soon to be a dad, what do i need to know?

[greenacc]

thanks good people, certainly makes for interesting reading.

[chuckie]

enjoy them when YOUNG the older they get the hair goes GREY

[Garth]

and now for the cool stuff

1. lock tight nappies arnt lock tight. they leak, oh boy do they leak
2. despite how good you think you put the nappy on, they can take it off, and poo looks cool on the wall.
3. they will try to put stuff down their pants, frogs dont stand a chance
4. your dog will hate you.
5. be prepared to loose keys.
6. the big black pen mummy uses on paper also works on walls, lounges, daddys car, the kitchen bench.
7. uncles will try to lead them astry.

serious note, kids rule, they are the coolest, funnyiest little blighers out. you will try to be mad, but it wont last,

[alexp36]

Lots of awesome advice in here.
I've got 2 kids - a 13 year old daughter, and a 10 month old son (don't know how that happened).
Best advice I can give agrees with lots of stuff already said:

1. Patience patience patience. You will be so tired some nights that you think you are going to die. You aren't. And it WILL get better. Try not to lose your temper, with wife or child, but don't beat yourself up if you do - you're only human.

2. Love that child (you won't be able to help this anyway). Some people feel an immediate loving bond with their baby the moment they are born, some take a little while to develop that. Once again, don't beat yourself up if it doesn't feel like a fairy-tale from the get go. It will come in it's own time, and you will never genuinely regret having children (even though some times you will probably question your own sanity).

I don't agree with people who say you should let a baby cry themselves to sleep - we have virtually never left our son to cry in his cot in 10 months, and guess what - he is a very stable happy little boy, who will play by himself for long periods, and virtually never cries for no reason, and is not at all clingy. When he wakes at night, we go straight to him, get him up, cuddle, nappy change, bottle, what ever is needed, and he is always back to sleep within a short time. Only exception to this was over winter when he had a cold, and needed a bit more time to settle.

I don't honestly think you can pick up/hug a baby too much (unless you're waking them up to do it obviously, but what sort of a nutter would wake a sleeping baby, lol)

Practical advice: try to change nappies as often as possible. we try to use only plain water, or a little baby soap, with a cloth, or unscented wet wipe, for nappy changes. Wet wipes will often cause nappy rash, so I soak even the unscented ones in water to try and avoid this. If a bad rash takes hold, leaving baby out of a nappy for periods during the day can help.

It's pretty obvious from the number of other replies here that you can ask on JC if you need any help/advice later on too. Good luck!

[greenacc]

EDIT : ITS A GIRL.
Born on tuesday, 6pound 2 ounce ( 2.8kg)
Beutiful little girl with an amazingly loud screeeeem , when she's hungry she lets us know !!!

[Julie]

Hey Congratulations to you and your missus and best wishes for a safe and happy future for your new family

[greenacc]

BUMP...
IT's A GIRL !!! Now 4 weeks old. That makes me a daddy !!?
Tall and skinny just like Daddy. I was told if you have a boy your a dad , and if you have a girl your a daddy !

[fuzzy2308]

that's ****ing awesome mate Congratulations,

[Troy5L]

if kid doesnt stop cryin or wont fall asleep just put a shot of jimmy/jack in their milk, that should shut them up lol

[vlv8vic]

Congrats mate. exciting times ahead....

[evil_monkey]

ah it's a little late for the advice i wanted to give but congrats dude