Question for the Masses

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SDSUAlum08

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My wife and I just had our first child in June. He's been great so far. Very laid back and just started sleeping truth the night. We've been lucky. Anyways, we're considering bringing him with to a game this fall. What are your thoughts on bringing a 3-4 month old with? Any insight? Bad idea? Obviously we wouldn't bring him to a cold game or one with bad weather, etc.
 

Kent state, okay. BIG game, I wouldn't recommend. I am speaking so from experience with two little ones.
 

You never know how they'll react. I have one who would cover his ears and cry when he was little, and another one who loved the noise and the spectacle.
 

I did and I regretted it.
Noise bothered him, we were paying more attention to him than the game, had to feed him, changediaper, and its not like he remembered it or it impacted him in any way (except maybe made him fearful of loud noises for awhile - by far loudest thing he had experienced up to that point and was a bit of a sensory overload).

Understand the urge to do cool things with the boy and I did the same. That being said, he didn't go to another game until he was 3.
 




If it's just you and him don't do it unless it's a Kent St type game.
My recommendation then my experience:
Recommendation is bring the wife and if you can swing it the grandparents as well. Usually grandma is more focused on playing with the baby than the game and that takes the kiddo off your hands to watch the game.

Experience:
I took my 5 month old girl to the Penn St game 2 years ago. It was cold! She was very bundled up and mom had her in a carrier so that kept everyone warm. She was able to feed and change diapers in the First Aid stations. She was a little fussy but more or less slept the whole time.
Last year took same child to the opening game and she had fun running around with grandmas while papa and I watched the game.
This year taking our 4 month old son to TCU game and leaving 2 year old at grandmas house for the night. Planning on doing similar to the Penn St game but will be warmer and loud.

Speaking of loud and infants...anyone know where I can get some ear muffs for the little guy?

Don't do it unless you have great support around you. I am fortunate that my wife understands my love for the gophers and lets me act like I am still in school for these rare games when I get to come home.
 

My two boys have been to at least 1 game every year of their lives. That's a streak I don't intend on ending for a long time.

You only get 1 shot at that.
 




Ski U Master said:
Get a baby sitter.
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You can do better than that. Convince the wife that this is the perfect opportunity to get in some quality bonding time with the U's newest Gopher fan in the comfort of your home while you brave the elements with one of your drinking buddies.

Congrats on your new family member!
 

SDSUAlum08 said:
My wife and I just had our first child in June. He's been great so far. Very laid back and just started sleeping truth the night. We've been lucky. Anyways, we're considering bringing him with to a game this fall. What are your thoughts on bringing a 3-4 month old with? Any insight? Bad idea? Obviously we wouldn't bring him to a cold game or one with bad weather, etc.
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Babies are really portable. Under a year old, you can take them anywhere. You might have to change a diaper, well you know, there are changing stands in every rest room. My kid is four and has not missed a game since he was born. This is one of the things we do as a family.
 

Look at this thread and wonder why we have Wasburn McCreavy as the lead advertiser.
 

My parents took me to all the games when I was an infant (born in the summer). I turned out OK, and now I get to say I've been to all but a handful of games (can count the number of home games missed with my fingers) since I was born.
 



When my brother and I were infants our parents took us to lots of sports events. We slept through a lot of them. So it could work, but it really depends on the child. My brother and I are heavy sleepers even today so....
 

Warm day, Normal attendence, bring the kid. Cold day Standing room only attendance, no way. Our concourses are super under designed to hold a capacity crowd, I wouldn't want to try to crowd surf to a bathroom with an infant child at a game like the last home Wisconsin game.
 

We have tickets to three games this year (TCU, Ohio, Michigan) - our 6-month old is coming to the Ohio game, but sitting out the TCU and Michigan games due to the late kicks, staying at home with g'ma and g'pa babysitting. Don't have much concern taking her, just might have to watch some of the game from the concourse as we walk around with her, if she gets bored. Our seat neighbors shouldn't have to sit through a crying baby just because we brought her. Plan to have her in the ergo carrier to make it easier.
 


I would just try it out on a really cheap game, like Kent State (tickets were/are cheap on Living Social or StubHub). That way, if you do need to leave early it won't be as big of a deal. When my kids were younger I always brought them to those less important non-conference games so I wouldn't get upset if I had to leave at halftime or after the 3rd quarter.
 

I have an 8-year old and a two-week old. The 8-year old has been coming with to one game a year since she was 5. Prior to that I didn't think it was worth the hassle of trying to make her comfortable and giving her the proper attention she needed to get during a 3.5 hour game, plus all the time before/after.
 

I've got 4 kids ages 3 to 11 and I never brought them to a game as an infant. It just wasn't worth the hassle. I waited until they were around 5 to start bringing them.
 


Speaking as a selfish b'tard, I would not want to sit next to an infant at a game.

I can appreciate what people are saying about sharing the experience with their kids, but seriously, how much is the kid really going to remember. I think I was 9 when I attended my first big-time sporting event (a Twins game with my dad), and I was old enough to follow the game and appreciate the experience of being at a major-league ballpark. (and appreciate Frosty Malts - still the all-time best ballgame snack.)
 

If the kid is not being a problem, no skin off your nose, Ole. If the kid is being a distraction for others, by all means the parents should remove themselves and the child. Part of being a parent is learning that you do things differently. So, those who are saying do not bring the baby, you will miss some of the game are correct. You will miss part of the game. You also will miss some sleep, read fewer books, and possibly drive a mini van at some point.
 

short ornery norwegian said:
Speaking as a selfish b'tard, I would not want to sit next to an infant at a game. I can appreciate what people are saying about sharing the experience with their kids, but seriously, how much is the kid really going to remember. I think I was 9 when I attended my first big-time sporting event (a Twins game with my dad), and I was old enough to follow the game and appreciate the experience of being at a major-league ballpark. (and appreciate Frosty Malts - still the all-time best ballgame snack.)
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Sometimes it not about sharing the experience with someone who won't remember. Sometimes it's about mom being able to enjoy the game and tailgate and not having to worry about where she is gonna get rid of the milk building up in her boobs. With an infant they can only go about 4 hours before they are in pain.
It should be loud enough in the stadium to ensure a crying baby doesn't upset you. I am worried however about the crying baby while on offense though.
 

saintpaulguy said:
If the kid is not being a problem, no skin off your nose, Ole. If the kid is being a distraction for others, by all means the parents should remove themselves and the child. Part of being a parent is learning that you do things differently. So, those who are saying do not bring the baby, you will miss some of the game are correct. You will miss part of the game. You also will miss some sleep, read fewer books, and possibly drive a mini van at some point.
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That's why I also record the games I go to. Right now I am rewatching the Nebraska game from last year with my 2 year old and instead of trying to see the game, we are "looking for Goldy".
 

I've been bringing my three year old along slowly to live sporting events. Junior hockey and Minor league baseball to start.
 

I'll add my thoughts. We had a boy last April, so only a couple months older. But last year we brought him to all games but two - the first and last. Night games are too late to be worth it (he would get cranky like crazy at bedtime and a rough night at a stadium would throw him off) and the end of the year is too cold even when bundled up a ton, and that was with our last two games on the road. He was at the Iowa game and did okay but nose was running a decent amount. We had tested him out for noise at a Twins game in late May and he did pretty well.

That said, any other game he did fine. We take the bus/LRT to games so we have an Ergo baby carrier which worked great to strap him in when he needed a nap and I'd just go stand in the concourse behind the wheelchair accessible seats to watch the game. He wasn't really bothered by the noises (even the Myrick kickoff TD return where things got crazy loud). Two parents can easily handle one infant passing him back and forth and getting a bottle/etc out. Changing a kid doesn't take too long and if you play your cards right should only need to be done once during the game (people get up to go to the bathroom or grab food at times anyway, so just combine the trip down). If you sit in the upper deck, the concourse up there is another great place to go stand with the kid as well (though I'll admit in section 237 the concourse is covered and protected from wind a bit - not everywhere is like that).

Really, it boils down to if the kid can handle noise and crowds, and if you and the wife are fine being a bit uncomfortable in your seats and needing to take an eye off the game every now and then.

That said, we were happy to switch seats to ones on an aisle this year to make getting up to take our (notably more tantrum-prone) toddler down to the concourse this year.
 

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