Having a baby has really hurt my hobby love

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thecampbell

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Man, I've loved collecting for the past two decades and then some, but I had a baby within the last year and I'm finding it so hard to find the drive to collect anything, let alone post and update my checklists and scan cards and dig for the right deals. I didn't even go to the spring expo, which is the first one I've entirely missed since 2005.

Is this common for a lot of people? Should I get rid of my kid? haha, not happening.
 
I just had a daughter a month ago. My love for the hobby has not dwindle yet! The only thing that has really changed is that I have tried to sell my lower end stuff to fund buying more of my current wants.

It does help that I have an office job so I can do a lot of my hobby stuff when I take breaks. When I go home, it's pretty much family focused : )
 
My little guy arrived in December... definitely he's changed my whole schedule and how I can spend my time. While I still love the collections that I work on, my spare time to scan and organize cards in my basement is virtually nil. Gotta say I'm thankful for the UD monopoly and the Sedins being in the twilight of their career, I'm just able to keep up picking up their new cards - 5 years ago with the Panini parallel madness and the Sedins at their peak, man I could not have managed with a baby :)

Interestingly I've found ePack to be a lot of fun for a new dad who's constantly holding the baby in one arm - I spent almost all my sleepless nights in December / January lying awake for hours on the sofa under the peaceful glow of the Christmas Tree lights making Compendium Series 1 trades to put together the full Canucks team set rainbow.
 
I've definitely spent some time opening epacks. It's helped not getting a bunch of unwanted base. I also wish I had a job where I could take breaks.

I'm slowly trying to get back slowly, but I find myself spending every moment I have with my little girl. Not a bad thing to be doing. Playing guitar and golfing has also been put on the back burner.
 
New baby this past December for me.

I busted next to zero wax this past year (none that was 16-17) and sold off a big chunk of my collection last fall (raising some cash to deal with house / moving expenses was part of it... taking up less space was another part... not wanting to spend as much money going forward the 3rd part).

I've stayed active on forums, and have enjoyed ePack (I can do this stuff from my phone or computer for a few minutes here or there, it's easy during the day, evening, whatever). I'm still buying cards for my various collections, but my want lists are getting smaller and smaller - and I'm not missing hunting down cards for a new set (or two) each year.
 
Not sure I am a fan of the title. It's more of priority has shifted. The hobby could turn left at hell and stay there but my kids are my life.
 
My daughter just turned 3 and my hobby commitment has not been swayed one way or the other because of her. I would say that other factors have caused me to not be as involved as I once was.
 
Congrats on the baby. I've got three kids and can still spend time on my collection, not as much as I could, but I do find time. My kids are a little older 12b, 10b, 5g, but have found ways to have the kids join in the hobby. My wife doesn't mind the collection either as long as I'm not spending tons of money on it, and it's not all over the house, LOL she's supportive. All three of my kids have been to Expo's, my daughter's first was when she was 6 weeks old although just my boys have gone to the last couple. Your habbits will change and so will your focus, do what makes you happy, having a baby can be overwhelming at the start, things will start to level out.
 
99goals said:
Not sure I am a fan of the title. It's more of priority has shifted. The hobby could turn left at hell and stay there but my kids are my life.
Click to expand...

My thoughts exactly. Before my kids, I could spend as much time and money on cardsd as I wanted to. Now, I have kids that bring me more joy than a piece of overpriced cardboard ever could.

The fact that the companies are ruining the hobby also plays a hand, but thank God for my kids. They have given me a purpose I never thought I would ever have.
 
I went through this exact same thing. Stopped for a year and this year started again. The only thing I can say is that excitement you had for the arrival of a bubble shifts. Your excitement is your kid,period. I still don't look at collecting the same, only a way to connect with many great members here on HI. I get the odd piece but find myself thinking" I don't want my kid in this".......thank you NHL,NHLPA and associated license manufactures of hockey cardboard( another topic sorry).

This is just my recent hobby activity but let your situation unfold. You might find yourself back in the game but don't be disappointed if it's not like it was before the baby.Still enjoy the little things the hobby can provide and above all......enjoy fatherhood
 
99goals said:
Not sure I am a fan of the title. It's more of priority has shifted. The hobby could turn left at hell and stay there but my kids are my life.
Click to expand...
Gotta say I agree with this 100%. I understand for sure that priorities do change, but you can have fun with the hobby, even if you downsize and enjoy your kids. I have only one son, but my whole collection could burn and it wouldn't matter compared to having him. (And that has happened by the way - lost everything, including my entire collection in a fire more than three years ago) But what I've also found even though my son is very young, I have tried to get him interested in cards - in the hobby and have bought him cards and started a little collection for him. That also has made the hobby more fun for me too. I still collect what interests me, but I also find it adds to my passion for the hobby when I am buying stuff for him. I hope collecting will be a way of bonding for us throughout the years.
 
I'm gonna echo sedinfan. I have a couple thousand cards that I just can't find the time to scan. When I do get a few minutes it's the last thing on my mind. I always tell myself "I'll do it after the kids go to bed" but it just never happens.
 
99goals said:
Not sure I am a fan of the title. It's more of priority has shifted. The hobby could turn left at hell and stay there but my kids are my life.
Click to expand...

1 million percent agree with this statement. Having a kid (I have 2 and one on the way) or getting married as well, puts things into real perspective. Where after my first kid, I was still enthusiastic about collecting and trying to get my hands on everything. But before the second kid arrived, I was way more selective and overall content with not getting everything for my collections. But family is far more important than something to do to pass the time which in a sense is collecting. Congrats on the kid and hopefully you'll find a perfect medium for you as your family grows.
 
Marriage and my daughter effectively removed me from the hobby, at least over the last 3 years. Family is always going to be my number 1 priority, but what the hobby has evolved into over the past couple years (essentially a lottery) made my decision that much easier.

Enjoy your time with your children. Once they're grown up they'll be grown up for good. You can always re-enter the hobby later on your terms.
 
Awesome replies everyone. I can never be pulled away from the hobby (my wallet sighs), but I've definitely had the same mentality as nybravest in that I'll scan the cards when she goes to bed. Then she does and I relax on the couch and start to read (my absolute most favourite pastime), then later never comes. Damn priorities shifting.

I just hope she's into the hobby a bit when she gets older cause she's going to inherit quite a few cards before I move on.
 
Not sure how old you are but as a 45 year old I recommend doing what makes you happy. My son is now 16, I slowed down collecting over the first 2-3 years after he was born. Between all the extra baby time, lack of sleep and extra cost a baby brings I decided to ease back on collecting.

After those first few years I got more me time back and the expense wasn't as bad as there was no diapers or formula plus my wife went back to work, maternity pay sucks. I still love family time but the hobby is still a huge part of my life and gives me something to do that I love. It's not for my son, wife or anyone else it's for me. It gives me such joy and still connects me to hockey and my childhood in ways nothing else besides YouTube can lol. So my advice is if you need a break take it but don't close the door on the hobby.
 
We had our first child 3 years ago and that really cut into the free time; but with our 2nd last August I finally got out of the hobby. I liquidated everything that I had since I knew if I pieced things out I would slowly get back into it. In addition to the lack of time, I couldn't justify spending what I was on cards when I could spend it on family trips and RESP accounts. I still check forums and ebay from time to time just to see what's new in the hobby world but to be honest the itch to get back in hasn't hit.
 

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