u/me_scream

New dad here, just brought our son home from the NICU a few days ago and he’s doing great. His pediatrician is not worried at all (yay!).

Long story short: my wife was told after we had our son that we can’t have any more kids. She was a high risk and this really took a toll on her health. So we most likely will be one and done with just our boy. I’m fine with it. My wife wanted more kids so its a bummer for her but I think she’s made SOME peace with it.

My question is what is your advice for raising and only child? Me and my wife both grew up with siblings and we felt like there were lots of benefits to that, But I worry about our son not having siblings.

We have lots of family in town, lots of friends with babies. We’re the first in both our families to have a baby but my sister and her husband are probably gonna start trying soon.

I know some adults who were only children who are super well adjusted… but I also know some adults who still act like “only children” if you get my drift lol.

Any dads with only one kid or any only children all grown up who have some advice? I’m all ears!

P.S. I’m sorry if this offends anyone, not at all my intention but let me know if I could have worded anything differently.

this is NOT a slight on CrossFit. I did CrossFit for a little over 2 years and I’m so thankful for my time there. i got stronger than I ever thought I could get, got into great shape, and made some amazing friends/memories.

For me personally, I’ve always been a lanky, skinny tall guy. So i dont exactly have the best build for CrossFit or building muscle in general. I’ve always struggled with heavy lifting and Rx’ing weight in WODs was a rarity. I’ve always loved running. Murph was always my favorite workout. So I’m switching to purely long distance running (and some strength training to try and preserve SOME muscle lol). I was always the only guy who ever looked forward to run days lol.

After some huge life changes the cost of the membership and constant lower back pain isn’t seeming worth it anymore. It’s nice to do workouts that are 100% free and do them on my own time.

BACKSTORY: I’ve always been a skinny, lanky, tall guy.

I got into weightlifting and CrossFit and I’ve been at it for about 4 years. I’ve built a bit of muscle and strength, but I’ve always struggled to put on serious muscle and strength.

So I’m all done. Ive always loved running, in 2024 I ran a sub 3 hour marathon with no training, running 10 miles just as a normal thing isn’t a big deal to me. Even in the CrossFit gym I was “famous” for being a cardio bunny and being fast. I was always one of the only people excited for run days. I want to run a marathon someday.

I hate lifting. always have. And aesthetically I’ve come to love my skinnier body type and dont care about size anymore. I like being light on my feet and fitting in my clothes and Frankly I’m sick of the constant gym bro “GOTTA GET BIIIIIIIIIG OR YOU’RE NOTHING” mentality. So over it.

Not to mention, running is so good for my mental health. CrossFit and bodybuilding can’t come close to how running makes me feel.

That being said, I don’t want to stop strength training. I love doing things like pushups, pull ups, and bodyweight squats, etc. I just don’t want to prioritize it anymore. But I’d like to somewhat preserve my physique and strength even if it shrinks.

Do any of you do strength training? How do you go about it? let’s discuss!