Friday | May 30, 2008
Father-to-be advice
It's been a rough week and I've yet to be able to sort out my thoughts. So while I do that I thought I would share something from my other half. Recently my husband sent an email with some new Dad insights to one of our friends that is also expecting their first son. Here it is in all it's glory:
Go to Trader Joes or your favorite supermarket with a forklift and purchase every prepared frozen dinner and lunch you can stuff in your freezer. This will come in very handy in those first days and weeks. I would also recommend paper plates and paper cups. You're not going to be interested in doing dishes.
Given you having a boy, be prepared to be pee'd on on a daily basis. If you have fear about this, get over it now! You will be surprised how far the little guys can shoot!
Try to support your wife as much as you can. It will be very hard in the beginning, especially if she breastfeeds. Overall, she will take the brunt of everything and may be overwhelmed at first. At times, Kell was weepy and sometimes its hard to figure out how to help. Sometimes a hug is the best solution. It will make you feel better too!
If there are any guy things you want to do, now it the time. So you wanted to organize the garage, forget about it after your little one is here! The boat has been in the water for 3 weeks, and I haven't even seen it. Hopefully it is still floating!
You may feel like you will break the baby. The head at first seems like it will roll off! I try to scoop the head up from underneath when I pick him up.
I like to take my shirt off and lay in bed and put Charlie on my chest for tummy time. This help strengthen his neck. He loves the warmth and seems to really enjoy it if he's upset. I also do a 'baby massage' in a clockwise direction to push out his gas!
If you have a night stand next to your bed, don't worry, it's not big enough. Something the size of a small kitchen table may do better! You'd be surprised now many things need to be within reach at night (formula, diapers, bottles, nipples, burp rags, ear plugs :), and on and on.
Breastfeeding is nothing like I thought it would be. I figured it's like a puppy and you place him near the boob and he goes to town. Not at all! A lot of mom and baby training and learning. When he first learned to do it, it was very special.
Bring good shoes and advil to the hospital on the delivery day. My feet and legs were sore, but maybe you are more used to being on your feet than I. I felt like a wimp that my legs were sore after all Kell had been through! Needless to say, I tried to keep it too myself.
Bring a small camera into the OR if by chance your wife needs a c-section. When the doctor pulled him out, they laid him on the scale and looked to me and said "camera, daddy, camera???". Of course, I left it in the room we were in. No big deal but just a thought.
When I sent out our email announcement with his pictures, I sent it to about 50 people or something like that. Next time, I am going to add a line that says "I may not be able to get back to everyone who replies to this email. It's pretty hectic right now...." That way you don't feel obligated to reply to the hundreds of emails that will follow!
Everyone told me it was going to be hard and I thought I knew. Honestly, it's tought but the thing people didn't express to me was how awesome it all is. It's the best and hardest thing we've ever done. You guys are really going to enjoy it. Even when it's hard, you guys will look at him and your heart will melt. Good luck!
Go to Trader Joes or your favorite supermarket with a forklift and purchase every prepared frozen dinner and lunch you can stuff in your freezer. This will come in very handy in those first days and weeks. I would also recommend paper plates and paper cups. You're not going to be interested in doing dishes.
Given you having a boy, be prepared to be pee'd on on a daily basis. If you have fear about this, get over it now! You will be surprised how far the little guys can shoot!
Try to support your wife as much as you can. It will be very hard in the beginning, especially if she breastfeeds. Overall, she will take the brunt of everything and may be overwhelmed at first. At times, Kell was weepy and sometimes its hard to figure out how to help. Sometimes a hug is the best solution. It will make you feel better too!
If there are any guy things you want to do, now it the time. So you wanted to organize the garage, forget about it after your little one is here! The boat has been in the water for 3 weeks, and I haven't even seen it. Hopefully it is still floating!
You may feel like you will break the baby. The head at first seems like it will roll off! I try to scoop the head up from underneath when I pick him up.
I like to take my shirt off and lay in bed and put Charlie on my chest for tummy time. This help strengthen his neck. He loves the warmth and seems to really enjoy it if he's upset. I also do a 'baby massage' in a clockwise direction to push out his gas!
If you have a night stand next to your bed, don't worry, it's not big enough. Something the size of a small kitchen table may do better! You'd be surprised now many things need to be within reach at night (formula, diapers, bottles, nipples, burp rags, ear plugs :), and on and on.
Breastfeeding is nothing like I thought it would be. I figured it's like a puppy and you place him near the boob and he goes to town. Not at all! A lot of mom and baby training and learning. When he first learned to do it, it was very special.
Bring good shoes and advil to the hospital on the delivery day. My feet and legs were sore, but maybe you are more used to being on your feet than I. I felt like a wimp that my legs were sore after all Kell had been through! Needless to say, I tried to keep it too myself.
Bring a small camera into the OR if by chance your wife needs a c-section. When the doctor pulled him out, they laid him on the scale and looked to me and said "camera, daddy, camera???". Of course, I left it in the room we were in. No big deal but just a thought.
When I sent out our email announcement with his pictures, I sent it to about 50 people or something like that. Next time, I am going to add a line that says "I may not be able to get back to everyone who replies to this email. It's pretty hectic right now...." That way you don't feel obligated to reply to the hundreds of emails that will follow!
Everyone told me it was going to be hard and I thought I knew. Honestly, it's tought but the thing people didn't express to me was how awesome it all is. It's the best and hardest thing we've ever done. You guys are really going to enjoy it. Even when it's hard, you guys will look at him and your heart will melt. Good luck!
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