Becoming a dad...

If you are there for the birth (and I'd recommend it), then bring a couple of flasks of warm water for your wife to sip. This will help as she will be losing a lot of fluid.

Buy/Borrow/Rent a TENS machine. They do work up to a point.

Andrew

BE AT THE BIRTH......Its the most amazing experience bar none that you will have in your lifetime. good luck.

I can't not be at the birth - HOME BIRTH!!!

I have found that being a dad is part awesomely wonderful, part completely hideous and some in between - but the best bits easily outweigh the negatives. It is just so amazing to have little people in your life who are made up of bits of each of you (my eldest is as untidy as me and is very good at thinking of persuasive reasons for her chosen course of action), various other people in the family (eg my youngest has some of my mum in her) and some random stuff.

I can still remember holding my eldest for the first time and watching her eyes struggle to open. Truly wonderful

I have to say I didn't really enjoy being at the birth (I am extremely squeamish) but I would not have missed it for the world

Also i forgot to say when you hold baby for the first time and start blubbing don`t be embarrassed
IT IS NORMAL

quote:

Originally posted by scottyhammer:
its not what you call your kids that counts but the way you bring them up.

Absolutley true. But at the same time, don't hold youself 100% responsible for how they "turn out". Don't beat yourself up over this - enjoy the ride and love them like crazy, no matter what they do.

quote:

Originally posted by reubs1981:
I can't not be at the birth - HOME BIRTH!!!

Barring unforeseen issues, same here !

Enjoy the experience guys.....you never know it could be your one and only opportunity. it was for me!

I'm a newbie, but if I had any advice to offer, it would be get involved as much as you can - dressing, changing etc...not just the fun stuff.

It's great getting home each day to a little smile.

My mrs has gone to the theatre today [all day] and left me to deal with #1 son.
So far this morning he has puked on my best mates mrs, right down her front as she had just fed him then puked on me and i have just bathed him for the first after an almighty shit which to my calculations should not have occurred until tomorrow when the mrs would have got it [you win some and lose some]. ...........Have just checked up on him and he is away with the fairys, Bliss
P.S i think i will need to communicate the old saying that you do not bite the hand that feeds you to him at some stage soon

quote:

Originally posted by deadlifter:
So far this morning he has puked on my best mates mrs

Do you mean: "So far this morning he has posseted on my best mates mrs "

not sure could not find that one in the dictionary

My spelling could be off d, it's just that baby puke isn't called puke or vomit by medical folk, it's called posset or possit. A much nicer word...like a summer pudding or something a doormouse would do before curling up and falling asleep.

Ahh now you tell me i should have been checking my medical notes

Well reubs don`t hold back tell the collective what`s occurring

quote:

Originally posted by deadlifter:
Yikes, my wife is due in mid-January.
Pre-natal classes start this week ...

Take them with a pinch of salt

Went to our first pre-natal class last night. It's run by a couple of doulas (cross between a mid-wife and a birh-coach).

It was excellent, full of very useful info on how labour may or may not progress.

I had no idea that the worst position for a woman to be in to give birth is laying on her back ! The tail-bone reduces the space for the baby to exit. If squatting the tail-bone is freer to move out of the way.

Also, now I know why some labours last 20 hours. The baby isn't the right way up and it has to turn (clockwise only) until it is and this can take hours.

Anyways, first class of six, looking forward to the next ...

Shoot, I didn't go to the NHS classes (not sure why, just didn't fancy it) so we got a Doula in for some two on one action. She was superb and helped us lots.

We ended up using hypnobirthing, which is unpopular with many midwives, but the doula suggested. It worked a treat...not saying it would work for anybody else, but for us it was great.

I suppose i was a bit harsh about the classes because my mrs was never going to get the choices being talked about because of her being a diabetic on insulin but still you can make the various choices and have them changed on the day because of complications

quote:

Originally posted by deadlifter:
you can make the various choices and have them changed on the day because of complications

Absolutely, we always tell people that we are planning on a home birth if all goes well, but understand that things may change and a hospital delivery may be warranted ...

This is probably one of the best things that can happen

Until you become a Grandfather for the first time!

quote:

Originally posted by Steven Hopkins:
This is probably one of the best things that can happen

Until you become a Grandfather for the first time!

Could not agree more, but perhaps thats because my daughter gave birth to a baby boy yesterday at 17:05

Off to see them all tomorrow via toy shop... never to young for a scalextric set.

Well, D Day came and went yesterday. Now my wife is one day over, which isn't so much really, and these things can't be rushed, but the poor thing is going out of her mind waiting. We're trying to keep our minds off it and stay occupied rather than sit around waiting - the house is now sparkling and we're chilling out to Amy Winehouse' first album. Relaxing sounds to bring on the birth maybe?

P.S. Congratulations on being a grandad Alfa!

quote:

Until you become a Grandfather for the first time!

steady on lad some of us are not ready for that yet


Get some AC/DC on and get her bouncing around the room, that should do the trick

A Thai curry kicked off labour for my Mrs when she was 4 days late with our first daughter.

We listened to the Birdsong channel (sadly off air now) on a small digital radio during labour for our second. I think that calmed me more than my wife!

Good luck and enjoy the roller-coaster ride of parenthood.


Andy

quote:

Originally posted by Alfa4life:
Off to see them all tomorrow via toy shop... never to young for a scalextric set.

Great !! And in a few years I have someone to play Subbuteo with :-D