Does A Baby Make Me Happy?

I've written a lot about the costs, stress increases, etc. associated with having a baby. I haven't really written much about the positives. I don't know how to do that well, but I attempt it here. How does a baby affect your happiness?

How Does The Baby Affect Stress?

Having a baby changes your life. Everyone knows this. What I haven't really seen though is a really accurate picture of how it affects your stress level. I probably can't provide that picture either for many reasons, but here is my attempt at capturing some obvious and some non-obvious ways that a baby affects our stress levels.

Babyproofing A Tile Floor

I was really stressed about having a baby in a house with all tile floors. In this post I walk through how we babyproofed and how successful it was.

Feet And Leg Swelling During Pregnancy

The baby had a huge effect on my wife's feet and legs during her pregnancy. How bad was it, how did we reduce the swelling (also called edema), and how is she now?

How Has Having A Baby Affected My Video Game Playing And Hobbies In General? - 21 Month Update

Is it possible to maintain a video game habit with a full-time job, a baby, and other hobbies? This is my post looking back on this after 21 months of life with a baby.

How Does The Baby Affect Going To Restaurants? - 11 Month Update

How do our restaurant habits look roughly a year after having a baby?

How Does The Baby Affect Where You Live?

Another impact I hadn't fully thought through before having a baby is what effects that would have on where I live...

How Did The Baby Affect His Parents' Weights? - 9 Month Update

What effect has the baby had on our weights after 9 months?

Six Things A Mother Learned In Six Months With A Baby

What are the mother's biggest takeaways from the first six months?

Seven Things I Learned In Six Months With A Baby

 What are the father's biggest takeaways from the first six months?

How Does The Baby Affect Going To Restaurants? - Four Month Update

Is it impossible to go restaurants with a baby?

How Does The Baby Affect Death Anxiety?

Does the baby have any effect on my fear of death (or thanatophobia if you want the cool word for it)?

How Does The Baby Affect Our Daily Schedules?

How does the baby affect our daily routines?

Breaking Down the Costs of Childbirth

It's often very difficult to figure out how much things cost in the US healthcare system. We broke down all of the hospital bills from the baby's birth in an attempt to shed some light on it.

How Does the Baby Affect Housework? - 12 Week Update

Does having a baby mean you do ridiculous amounts of laundry?

How Does the Baby Affect Going to the Movies? *No Star Wars Spoilers*

Going to the movies with an infant seems like a terrible idea, but Star Wars is in theaters so...

How Has the Baby Affected My Video Game Habits - 8 Week Update

Is it possible to maintain a video game hobby with an infant?

How Stressful was Child Birth?

Child birth is obviously painful for the mother, but things end up well right? Can something so routine really be stressful?