That's over the top. I don't know anyone who keeps that much random stuff. An old diaper? The jar from her first baby food? All her clothes? That's weird.

I have a ton of pictures, I kept one of their birth announcements and an invitation from their first birthday. . I also have kept a few outfits from each baby to pass on to the grandkids if they have boys. They are nice expensive picture clothes that I think it would be cute to have matching pictures of daddy and son in the same outfit. But the bulk of the out grown clothes has been passed along to other people.

Dh and I together have been raising ss8 since he was 2. Over the years Ive kept his favorite books, some of his clothes. Dh kept his baby blankets. We have made many scrapbooks and picture albums. I don't think it's strange. Before dh got custody, I found him (after a couple beers) sitting on the bed crying and holding ss baby blanket. I didn't think it was strange then either. It made me realize that he was a good father who felt powerless and missed his child deeply.

I really don't think you should worry about this. Some people save lots of things. It makes him happy to have them.

My FDH won't get rid of his daugther's doll house. We have to lug this thing with us every time we move. It irritated me at first but then I realized that it's just something that makes him happy to remember when his girls were little. Why should I care? He doesn't care what I keep.

I think it is sweet.

I have a bag of favorite baby clothes BS wore. I kept a lot of stuff. I even have his crib bedding packed away. I lost a child and a husband and have no problem with someone wanting to hold on to memories. My intention is to have those for my grandchild in my house.

Is this the SD who who was mean to you? If that were the case, I could understand how you feel. If I had a mean SD who treated me poorly, I would feel like DH is being over the top. If this SD was ultimately a good person, I think I'd be a little more understanding.

I think saving all the stuff is not in itself weird but I think the crying and carrying on is a little over the top, but that's just my personality. Some men are extremely emotional about things, so I have to remind myself to be more sensitive. My mom isn't like this at all with my stuff, so I don't think my opinions on this have anything to do with not having kids. There are plenty of people without kids who wouldn't agree with me and would be more sympathetic with your DH.

I would also have a problem if my SO showed such strong emotions about his kids' diapers but then showed little emotion or affection towards me.

I have a Rubbermaid tub of my son's things from when he was a baby... and it would be a cold day in hell before ANYONE would/could tell what I can or cannot keep from when he was a baby. There would be a serious conversation if that ever took place.

Why would this bother you?

Porcelain, to me this is bigger than someone who saves a bunch of their kids stuff. Again I don't see a huge problem with that. What I woud be concerned about is if my man had an unhealthy attachment to his kids. I know I've read about this problem all over this site. And I used to date a guy who had this kind of attachment to his kids. His kids were constantly being infantalized, and he encouraged his kids to be childish and overly dependent on him. And he used his weird attachment to his hellions to constantly point out that I wasn't as important to him.

I'm with you, something about your DH's behavior bugs me. Maybe your gut is telling you something, and I wouldn't necessarily ignore it. You know your DH better than anyone on this site.

I save a lot of stuff. Each one of my girls has their own box. I saved their hospital bracelets, first hair cuts, cute baby outfits, decorations from their 1st birthday and the cards, ... and much more! I want them to be able to grow up and have it to show their kids!

I've had to clean out several homes in the past few years. My own, my parents, aunts, uncles, parents of friends, etc. So much of the "stuff" that has been saved just gets tossed in the trash. The kids end up not being sentimental and they don't want it.

I try to do better now about keeping stuff stored in a box that someone will have to toss when I'm gone.

I'm not saying to not save anything. I have my dogs' ashes which I am sure will get tossed.

I have a story to relate to this that may or may not shed some perspective on this.

I have milk crates. About 4 of them. They are old, ugly but very sturdy. I found them when I was kid exploring the vacant lot behind some abandoned buildings. I picked them up, cleaned them and put them in my room.

EVERY SINGLE WOMAN IN MY LIFE has tried to toss them or tried to convince me to toss them. My mother tried to toss them, my grandmother tried to toss them; my aunts, my ex-girlfriends, my ex-wife and DW. What is it with milk crates being anathema to women I do not know, but every women I know wants me to get rid of them. The men in my life don't have this problem. Heck I donated one to my brother and my Dad when they asked for it.

But ladies? "No, no, no Draco! Milk crates icky! They gotta go!" I've refused. I do not hold any sentimental value to them but these milk crates are extremely sturdy and they don't make them like these anymore (I know this because I've checked). These things are ugly, yes but they have provided me a variety of uses over the years including safely capturing a wayward bat that somehow found its way into the house one evening and releasing it into the wild . *THIS* despite the fact that I had one arm in a cast at the time! If it weren't for those milk crates I don't know what I would have done. So yeah, I do place a certain value on those milk crates that I and only I understand.

Yeah, i think its a little weird. I have, of couse, saved some things of my kids. Mostly pics, school pics, things like that-I have my dd's christneing gown and that's it for clothes. No empty jars, diapers, or anything of that sort. I occassionally look through these things-dont ever cry about it though.

That's what would get to me. If I saw dh crying over a box of memorabiilia of ss15's. I also am not particularly sentimental so it would be weird to me. As it was I got a bit peeved at my dd15's 6th grade graduation. They did a slide show over all the years of the students in the class, doing field trips, etc and my ss15 was in some of them since he had attended that school k-4th. Dh DID tear up and that bothered me a little as we were there that day to celebrate DD and I knew he wasnt tearing up over her pics.

for those saying it's a bit over the top. he is not the only one. i have clothes from when *I* was born, that i passed down and had dd wear, in addition to some toys i played with, a rocking chair i had. a few blankets etc. yes my dh is annoyed i have 2 tote boxes of sentimentals and 2 of scrapbook stuff i've WANTED to put together.

hell i have about 5 dolls my grandma made me growing up and one she gave me just before she lost her noggin, and i'll be damned if ANYONE makes me get rid of them. 2 are on display (she just died a year ago, and the rest are in boxes used for christmas decors, they are christmas material)

my mom did the same for my brother.

i also JUST got rid of SOME dd's baby clothes (she's 10) because i've been holding on to them for round 2. but 2 failed pregnancies and 10 years later-it's time to let go and hope and rebuy if i ever get that chance again :?