Thinking about canceling cable- need encouragement!

[dearmama22]

Honestly, I know that we would be better without cable. My husband and I would spend more quality time together instead of watching stupid tv shows. I would read more if I couldn't watch TV.

We're expecting our first baby any time and I don't want him to be around TV. I don't even want the temptation.. but even though I know this is best for us and my family, I don't want to.

I LIKE TV.

We wouldn't give up our TV- we would still have movies for 1-2x nights a week if wanted, but we wouldn't have cable. This would be so hard.. what would I do all day long during the day with a newborn while my husband is at work?

I think that's my biggest thing, I am going to be home alone with the newborn all by myself and I have no idea what I would do!

Just wanted to vent, get this out, and see if anyone has been in my shoes.

[foodmachine]

I read so many great books with my newborn in my lap. It was the best time of my life. I also just watched her. She is more interesting than any show. I also found MDC and got in touch with some old friend by e-mail. It's a great time for self-reflection and realization.
If you need more encouragement, save all the money you would spend on cable and take a vacation.
You can still watch films when babe sleeps.
Dump the cable! Free yourself!

[grapejuicemama]

We've been cable-free for a few years now, but we still have PBS/OPB, which we watch occasionally. PBS/OPB rocks. We also enjoy movies.

Honestly, after a little while of not having cable, we realized exactly how much we weren't missing. Now that we're sensitive to what is actually on t.v., we're quite shocked and disgusted if we go to a friends house and see what is on. And we're not mamsy-pamsy cave people. But really, the shows and commercials on t.v. just seem quite toxic. I'm sure I'm not saying anything new here, though.

My favorite thing is how my kids all of a sudden get some "Iwantitis" because they've seen these commercials for junk on t.v.

And I have to agree with pp, that some of the best time I had with my babies when they were young was sitting in my rocking chair, reading, while they were nursing or sleeping.

Good luck on your new adventure!

[Porcelain Interior]

We stopped our service almost 2 years ago. My DH is a TV addict so it was great that he was willing to cut the cord.

We do get a number of free channels with an antenna (so not TV free, TV light) and that works for us.

We have a couple of evening shows we watch and we peek at the weather in the AM.

I do read more. My kids play together more.

It's nice. I think the fact that you can get broadcast TV for free really says it all. If you want to pay for more that is ok, but you can get so much value when you utilize what you can get for nothing. (Well after you buy the converter box.)

Go for it! The worst that will happen is you go back.

It is a little bit of a shock, and it feels quiet and sort of lonely the first few days, but on the other hand your creativity returns and I got a lot of energy as well.

[dearmama22]

starting wednesday we're gonna be cable free and I'm actually excited!

[Arwyn]

Originally Posted by dearmama22

what would I do all day long during the day with a newborn while my husband is at work?

Read!
Nap!
Stare at the most beautiful creature in existence. :
Learn to NAK and post on MDC.
Did I mention read?

Originally Posted by dearmama22

starting wednesday we're gonna be cable free and I'm actually excited!

Yay! :

[suziek]

Why not just try it? The cable company will be all too happy to hook you up again if you change your mind.

[Owen'nZoe]

I'd been trying to convince my DH to get rid of it for years, and finally succeeded in December - a happy side-effect of a (thankfully brief) layoff. He still complains, but I didn't miss it after a couple weeks. And I move the $50 each month that we would have spent on cable into our savings account every month, so we can watch the savings add up.

We've never been huge TV watchers, though. It just happens the shows we do like to watch are all on cable. We've just switched to watching those shows on hulu or netflix...so really, our TV viewing hasn't gone down in our case.

[AlwaysByMySide]

Keep in mind that you can watch pretty much any TV show online now, for free.

Cable wouldn't work for me unless it came with a DVR, because I'm never home at the right time for anything. Adding the DVR just makes everything too expensive for my budget.

You can also check out audio books from the library if you want to "read" while nursing and don't want to have to balance a book. (It's the only way I CAN read anymore!)

[suziek]

You asked for encouragement, so here it is:

My husband is a workaholic who travels constantly for his job. We have 4 kids and lots of projects and time-consuming things going on. However, my DH and I talk a lot and I think we do have enough time fore each other. Mainly this is because we don't have a television luring us away from each other. Every evening that he is home we are in conversation, even if we are both working on our own things. If we aren't too busy, we light candles, make something delicious to snack on and talk for hours. So if you are thinking that your marriage will be enriched if you cancel your cable, I would say I'd bet it would.

Many first-time mothers with newborns complain that they no longer have time for themselves. While I can't say I didn't feel this at all, I do think I did find times in the seams--when the babies were napping, or contented in a bouncy seat or looking out the window, or nursing--when I could pursue things that were of interest to me. Because I wasn't always filling those moments with the tv, I think I was more enriched as a new mother than I might have been.

Finally, I think that the less tv we watch the less money we spend, the less we compare our selves to others and the more energy we have.

Having said all this, I'll confess that I do watch dvds on my computer when I am on my stationary bike. I would go batty on that thing if I didn't. I get the dvds for free from the library and I tend to watch face-paced, moronic, and often violent tv series--Battlestar Galatica, 24, Alias, to name a few. ust mentioning this in the interest of full-disclosure.

Good luck with the decision, and with the new baby.

[Gorzong]

We dropped cable about 4 years ago and didn't miss it at all. I was previously and until recently a big TV addict. We just, within the last 2 months, went totally TV free.

Previously we've let DD watch cooking shows, which she loves, and some nature DVDs, but she never really liked those.

We're also trying to cut back on computer time for us and her. She doesn't really even use the computer, and we're (DW and me) are trying to cut back our time too. So far so good, I think it frees up a lot more time to do things around the house, and fosters more interaction among us.