Although we had been trying for a couple of months when she said the words "I'm pregnant" I still went into a state of panic, fear and overwhelming happiness. I was going to be a Dad.
Hiding the pregnancy when we went out was hard, I felt like I was the one getting all the morning sickness. Night after night of secretly drinking Polly's white wine as well as my own beer made for some shocking hangovers.
During the scan the little babies seemed to be quite active and happily bouncing around walls of my wife's uterus, completely oblivious to the emotional volcano they had just erupted on their parents...twins!
When the gynaecologist referred to my wife as the mother, "It's up to your wife, as the mother to...." I suddenly felt very young to be a father. I had only just got comfortable with calling her "wife" life was moving very fast.
Average age of fathers in Australia is 32.9 years.
The world's oldest recorded father is purported to be Australian mine worker, Les Colley, who was 92 years 10 months when he fathered a son, Oswald, in 1992. "I never thought she would get pregnant so easy, but she bloody well did," he told newspapers at the time, referring to his Fijian wife whom he'd met through a dating agency a year earlier.
The average number of disposable nappies that a child will wear up to the age of 2 1/2 years is 7,350
Stuart C; New Dad - Top Tips
- Say "yes" to everything
- Get your finances in order
- Forget what you read in books and go with what you think is right
Tim C; New Dad - Top Tips
- Have your nights out whilst you still can
- Avoid changing the really full ones
- Get finances organised
- Enjoy every minute, it's a cliche but it does go fast
Jon R; New Dad - Top Tips
- Do whatever your partner wants
- Don't expect everything to go as planned
Matthew H; New Dad - Top Tips
The most important thing that I learnt is that it is all my fault. Everything that she is going through is my fault. It doesn't matter if it's my fault or not, it's easier and makes her feel better if I take the blame. No matter what I get into trouble for I just think it's nothing compared to what she's going through. And if nothing I do makes it better then going to a baby shop and letting her buy something always seams to make things better.
Mike P; New Dad - Top Tips
- Don't worry - enjoy
- It just keeps getting better
- Take the time to talk to others and read up
- Don't buy too much
Al G; New Dad - Top Tips
- Give your partner the benifit of the doubt
Matt O; New Dad - Top Tip
Be loving and present, don't blink cos you'll miss it.
Cameron; New Dad - Top Tip
Try and do all you can to give her a rest when you can. If you get tired after an hour with the baby imagine what it is like after 23.
Matt P; New Dad - Top Tip
Insist on two weeks paternity leave (I regret having only 1 week after a long and ardous labour it didn't give me long with my son).
Paul K; New Dad - Top Tip
Enjoy every stage, even when the child is crying - just enjoy! Life is to short to skip any part. Friends are saying how theywhere to busy working and now where the child is >10 and above they are getting to be individuals and don't want hugs and are too busy with their friend (which of course is fantastic) though as parents missed out on a lot of the growing up.
Marcus C; New Dad - Top Tip
Follow your instincts
Jason P; New Dad - Top Tips
There are a few:-
- Routine is good
- Never wake a sleeping baby
- Just when you think you have sussed it, it changes
- Teething - is difficult!
Carl P, New Dad - Top Tip
Nothing can prepare you for labour.
James T; New Dad - Top Tip
Babies just cry, you can be doing everything right and nothing wrong but they will still cry. Its not your fault babies cry.
Mike S; New Dad - Top Tip
Be ready for a big surprise. Talk to friends who have been through it recently.
Andrew K; New Dad - Top Tip
Be understanding and enjoy every moment.
Jeff P; New Dad - Top Tip
Relax and avoid commerical advertising you many not need many of the things on the market. Keep it simple.
Richard B; New Dad - Top Tip
At 30 weeks pack your bags because you never know when it might happen. Learn as much as you can, go to all the classes, open your eyes to everything that potentially could happen. Spend time with your baby alone.