a support system then men do and it shouldn't be that way. It is a 24 hour a day 7 day a week job.
Trust in God and love your children as best as you can. Don't expect to be a "perfect parent" there is no such thing - at least not on this earth. You will get frustrated at times and do the wrong thing at times, but there are also those times when you think - YES! I am the greatest dad in the world. Remember that each day is a new dad and that we have the most unpredictable job in the world. You will do fine.
I too live in an area where I do not have any family. I would suggest getting involved in your church ( we are youth ministers in ours) It is a great way to get to know people and if you work with teens then, you also have someone that you may be able to trust to watch the kids for a few hours so you and your wife cna go to dinner or a movie. Also look into play groups for the girls - they will get a little socialization and you can meet some people too.

Hope I able to help a little and hope you visit the boards here often.

God Bless,
Karla

 

[Christmasguy]

Thanks Karla

For the reply!

I agree with the point that stay at home dads to not have the same level of support. I think that it is because as a generialization men seem to be those islands in the stream, but I am not one of those I realize that I can not do this on my own. Yes in Gods strength but not my own.

Thanks for telling me about your daughter, because my wife, Joy, has been telling me not to worry about it too, in fact she used the same example ony with our older daughter. I seem to have forgotten what Sara's eating habits were. Both you and Joy have reminded me. THanks again

We are slowly getting involved with the church but slowly is the operative word!

I have found one play group in the area, and it even has a stay at home dad in it as well. But he comes across as one of those Islands. I have only gone twice, and I am trying to get to know him and his kids. I have already been praying for him, so who knows.
Bryan

 

[slightlypuzzled]

sounds like you are doing all you can do, for now. Large churchs in Small towns can be hard if you are not really outgoing. Since they are in a small town, every tends to know most everyone else and is comfortable with them. But, I have found that a little persistance, tact, and prayer will go along way. It was a good suggestion to find something that you can get involved in at church. Keep looking for areas of service you like and go for it. Also, you might be able to find a small community involvement area that you like----it might help you to make contacts in the community at large.

 

[Jodi Sue]

I'm a stay at home mom of three-(a two year old girl and twin four month old boys) so I can relate to tough days. My daughter is still picky with what she eats, although I find oodles of noodles and spaghetti o's go down good. Mashed potatos and chicken cooked soft works well too. But remember nothing works better than KETCHUP!!! I think the girl would live on ketchup if allowed. We to go to a small pentacost church, sometimes you can count on one hand the number of people. I have suggested to my husband, that we look for a new shurch. He has told me the Lord has not told us to leave,yet. So we leave it in the Lord's hands. I wish you the best and my motto is "If today is bad, tomorrow has to be better!"

 

[Rondabear]

I love going to my small church. We have between 50 and 60 attenders. We try to make sure all the new people feel welcome. When we first moved into this area we went to this church a few times and after that we didnt even check any other churches out cause everyone was so friendly and cared about each other and not in a superficial way but like a family. I have also attended bigger churches tho and felt the same way. I would just pray about the church situation. I find getting involved in ministry areas of your church helps. Even if it is just being a sunday school teacher, usher or helping in other ways.