Finding time to pwn with a baby on board

skiersteve12345 said:
this thread makes me hope that im a jaffa
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Awesome LOLOLOLOL nice post. Made me laugh out loud. :D

When mine were really young all I wanted to do was be involved with them. But as they grow up I am sure they will become gamers just like dad. My oldest is 20 and she isnt into PC or console games much (She likes stuff like Fable on Xbox etc...) but my lad who is 14 now really loves his PC and we game together, side by side in the attic room we had converted. Friday night is gaming night (You got to get a "Gaming Night" sorted and regular on your calendar) and its no holds barred gaming with a 2am cutoff (As long as homework is done and he has been good etc...).

Anyways that is a long time off for you, but you will find a way to get a few hours a week and that is when you will really appreciate your gaming time. It will drop right down to next to nothing compared to what it was, but you will learn to live with that and adjust.

It's what we have all been through and you wont be the last. Enjoy your kids early years they are magical....yes even better than VR LOL :p
 
I am in the same boat, my little one is 10 months old now.

She is in bed by 6:30 every night now and sleeps through most nights, so plenty of opportunity for gaming in the evening.
 
Though its a struggle to find suitable Co-op/two player PC games for a 8 year old!

I really really have had enough of Lego Marvel/Batman/LOTR/Harry ******/Star Wars/Jurassic world.....
 
I had a mate who managed to play wow every day and raid in a serious guild, of course hes girlfriend left him with the kid in the end.
 
My first is due at the end of March so I'm reading with interest. Not long now before I have to start working in the gaming time around her!
 
I will say that Skyrim saved me from going mad from lack of sleep/boredom just after our son was born, he was 5 weeks premature, and for the first month or so we had to feed him every 3 hours like clockwork to make sure he put on enough weight.

Unfortunately he'd stay awake for about an hour after feeding, no matter what the time was, until I figured out he'd go to sleep quite quickly watching me gaming; baby tucked up in my arms, laid back on the sofa, playing with a controller on the TV :p

I didn't get much sleep, but I levelled up quick! Can't say I miss the endless nights though...

Controller definitely makes it easier - you can have them asleep on you while you play laid down on the sofa - not really possible sat at a desk with a mouse & keyboard.

These days it's not so bad (he's just turned 4). We have a couple of nights a week where after he's gone to bed she watches all the rubbish on TV she's recorded on Sky, and I'll get a few hours gaming in :)
 
Made next to no difference to me. Our little one (near 7months old) goes to bed about 8/8:30 and then I'll jump on and game to my hearts content. Odd night I'll sit with the wife a while, but usual just use Saturday and Sunday nights as 'our' time, so my gaming ain't really affected!
 
chroniclard said:
Though its a struggle to find suitable Co-op/two player PC games for a 8 year old!

I really really have had enough of Lego Marvel/Batman/LOTR/Harry ******/Star Wars/Jurassic world.....
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I agree with that.

The problem is finding games which are not too violent.

When "I was a lad"TM games were not such "serious" business so anything was suitable for kids on the whole. Even the "violent" games were rather passive and not detailed.

Most of the games were coin-op inspired and they had a large demographic owing to those roots.

Does not help that nearly all "AAA" new releases are FPS.
 
Thekwango said:
Made next to no difference to me...my gaming ain't really affected!
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Glad it's not just me!

I sold off my GPU in September while waiting for our first. Time has flew by and even though time often seems tight I have still found time each day to do at least an hours gaming, even if I don't bother to. I think if your like me and don't watch any TV you'll certainly find a quiet hour in the sleepless, blissful never-ending nightmare of parenthood. :D

As mentioned above, controller games are easiest to fit in. Just make sure the baby and your partner are OK first. Don't feel guilty if your baby is content and enjoys watching you eviscerate foul beasts in Bloodborne. :rolleyes:
 
It does help I guess if your partner understands your hobby else I guess they may get jealous and the last thing you need is a jealous post natal woman raging around the house :)

Picking your "gaming" time in some relationships does become rather political from what i can gather.

Wife watches crap TV, I would rather game when the parental down time presents itself.
 
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Congrats mate!

I've got an 8 month old. I get less gaming time than I used to, but it's still okay. Baby goes to bed about 8ish, after that I spend a couple of hours with the lady then game for a couple of hours after that.
 
I have three kids and work from 7am until 3pm, home by 4pm, and still have plenty of time every evening for a little bit of gaming. My wife is understanding so all is well! :)
 
Mrs maun and me only just started getting a couple hours at night to play games, watch TV etc. Before then it was nearly impossible, but our lil one also been a rubbish sleeper.

She's 13 months old now. Congratz though!
 
Gimpymoo said:
Picking your "gaming" time in some relationships does become rather political from what i can gather.

Wife watches crap TV, I would rather game when the parental down time presents itself.
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Hehe, the trick is to make her feel like you're doing her a favour!

"It's ok honey, I guess I can find something to keep myself occupied if you want to watch 4 episodes of 'Big Brother's Not a Celebrity Talent, Get Me Out of The Xfactor Street' back to back...."

;)
 
chroniclard said:
Though its a struggle to find suitable Co-op/two player PC games for a 8 year old!

I really really have had enough of Lego Marvel/Batman/LOTR/Harry ******/Star Wars/Jurassic world.....
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No way - they're loads. Here's a couch co-op list for you:
http://pccouchcoop.com/

I don't do much gaming with my son (he's a bit young for a lot of it, at age 5.5), but when we do, we play Trine and Gauntlet, or Sonic racing. Or mess about in Just Cause 2 (but that's not co-op, of course).
 
Kids sleep a lot and so does my wife, so I've consistently managed a lot of late-night gaming (usually 10:30/11pm to about 12:30/1:00am). Obviously not during their first few months when the night feeds made me need my sleep too much, but otherwise this has worked out okay. It involves getting out of bed when my wife falls asleep since obviously we still want to go to bed together, but often she's not even any the wiser.

Oh, and of course there're the hours when the kids are asleep but my wife is watching TV that she knows I hate (Apprentice, Strictly, X Factor, The Voice, Celebrity, etc...) so a few more hours here and there when those programmes are on. I always like it when two of those are running concurrently - bonus game time! :D

Then there's the odd day of leave from work if I need a break and I often use that for game time. My main engagement with deep and longer games though comes over Christmas, when I am fortunate to get a few weeks off work every year, including time the kids are at school and my wife is working. Managed to get through both Witcher 3 and Fallout 4 this year over that time, which was pretty fun.

Plenty of gaming time, basically. Having said that, apart from Xmas and my birthday, when I allow myself to indulge in gaming binges, I only really get into games once every few months so I otherwise use this time for other hobbies or getting extra work done.

Haggisman said:
Hehe, the trick is to make her feel like you're doing her a favour!

"It's ok honey, I guess I can find something to keep myself occupied if you want to watch 4 episodes of 'Big Brother's Not a Celebrity Talent, Get Me Out of The Xfactor Street' back to back...."

;)
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:D Yes! My wife doesn't like watching these with me because she knows I dislike them so much and I am not the best at disguising my disdain for them. She actually banishes me from the lounge if I'm there and she wants to watch these programmes. :)
 
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