Less than two weeks to go before the big day. Two bloody weeks! Yes it's definitely time to accept that there is no escaping the idea of my very own baby being here soon. I say 'my baby' but of course I mean our baby. Though as it was pointed out to me tonight - my partner has the dominant traits (dark, hair, ark eyes, dark skin) - so it's unlikely that the baby might look like me at all! Of course I'm going down the denial route....
I found some more great instructional pictures too, so I'll add a couple more here to break up my waffling on...
And one of my favorite tips....
It was the last night of our antenatal class tonight, which I have to say has been brilliant and I'm not just saying that because I told the course leaders about this blog. Everyone in the group is lovely, down to earth and obviously going through the same kind of experience as we are. Many of the group are also in a similar situation to us and don't have lots of close family close by. I must say though, the focus on the after-birth has been so useful and full of practical ideas about how best to get through those first few weeks of life with a baby - I'd recommend those classes for that reason alone. Though the weekly supper isn't a bad reason either. Having dedicated time each week to think properly about planning things and hear from people that have just been through the experience has been awesome. Having two engaging and hilarious facilitators has just been the icing on the cake!
Now anyone that knows me well will know how much I love a good massage, well believe it or not there's a whole big thing about baby massage - here's a helpful photo below!
I have not really felt particularly paternal yet, which has been a little surprising as I imagined I would get a lot more involved with talking to the baby whilst he's still cooking in my partner's tummy. There have been times when I've felt a little bit bad, guilty even, but having spoke with a few dads I know it's not an uncommon things before the baby actually arrives. So I have tried to think how I can make up for that when the baby arrives. I came across a brilliant website full of ideas of how to have fun with a baby (especially when the mum is away...)
....and I'm all for some fancy dress parties when they get a little older...
But my favorite so far has to be....
The Occupation Bit....
As discussed in the first post - the number of conversations about your upcoming baby, and the level of detail you start to share with others changes. I've found myself and others (most often in the antenatal class but not always) sharing quite personal things about their partner's body, or plans for birth. Conversations with most friends and family continue to to baby focused, or certainly start with baby- related questions. Weekend plans are now determined by how far away from home we can go, or activities can my partner safely navigate. Basically 85-90% of my week has a baby focus, and I'm really grateful for the 10-15% of my week where I can still hang out with people / do something (like play football) where people are not seeing me mainly as a dad-to-be, but just Dan...
The ultimate occupational change is about to hit us as a family very soon. I'm feeling ready - well as ready as a guy can be. Lets see if I am still saying that in 2 weeks time.
A Dad to be...
As discussed in the first post - the number of conversations about your upcoming baby, and the level of detail you start to share with others changes. I've found myself and others (most often in the antenatal class but not always) sharing quite personal things about their partner's body, or plans for birth. Conversations with most friends and family continue to to baby focused, or certainly start with baby- related questions. Weekend plans are now determined by how far away from home we can go, or activities can my partner safely navigate. Basically 85-90% of my week has a baby focus, and I'm really grateful for the 10-15% of my week where I can still hang out with people / do something (like play football) where people are not seeing me mainly as a dad-to-be, but just Dan...
The ultimate occupational change is about to hit us as a family very soon. I'm feeling ready - well as ready as a guy can be. Lets see if I am still saying that in 2 weeks time.
A Dad to be...
No comments:
Post a Comment