AN: It was hard to think of over 20 potential differences in opinion in parenting that Shaun would have come up with.

Summary: Shaun and Lea continue to discuss the possible 39 differences in parenting they might have after returning home from hanging out in Dr. Glassman's burned-down home. Set right after the end of "39 Differences".

It had been over a week since Dr. Glassman's house burned down. He had spent the last two days either isolating himself in his work or going through the rubble and digging up memories before realizing that he had a new growing family right there, awaiting new memories to be made with him.

Although Shaun and Lea said he could stay with them as long as he needed to, Dr. Glassman did not like the idea of staying in the two-bedroom apartment of an expectant couple and claimed he would at least try and find another place before the baby was born.

At 23 weeks, the Peanut was kicking and nudging at a point where Shaun could feel him and hear his heartbeat through a stethoscope. They had just returned from camping in the remains of Dr. Glassman's basement of memory lane, where Shaun and Dr. Glassman felt the kicks of Peanut, and were now settled in the comfort of their bed.

Even with the excitement of a baby on the way, a patient with bickering parents brought Shaun to think about all the 39 potential differences he and Lea could have when it came to raising Peanut.

So far, the only one they discussed and settled on was Number 39 - Peanut could not have any dairy except breastmilk or formula for the first six months of his life.

From that moment on during the drive until they got home, they had already discussed numbers 38, 37, 36, 35, 34, 33, 32, and 31.

Shaun believed they needed to start babyproofing as soon as possible (number 38), but Lea thought Peanut would be okay until he started crawling. He insisted that Peanut start doing his homework without their help once he is 12 (number 37), which Lea thought was reasonable. There were certain books, movies, and TV shows Shaun wasn't comfortable with Peanut viewing (number 36), something Lea said they could only decide on once they saw it for themselves. Shaun emphasized that they must include vegetables with every single meal (number 35), which Lea absolutely agreed to, especially in his pre-pubescent days. He said that if they would let him drink (under their supervision) under 21, he would need to be over 18 (number 34), but Lea said she was okay with 16. He also didn't like the idea of Peanut playing in the indoor play places at Chuck-E-Cheese or fast food places, especially ball pits (number 33), and Lea reminded him that the outdoor playgrounds weren't e. coli free either. Shaun was strictly anti-Chuck-E-Cheese for many reasons and said they would never take Peanut to one (number 32), but Lea said they would only let him go to one if he was invited to a birthday party. They agreed they would tell Peanut the truth and not come up with crazy lies (number 31) in certain situations, like him walking in on them having sex or talking about death.

"Number 30," continued Shaun, now in bed with Lea. "Junk food. Peanut should not have any junk food packed for lunch or eaten as a snack, but he can have some occasionally."

"Like a piece of cake at a birthday party?" Lea guessed.

"Yes," nodded Shaun.

"Easy peasy," agreed Lea, resting her hand on her belly. "Number 29?"

"Religious ceremonies," specified Shaun. "I'm not interested in having Peanut baptized after he is born."

"I thought we both agreed that we're raising him without religion?" Lea raised her eyebrow.

"Jordan asked if she was going to be his godmother, and your mother is insisting that he has a baptism," reminded Shaun. "Do you want to baptize him?"

"Not really," Lea shook her head, remembering that while Jordan had already kindly accepted that Peanut would have no godparents, she was still being assertive with her mother that their son does not need to be baptized. "My mom will get over it. She got over us having a non-Catholic wedding. What's next?"

"Number 28. Playground safety," continued Shaun. "Peanut cannot play independently on the park playground until he is four. I'm mostly talking about the monkey bars."

"Fair enough," sighed Lea. "We'll watch him closely, but we should try not to hover too much. What else?"

"Number 27. College. Whether or not he ends up going to college, we should still start a college fund for Peanut," decided Shaun. He should start at a community college, though.

"Done," agreed Lea. "But we should worry about saving for college right now, not deciding what he will do with his life."

"Okay," nodded Shaun. "Number 26. More dietary restrictions. If he decides to be a vegan, vegetarian, or pescetarian before he becomes an adult, his diet has to meet basic nutritional standards."

"And if he does decide to have a certain diet, whether because he wants to or because he converted to another religion, I think what we serve for dinner should be similar to what we cook," added Lea. "If he's a pescetarian, he can have fish spaghetti or marinara spaghetti if we have pasta."

"That's a good idea," approved Shaun before moving on to the next thing. "Number 25, corporal punishment will never be used. Not even spanking will be tolerated."

"Easy," Lea immediately concurred, wondering why Shaun would ever think she would be okay with spanking. "Next?"

"Number 24, immunizations. Peanut will get vaccinated and immunized on the pediatrician's recommended schedule and the schedule put out by the American Academy of Pediatrics," proposed Shaun. "They will not be spaced out."

"Hell yeah, of course, he is getting all his vaccines on time," scoffed Lea. "You think I'd be against getting Peanut vaccinated?"

"No, but you might change your mind," guessed Shaun.

"I would never change my mind on vaccines. Like you, I'm always pro-vax," she chuckled. "And we do need to start thinking about finding a pediatrician."

"Yes, we do," Shaun paused before moving on to the next thing. "Number 23, social media. You cannot post any pictures of our son on social media, and you can't talk about him on social media."

"I can live with that," nodded Lea, who had no plans to do that since she feared Shaun's mom finding out about Peanut someday. "Number 22?"

"Leashes," appointed Shaun. "We shouldn't use one on Peanut unless we really need to."

"As in?"

"If he runs off too much, but only when he is a toddler," proposed Shaun, who was unsure about his opinion on child leashes. "But we need to focus on holding his hand first. We can't treat him like a dog."

"True."

"Number 21, movies and TV. We should monitor what Peanut watches," submitted Shaun. "There are things we should not let him watch."

"He won't be old enough for TV for a year, so we'll talk about it when we get there," reminded Lea. "What else?"

"Number 20, extracurriculars. Peanut can only be enrolled in up to four extracurriculars per year. No more than four," asserted Shaun.

"Okay," settled Lea, not wanting to pay that much money in tuition for that many extracurriculars. They'll support Peanut's hobbies but only sign up for a few clubs and classes.

"Number 19, screen time and iPads," continued Shaun. "Peanut cannot have his own iPad, and if we ever let him play on one, he can't use one until he is at least two. We also need to limit screen time to two hours per day."

"Noted," decided Lea automatically, aware of the downsides of unlimited screen time for small children.

"Number 18, driving. We'll start teaching him to drive when he is 15, but Peanut will not be permitted to drive without a permit or a license," decided Shaun sternly, non-verbally reminding Lea about their first road trip."

"Fine," scoffed Lea, chuckling a little. "What else?"

"Formula, number 17," began Shaun. "Even though we're exclusively breastfeeding, we should have some formula in the pantry in case of emergency."

"I was wondering about that," agreed Lea, who was aware (as well as Shaun) that there was a chance she might have problems breastfeeding or producing milk. "Anything else we need to discuss about breastfeeding?"

"Yes, number 16. Extended breastfeeding," answered Shaun.

"Actually," Lea decided to throw in her two cents before allowing Shaun to give his opinion. "I want Peanut to be completely weaned from my boob by the time he is one. I don't care what you say, but it's my body, and I'm not breastfeeding Peanut when he has teeth."

"Okay, we can try that," accorded Shaun. "We'll need to start weaning him from a bottle at age one. Number 14 and 15, childcare. I think Peanut would benefit from being in daycare, and he should start as soon as we return to work. If that doesn't work, we could find a nanny when he is still on the waitlist. He needs socialization, and daycare is one of the easiest ways to make friends. The daycare must be licensed and highly rated, and the nanny has to be qualified, too."

"I can agree with that," said Lea. "Number 13?"

"Peanut won't eat solid foods until six weeks," confirmed Shaun.

"Easy peasy," agreed Lea, who had memorized some of the pediatric guidelines at this point. "Number 12?"

"Sleep," specified Shaun. "Peanut will sleep in our room until he is seven months old. After that, he will need to sleep in his room."

"We'll do that, even though that was already settled," giggled Lea. "Number 11?"

"There must be negative consequences for bad choices," established Shaun.

"Yes," agreed Lea. "We don't want to make him the spoiled student his teachers don't want to deal with. Number 10?"

"Cloth diapers and disposable diapers," began Shaun, reminding Lea of her insistence to at least try cloth diapers. "Cloth diapers may reduce landfill waste, but washing them uses more water and electricity. I also read that many daycares won't accommodate for cloth diapers."

"We'll need to discuss this another time," proposed Lea, who was still torn on which kind of diapers to use and hadn't reached a consensus with Shaun yet. "But, the good thing is that Peanut will only be in diapers for two and a half years."

"That is true," chortled Shaun, relieved that was something that would eventually pass. Park admitted that while he doesn't regret having Kellan and loves him to pieces, he doesn't miss changing his diapers.

"Number 9?"

"Number 9 and number 3, separate meals and eating strategies," continued Shaun. "Peanut doesn't have to eat everything on his plate, but he does need to eat what we eat."

"Easy peasy," agreed Lea once again. She and Shaun had negative relationships with certain foods because they were raised with the notion that they could not leave the table unless they ate everything on their plate. They won't force their children to eat but will control what is served for dinner. "Number 8?"

"Peanut cannot have more than six teaspoons of sugar a day," declared Shaun, adamant about limiting his child's sugar consumption. "But a cupcake or piece of cake at a birthday party is an exception."

"I do agree with less sugar," acquired Lea. "Number 7?"

"Potty training," clarified Shaun. "As soon as he starts showing the signs, we will start potty-training Peanut."

"I agree, but if we want him enrolled in Kindergarten, he will have to be potty-trained. Many preschools also require students to be potty-trained," reminded Lea.

"I know, which is why the maximum age we should start is age two," clarified Shaun, remembering that he was a late bloomer in being potty-trained, and probably wouldn't have been if he had parents and caregivers who understood him better and didn't shame him for accidents. He didn't want his son to enter Kindergarten in diapers, but he was aware of the possibility of maybe having a late bloomer. The best he and Lea could do was make it less difficult for the child.

"Number 6?"

"Pacifiers," clarified Shaun. "Peanut will need to be weaned from them by the time he is two."

"Agreed. Number 5?"

"Private or public school," elucidated Shaun. "Too many teachers are quitting at an alarming rate, and I think it would be better for Peanut and his teachers if he is in a smaller class size. Private schools also have a higher quality curriculum..."

"Whatever school we choose for him, I think he'll learn well from either a private school or public school," reassured Lea. "But, I can see why you don't want to put him in public school. However, we won't know what works best for him until he is in school. Number 4?"

"Peanut should be able to safely eat tree nuts as soon as he starts eating solid foods," declared Shaun. "It's what pediatricians and allergists recommend."

"Easy peasy," nodded Lea, immediately agreeing again. "Number 3?"

"We already discussed number 3," reminisced Shaun. "Number 2, sleep training. I don't want to do it, but if we will do it, we can't until he is at least six months old."

"I don't think sleep training will really be necessary," pondered Lea, who was still divided on that issue. "I doubt that we'll spoil him by picking him up whenever he cries. That's how babies communicate. What's number 1?"

"Circumcision," concluded Shaun before giving a long lecture of his reasons why. "Peanut will not be circumcised. Foreskin protects the penis head, maintains sensation, reduces friction, and contributes to immune system function. Removing it is not medically necessary, and there are no health benefits. It is also cruel to do it to them without any pain medication."

"And didn't it also only become the norm here because the inventor of cornflakes thought it would stop people from masturbating?" Lea added, surprised that Shaun didn't mention that part.

"Yes," acknowledged Shaun. "He thought applying carbolic acid to the clitoris would stop women from masturbating."

"Yikes," cringed Lea, crossing her legs a little. "Thank goodness that one didn't catch on. Anyway, I guess that concludes our list of potential differences."

Shaun let out a hum, indicating he wasn't convinced everything would be okay.

"Shaun, we'll be fine," reassured Lea, reaching her arm out and inviting her husband in for a cuddle, which Shaun immediately accepted, resting his head on her pregnant belly and gently stroking it.

Immediately, the Peanut kicked before Shaun could kiss Lea's belly; feeling the jab in his face and instantly wincing picking his head up after it happened, muttering an "ow".

"Peanut just kicked me in the face," tittered Shaun.

"Get used to it," smirked Lea. "He's already going to be jabbing me everywhere soon for the rest of these 17 weeks."

AN: I hope you all enjoyed. Please review :)

Next Chapter Prompt:
Shaun and Lea read Peanut his first bedtime story.