Wow, friend, that is awesome. As a bachelor but with 14 little cousins, I have zero advice (except for his grandparents/uncles/aunts/cousins who will be the ones to spoil the hell out of him and let him go apesh!t and be a kid). This is a great book for 6-8 years from now:
I lol'd hard at your second sentence. Nicely put. I've gone through this three times...mine are now 8, 13 and 17. The time absolutely flies by...so take tons of pics and videos. That's what you'll have around when the kids get old and abandon your old ass in a retirement home. During the first few months, until a routine is established, make sure you and your wife are tag teaming the duties. For my first, my wife and I were up at any sound of distress during the first month...and we almost died. The sleep deprivation is real...so try to work out a good schedule for the two of you so that you aren't always exhausted. The baby will figure it out eventually and everything gets really rosy...until they start crawling/walking...that's an entirely new set of stresses/joys. Hug and kiss your kid everyday...and tell them you love them. That's the best thing you can do. The reciprocation of all of those things are incredibly satisfying and will become some of your fondest memories. One thing of note...I still get laughed at to this day because of something my oldest did when she was a month or so old. If you guys are going the breastfeeding route, most BM's are going to be of a liquid nature...and on occasion, might be released with somewhat of a force. I was changing her one night and, either the cold hitting her rear or just bad luck on my part, she unloaded on me in a similar fashion to someone turning on a firehose and spraying me down. Needless to say, I was unprepared and none too happy...but my wife thought it was hilarious. I suppose today it might be a little funny...but I'll still suggest to keep you guard up whenever the diapers come down...both boy and girl.
Congrats! We welcomed daughter #2 on the 16th. It's fun. I hate the lack of sleep and want my normal sleep schedule back, but it's also great and I love the chaos that comes with sleep in 3 hour intervals.
Last night I actually slept for 5 hours straight because I was so out of it my wife could not wake me up. I don't remember any of it. I've finally been able to watch some Netflix shows I haven't been able to get to for a while so that's good. And my wife has had time to watch the movies that I wouldn't want to. So there's some good.
Tell him about the birds and the bees as soon as you see him crowning. That's one less fatherly duty to handle, at a later date.
Good luck!! It will be the greatest thing you’ve ever done. You’ve never felt love until you feel the love for your child. Congrats.
This is a great schedule.....unless of course you have twins. In which case, you're both getting up every 3 hours. I'm very sentimental about my boys and I'm all about making great memories, but I'm not gonna lie.....that part really sucked. People always say "someday you're going to miss those late nights." Yeah, no. I don't miss them at all. I'll never forget the first time they actually slept through the night. One of the greatest nights of my life. I remember waking up to see the sun had already come up. It was the most beautiful sight these eyes have ever seen.
Twin parent approved. I have don't have too much sympathy for singletons complaining about nigh-time feedings. But to the point, setting up a strict schedule early is helpful, even as they get older. Getting up, eating, nap, bath, bed time etc...it helps so much to be consistent. I'm amazed when I hear parents that don't have strict schedules.
Man, those lactation consultants are something else. Not only are they very biased towards breast feeding,our consultant massaged and suckled my breasts for HOURS and not a drop of milk. It was weird that she caught me before I went into the hospital, had the consultation in my car while my wife was in labor and had an Adam's apple, but I didn't want to offend her by pointing any of that out. GREAT customer service!
Do whatever the f*** she asks of you without question. You're just a background player in this until that baby comes.
The most traumatic part of witnessing your child birth is seeing your favorite restaurant go on fire, you know they may rebuild it, but you're not quite sure you will eat there ever again _Russel Peter
I got in trouble for asking too many questions.... don't ask the Dr. too many questions like... "can I cut her open (when they decided to do a c section)" FYI the answer was NO! Serious congrats though.
