Fatherhood: the first four weeks

Can’t believe I have been a Dad for for whole weeks. To celebrate, I have decided to dust off the WordPress app on my mobile, and do my first blog post for a while. I hope that this post will help any future Papa’s in preparing and coping for when the big day comes.

I’ll start from the beginning (no, not the conception, you pervert). Labour is a scary time, for both of you! The key to labour is being patient. There little one is gonna pop out in their own time, and this can take days, and may require a bit of help. In our case, they got the BBQ tongs to pull him out, which involved going into surgery, so be patient and expect the unexpected! Hang in there, support your partner the best you can (you may find that there is a stage you feel useless and you can’t do anything), and think of the end goal… A mini-me!

Post-labour you may be discharged after a few hours, or you may need to stay in for a couple of days(usually of you’ve had to go into Theatre, like we did). More patience is required as you will likely be fed up and just want to get home, and like with me, you will need to spend those days looking after baby and partner. Fear not, for you will get home soon… where the fun begins!

Getting home is bliss compared to the stress and uncomfortableness of the hospital. You finally have a decent supply of food, nappes, muslins, etc. You can take it in turns to get a few good sleep, and acclimatise to home. Don’t get too comfy though, as baby still needs food, nappy changes, and sleep. In fact, that is all the baby needs. If you thought you can start playing with your new creation, or start interacting, this only happens towards the 4 weeks onwards mark, and only in small doses.

  Here are some tips that may help with coping in those first “fun” weeks:

– patience (my keyword for this blog I think!)

– enjoy (make the most of it, he won’t be tiny forever)

– grab sleep whenever opportunity allows

– accept help (if you have relatives, let them help! Maybe they want to come round while you get some sleep)

– use Mam bottles (tomee tippee ones are rubbish, Mam bottles are excellent at preventing colic and are self sterilising… with a microwave anyway)

– use decent nappies (and do them tight enough!) Aldi nappies are excellent and a fraction of the price of pampers!

I shall try and do an update blog post with any more tips and advice I acquire soon! So I’ll leave you with a picture of the star of the show!