Tired pregnant lady coming through......

Against my better judgement and all in the name of the impending arrival of our little bundle of joy, we ventured to Ikea this past Saturday. We arrived having already been to the baby shop, spotlight and Karrinyup, so we were already feeling tired and over the bustle of the retail sector on a Saturday.

I don’t know what Stirling Council were thinking when they built the roads around that Scarborough Road section but it is such a mess. Exit and entrances randomly everywhere. I thought the idea of town planning was just that... planning everything so it worked effectively. The spotlight car park is my least favourite. It is supposed to be two ways but is only really one way and has no pedestrian pathways so the pedestrians walk where the cars are supposed to be, meaning there is only really room for ½ a car and you keep having to avoid the kids wandering randomly along the car park, their eyes firmly glued on their newly purchased Spiderman or Ballerina costumes from Spotlight.

We were at Spotlight to buy some curtain material for the baby’s room as my Mum has agreed to make the curtains. We set off thinking we could find a nice colourful material that was gender neutral so my Mum could make them before the baby came (given that we are not telling anyone what we are having). In the end it is almost impossible as all the kids materials are either pink or blue or yellow so now the curtains are waiting till after the birth.

So back to Ikea, as it was nearly 2pm when we arrived, and hunger was setting in and there is no way I would cope with Ikea on an empty stomach, we fast tracked it to the Ikea Restaurant. You have probably all been to eat at the Ikea restaurant before but this was my first experience.

That place gets soo busy and I don’t know how they plan it but there always seems to be free tables even though there seems to be an endless stream of people purchasing food. It’s certainly not like finding a table at the normal shopping centre food court, where on Saturday lunch or a Thursday late night shopping visit it is like being in a PS3 game called “Food Court Warfare” where you are frequently required to vault across several tables to secure a recently vacated table which has an attractive pile of chewed KFC chicken bones or a half eaten tray of Chinese in the middle.

The Ikea restaurant is well very Ikea – organised and stream lined and efficient. We queued up in required line to access the food and I must say I began to think “I feel like I’m in the prison food line”. We shuffled along with everyone else waiting our turn and reading the 100 signs outlining the amazing bargain food on offer and eventually came to pick up a tray and onto the food. Strangely they start by offering you desserts, then drinks, then sandwiches, then muffins, then onto the hot food, then soup and finally salad. It was like being presented a meal in reverse.

In hindsight I now know this is a ploy to get you to purchase more. I should have twigged when I got to the hot food section and ordered my quiche and salad and found that there was no room on my tray. I’m not sure I really needed that Apple Pie and cream.....

So being chock full of calories and getting that dozy afternoon feeling we headed into the Ikea showroom. Surprisingly we got through the shopping part pretty quickly and found the book case and shelves we required and paid without too much bother.

I must say I was picking up by then, thinking about being able to head home and relax after all this retail action, but by this time my wife, unbeknownst to me, was getting to that extra tired, not coping point that is somewhat exacerbated by being pregnant.

I should have known that 5 hours or retail action is not good for a pregnant lady or her state of mind. I certainly realised that it was time to head home at a rapid pace when I went off and got the car and arrived at the loading bay to find my poor wife, who had been trying to save me a spot, waving her arms, shouting loudly and about to be run over by a Minivan which was reversing into the spot that she was apparently saving for me. I tried to wave and say that I could easily park in the other free bays next door but to no avail, she was now knocking on the drivers window and shouting at the man.

Amazingly the man didn’t get out and yell abuse at my wife and even offered to move. I think a crazed, tired, pregnant lady yelling at you is enough to make anyone move.

So given the dire state of the situation I quickly loaded my wife into the car along with all the Ikea purchases and headed off home. As we rounded the first corner my wife, still wiping away the tears, broke out in fits of laughter about her first major pregnancy moment. Lets hope there’s not too many to come in those last 10 weeks.

Stroller incident no.2

I thought that I had moved passed stroller incidents, as you may remember on our first visit to the baby store I got told off for my stroller driving style and constantly calling it a pram instead of a stroller.

Well the Saturday just passed we ventured once again into a baby store to do some more research and perhaps make a purchase. The major reason behind the trip was testing car seats and stroller to see if they fit into our car. This of course meant taking in and out of the shop numerous car seats and strollers and loading them in an out of the car.

The lady that assisted us seemed nice enough and in the end was actually lovely but the first sign of trouble was the steely glare I got when my wife said she has come previously and looked at them and now she wanted to show me. I could tell by the look that she was thinking “ useless male – makes wife do all the research and then turns up for 10 mins to have a look”...

The next steely glare I got was when I put the pram that we had just tested down on the tarmac next to the car. Apparently that might damage it which seemed a surprising thing to worry about given the shoving i had just done to try and get a monster stroller into the car!! Obviously I am a slow learner and also did it with the car seat which again was met with a comment about not damaging the seat. I still can’t see how resting it on the tarmac is going to damage it... i think i could put an egg on the tarmac and it come up without any scratches.

I think in the end though the resounding smile we got was mainly due to the large amount of money we spent on the car seat, stroller and portacot and numerous other attachments. At least we have most of the big stuff now.

Onto other matters and my wife is progressing well and things are still going very well according to the Obstetrician. We are down to visits every 3 weeks and heading towards a weekly visit. I’m thinking about setting up a tent in his waiting room though after our last appointment when our appointment was at 4pm and we didn’t get in to see him until 9.10pm. I think perhaps if we camp there we can just pop in for a weekly check up when he has a quiet moment.

It’s funny how women go through the visual phases of pregnancy. To start with there are no signs.. then, for those that know, there is a little bump that appears. I think to the outside world, who are none the wiser, they are probably thinking “hmmmm she has had a blow out lately and is piling on the pounds”.... then comes the announcement that she is pregnant which let most people into the sudden increasing bump but i think to people in the street it can just look like they have a bit of a gut for quite some time.

Well my wife is certainly into the looking pregnant to everyone stage.... we were on the train the other day and this young fella of about 18, with his headphones still in shouted down the train to my wife, at a volume which meant the driver 3 carriages away probably knows that he offered up his seat, , “excuse me did you need a seat?” Now that was the moment I thought – she looks really pregnant now. It was lovely of the fella to offer his seat although is should really have been the mega fat guy sitting in the priority seats reading a book and pretending not to see anyone.

It’s only 10 weeks to go today which is becoming increasingly confronting. The reality of little sleep, waking up every few hours, dealing with nappies and poo and a BABY!!! seems to be barrelling towards us like a freight train.

Kick Kick Kick.....

So we have kicking.... lots of kicking.

It is amazing to feel your baby kick for the first time but after the 1000 kick I’m beginning to move on from amazement to thinking about how cramped it must be in there.

Think about being stuck in that little space for 9 months and constantly having to push on the outside to try and stretch your legs out. It can’t be comfortable. I certainly get over having my legs squished into an economy plane seat and that is only for a short time nowhere near as cramped as the womb. It brings to mind the Simpsons episode where you see homer floating in-utero and having plenty of room. By the kicking going on in my wifes womb I’m not getting the homer space vibe.

A recent trend I have noticed in our house is the explosion of baby brochures. Everywhere I turn there is a new brochure. I think they are breeding somewhere in the house. The latest one I found was about the Coles baby and toddler club. Everywhere has a baby club – spend dollars and collect points for more baby stuff.

That reminds me, I was in an Amcal chemist the other day and the lady behind the counter had a glint in her eye when I paid. She swiped my amcal card and said to me “you only have 42 points on your card but from the looks of your wife you will be getting loads more points soon” in other words baby means points.... she then said for each 500 points we get a $5 discount. Spend $500 for $5 off.. Bargain.. NOT... I was never even planning on spending $500 at the chemist. I think it has taken me 1 year to get to 42 points so currently it would take me 12 years to get my $5 discount. I suspect the $500 is somehow going to come around sooner than 12 years.

Some of my mates have decided to organise me a “mans baby shower”. I get the impression from their smirks that there is not going to be a lot in common with a normal baby shower and a lot in common with a buck’s party. I don’t think there will be any tea, cupcakes, pink wrapping paper or nappy towers at a man’s baby shower. It will be more around beer and getting a few celebratory cigars in before the birth.

I do like the concept of having a man baby shower though. It seems strange to me that the showering has only really developed only on the female side of things Yes she does have to do ALL the work in growing, pushing and feeding the baby but surely men deserve a little showering for providing seed, making toast, build cots and holding her hand at the birth. If I was allowed I would be delivering the baby and if it was a caesarean doing the cutting so I think some sort of showering is in order. I’m sure I will get showered beer at the very least.

So there is not long to go now. 13 weeks and 6 days as of today. This last week it has really begun to hit me that there is really not long to go and I suddenly feel very under prepared. What if it comes early... argghhh....

Friends keep saying we are very organised and prepared but it doesn’t feel that way and I’m beginning to realise that in 8 weeks or maybe less my wife is going to be big and not wanting to stray too far from home and the couch and airconditioning not really wanting to do much other than stay cool and grow a baby. I even found myself offering to do all the Christmas shopping yesterday. Looks like I have a busy 13 weeks and 6 days ahead (if it comes on-time) and then sleeplessness for years to come..

Hello.... I'm back...

It has been awhile since I’ve had a chance to update my blog and so apologies to my devoted readers, if there are any? The long and the short of it is between a new job and holidays and a pregnant wife i haven’t’ found much time. But today I’m using my lunch break to update you all on becoming a Dad.

Well as you know I survived the baby expo with limbs intact and wallet empty. It seems I’m not the only one to be overwhelmed by the baby expo as I was at a meeting recently and spoke to a pregnant lady (yes there are lots out there it seems) and she said she made her husband take her home as she was about to hyperventilate. Seems like it might be a right of passage for new parents to visit a baby expo and experience the mayhem of 1000’s of baby’s, prams, pregnant ladies and baby stuff. Perhaps it makes it seem easier when you get your baby home and you only have 1 to deal with.

We have now had our 19 week scan which indicated that everything is going well and the baby is healthy. Yes we did find out the sex but we aren’t telling anyone. Saying that makes most people groan but hey it’s nice to have some secrets.

The finding out or not certainly does create some debate and comment. We have some friends who have told us the name and sex before the birth and of course others who don’t find out the sex and reveal the name until after the birth and even some friends who changed the name after a week. Maybe we could go with that but have a different name each week – there are enough on the prospective list to do that. It does seem like people want you to be in their camp though – if they found out it good you did but there is almost disappointment if they didn’t find out and you reveal you did.

Interestingly since finding out we haven’t concentrated just on one list of names but kept both going. It’s not that we don’t believe what we have been told but perhaps we just want to be prepared or if we have both lists it’s easier not to slip up.

So now we are sitting at 23 weeks, after a holiday to New Zealand which involved an earthquake and the purchasing of some gender specific baby stuff (so now we have a box of hidden stuff so no one works it out). Apparently while my wife is in hospital following the birth of our baby, I will be busting out the box to prepare all the gender specific purchases for our bundle of joys arrival home. With 17 weeks to go I’m nervous the box might turn into a few more boxes by then...

This baby is already the proud owner of several pairs of shoes from New Zealand, 6 outfits from the Prague, some Estonian mouse slippers (they look like mice not made of mice!!!) courtesy of the grandparents travels, a teddy bear, a cot, some nappies, change table, bouncer etc.. and it’s not even here for another 17 weeks!!!!

Speaking of grandparents.. Seems that Cupcake (our cat – see first blog entry) has come into a bit of fortune as the grandies prepare for grandparenthood. During our recent New Zealand trip young Cupcake had a holiday of her own to visit the grandparents. Now these are the same grandparents who keep saying to me that they can’t wait to see what happens to the cat when we have our baby as she is so spoilt that she is not going to be happy going to the bottom of the pecking order. Well I know now what she will be doing... heading down to the grandies for some love and attention. Apparently at their house you just need to meow once and you get a multitude of food options presented. Fish, chicken, Beef.. all available with a simple meow... no wonder she bite my toes this morning.. breakfast clearly wasn’t up to the grandparents standard.

We have now booked in for anti-natal classes. There were two options presented by the lady at the hospital– 5 x 2 hours sessions over 5 weeks or a whole day. I, of course inquired if the whole day was 10 hours (5 X 2 hours in a day) as that would be a long day but was informed that it was shorter than 10 hours and, didn’t need to be 10 hours, because the 2 hour sessions over 5 weeks involved a whole lot of hello’s and good byes.

So our day is only 7 hours. I must say that 3 hours we are saving is a lot of hello’s and good bye’s. That’s 24 minutes per session of salutations. I think I might have to pop along to see what a 12 minute hello and 12 minute goodbye feels like. Perhaps it includes a hug and a little massage? Intriguing...

Anyway, my lunch break is over but hopefully I will be back to more regular updates with only 17 weeks to go.

The Pregnancy, Babies and Child Expo

This past weekend was Perth’s very own Pregnancy, Babies and Child Expo and of course as a pregnant couple we had to go and look at the so called bargains. Well actually it was a good chance to look at all the stuff the baby shops have in one place and not have to spend days driving to each store (but don’t tell anyone I said that!!)

I thought the best way to capture the expo was in statistics (note some of these statistics may not have been scientifically proven):

Number of People – 3,000

Number of Pregnant people – 1,500

Number of Prams – 1,000

Number of Children – 1,000

Number of haggard looking men - 500

Number of pram collisions with my legs – 10

Number of feeding babies – 150

Number of exposed breasts – not sure was looking at the roof

Number of essential baby items available – 100,000

Number of essential items purchased – 1

Cash left in wallet at exit - $0

Amount spent – think of an amount and double it

So like all expos this was a couple of halls full of booths of all relevant stuff – so all baby and pregnancy stuff basically. Expect for Ford – I saw a big Ford sign down the end of one of the halls but I’m not sure what baby stuff they were selling as we never got there as the pram situation hit critical mass and I couldn’t get down that aisle.

What could Ford be selling?? Surely you can’t persuade people to buy a new car just because they are pregnant.

Navigating around the halls was certainly not the easiest thing. The number of prams was amazing. I think at one point the number of prams hit crisis point and we were one pram away from gridlock. This meant that pram related injuries were high and mainly at ankle height.

This combined with staff that seemed to be able to hear what you were thinking and keep saying things like “it might look small but it’s the perfect size” when I thought I was just reading their sign about breast pumps, meant the expo had its moments.

Speaking of breast pumps apparently you should only get an automatic breast pump as manual ones don’t work as well. I would have to say I’m not sure I would put an automatic pump anywhere near breasts if I had any. Automatic?? What if it doesn’t know when to stop sucking?

The highlight for me was the lady who told us that the price of the car seat we were looking at was the cheapest it would ever be and would never be repeated outside of this show. Really?? Never to be cheaper??? I find that hard to believe.


My final comment is about “Tupperware” how can that company find a reason to be at every and I mean EVERY expo. Sexpo, Car shows, food shows, boat shows… now I know why we own so much of it.

The Baby Shop

So we went to our first baby shop. As I said in my previous post. Man there is a lot of stuff for babies.

We primarily went to look at a “Stroller” or as we kept saying “Pram”. The lady in the shop kept correcting us which I think was annoying her but after I got in trouble for my pram, I mean stroller, pushing technique I was quite happy to push her buttons

As all blokes would know it’s important to test out the manoeuvrability of any machine with wheels that is about to be purchased. This thing is going to have to do some miles and will not just be doing neat little walks along a smooth pavement. It’s going to be going everywhere.

So I took the stroller (see I’m learning) for a test run. I was weaving all around the store checking out cornering, how it went in a bumpy situation, how easily it tipped. Hey I didn’t even leave the store!! but when I returned to my wife the lady in the story said “I hope you’re not going to behave like that with a baby in there.”

I think I was pretty tame. I didn’t even do the wet weather testing I had in mind or see if I could fit in the stroller should I need a seat when we are out and about. I think she got of lightly.

I then wandered off to look at the cots that were nearby, while my wife talked to the lady about the finer points of strollers. I approached a very nice looking cot and thought I would check out how it works. As far as I understood most of them have a side that slides up and down to allow easy access for picking up the baby and laying them down.

I grabbed the side that looked appropriate for sliding up and down and tried to, well slide it down. Hmm can’t get it to move.. Try lifting perhaps, hmmm pushing down??.. hmm maybe there are some buttons on the side.. hmm no buttons. This thing must work somehow. It’s supposed to be easy to do one handed as the sign said. Maybe I’m at the wrong side of the cot. Try the other side.. hmm still no luck.

By this time I was just about ready to rip the side off the cot when the lovely assistant (and I use the word lovely rather loosely) came over and in one neat movement went whoosh and the side was down. All I could do was look on in amazement thinking “I’m sure I tried that exact same movement”.

I then gave it a go and while I was not as swift as she was, I did manage to get it down and up again. I then of course stood there for 5 minutes going “side goes up, side goes down” until the lady frowned at me and I decided better move on and look at nipple pads and feeding pillows.

We managed to escape without any purchases but I fear that might not be my only trip to the baby store.

Donating...

I was thinking the other day about what a surreal experience it was going through the whole sperm donation thing. As I mentioned before we had to go through IUI (Inter-Uterine Insemination) which of course means that before the insemination occurs there has to be donation.

Now I’m sure you have all seen movies with a scene where a guy has to go and donate. There is always the buxom receptionist who flicks her hair suggestively and has a few too many buttons undone who leads the guy to a room full of porn and leaves with a wink. Unfortunately it was all rather more clinical than that.

So it was with some interest and trepidation that I headed in to make my donation.

I headed in to the fertility centre with my wife and sat down in the waiting room. I must say it felt like I had a big flashing light on my head saying “About to donate” and that everyone I passed was giving me that knowing wink and having a chuckle but in hindsight they were probably thinking about their own lives.

When the nurse came and called my name I took a deep breath and tried to nonchalantly walk over and follow her up the stairs. The silence as I followed her felt deafening and so my mouth started talking about the weather - always a safe topic in uncertain times!!!

She led me to a small room just off the main corridor. I walked in looked around and thought ‘surely this isn’t the spot, isn’t there supposed to be some “Get Smart” type corridor with about 20 locking doors that I have to head down to find the donation room.’ This is no where near private enough, just a thin door between me and all the activity outside.

She then handed me a brown paper bag, specimen cup (yes one of those small yellow lidded clear things for urine samples), some labels with my details on them and a clip board with a form on it. She started to explain the process and I was thinking, I hope she doesn’t go into any of the mechanics of donating as I’m sure I’m quite capable, hey I’ve been practising for years!!!

She closed the door behind her and I checked the lock about 4 times before I surveyed the room. Don’t want anyone entering by mistake.

The room was about 3 x 3, beige, with a sink, recliner covered in plastic, coffee table with two blue folders (wonder what’s in there!!) and a little cupboard on the wall where I need to leave my brown paper bag with the specimen cup filled with appropriate donation. Imagine taking a blue light into that room.. yuck…

So there I was a little specimen cup and a donation ahead of me.

It was not till this moment, confronted with the specimen cup, that I thought - How am I supposed to catch the “donation” in that little cup? Has no one through about what happens at the moment of donation and how hard it is to control the donation into the required location?

It’s not like a tap where the flow can be restricted and controlled. Are they mad?

A thousand questions entered my mind. Should I aim up or down? How close should the cup be? Sitting? Standing? So many confusing options…

Since then I have thought about 10 different ways they could collect the donation without it having to be caught in a little cup. A suction hose comes to mind.

So before I panicked too much I thought I had better move on and work out what I had to complete on the form. It was all pretty straight forward until I was confronted by the question -

What part of the donation did I catch?

(a) Beginning,
(b) Middle
(c) End; or
(d) All of it

Now I’m really nervous.

What if things don’t go to plan and the donation does not end up in the cup?

They ask you to wash your hands so as not to contaminate the donation so I expect scrapping it off the floor would not be acceptable. Imagine going and telling your wife, who is patiently waiting for you to complete your part, that half her future little angel is currently wriggling on the vinyl floor upstairs or even more embarrassing telling the nurse who has to clean it up.

Luckily for me all went well and let’s just say donating and catching went fine and my little brown paper bag with specimen cup and the labels and form all went into the little cupboard on the wall and disappeared to be cleaned. Yes really – CLEANED. Imagine that job? Sperm Cleaner…. Although it is probably titled “Male Fertility Cleansing Technician” or something similarly mysterious

The cleaned sperm then reappeared in a little syringe all ready to do its stuff. The rest is history and our bundle of joy will be here in 24 weeks and 6 days!

Oh and the blue folders did contain some mood assisting reading material. I’m still thinking they should have a big screen TV with a selection of mood assisting movies. Something to drown out the clip clop of heels down the corridor outside the room.

Hey isn’t it amazing that I got through the whole story without using the word “Ejaculation” hehe…

Baby stuff.....

Man there is a lot of stuff that babies can have…. The question is what do we really need?? Everyone I speak to says something different, they all have said to me “The thing I found most useful was…..”

The list of things I’ve been told so far….

Pram
Cot
Special non SIDS mattress
Car seat
Tub for bathing
Baby monitors
Play rug things
Clothes to be changed frequently
Bottles
Sipper cups
Plastic plates
Sling thing for carrying – baby bjorn I think they are called
Mat you can use in bath to lay them on
Bouncy thing to put them in
Bassinet
Stuff for the baby’s room
Nappies
Cleaning things for babies
Playpens
Portacot
Safety rails
Highchair
Feeding chair
Night light
Etc etc etc


So are we are at the start of the list – the pram… after several hours perusing websites we are really no closer. Why are there so many choices? What size? 3 wheels, 4 wheels, rain cover, waterproof, shopping basket, front facing, backward facing, Umbrella fold, 5 point safety harness etc etc

Shouldn’t there just be just one beautiful, safe, light model that can be forward or backward facing and folds into nothing?

Baby Books

My wife has been slowly collecting an extensive library of books about having a baby and working her way diligently through them. Up the duff, baby love etc etc are all currently sitting beside the bed or on the coffee table. I think she loves reading about what to expect and I regularly get little titbits of information about feeding, creating routines etc.

She did reveal something interesting to me that she learnt when catching up recently with a group of girlfriends who said “don’t expect Jamie to read any baby books as none of our husbands did”.

Could this be true?

Do men not usually read baby books? Does the male of the species not need to read about what to expect? I’m in a conundrum now as I was, at the very least, planning to have a flick through some of them.

If I do, will my male friends disown me for being too prepared? Or, Am I missing the male gene that makes men naturally prepared? Does it also mean that I can’t join “Manhood Online” that I referred to in the previous post as I’m not man enough?

Maybe manhood online is what you need after you read a baby book to remind you that you are a man and that while, yes you will need to make goo goo noises and talk to the baby in a silly voice, you are still a man at heart!!!

So now I’m intrigued as to why none of these men read any baby books. All of them are loving and great fathers who have made it through many years of fatherhood and are totally dedicated to their kids but obviously none of them felt the need to read about having a baby in preparing to have a baby. Perhaps they thought they are so naturally brilliant they didn’t need any advice.

I think I need to chat to a few mates about how to prepare, to book or not to book.. hmmmmmmm

My wife did bring home a pamphlet for what can only be described as a brilliant concept. “Beer and Bubs” www.beerandbubs.com.au which is child birth workshops for dads, at the pub! Now that sounds promising. Perhaps while women can learn about having a child from a book, men need the comfort of the pub to facilitate learning about babies.

They haven’t launched in Perth yet but are coming soon or so the website says. I think this might be the thing for me.

26 weeks and 5 days to go…. eick

Fatherhood - The Brochure

One of my colleagues just came and gave me a brochure entitled “Fatherhood – Supporting you and your family”. I’m not sure how to take this!! Does he think I need help already?

The front cover says “Are you trying to juggle being a father and working?”. … well not yet but what are you telling me?… I wasn’t really planning on doing any juggling anyway.

The brochure does however inform me that I can get 1 week partner leave when the baby is born. Yeehaaa…. A week of Playstation 3 – Modern Warfare 2 - hehe just jokes. Maybe the first week will be a bit like modern warfare – a war between dirty nappies, milk, sleeping, not sleeping, a tired wife and looking at this thing and wondering what to do with it.

One of my mates told me that being at home those first few weeks is a waste of time as you are just in the road and your wife and baby just need to get used to each other and settle into a routine. That might have been what he found but I think his wife and mine have slightly different ways of operating and therefore I will be front and centre waiting to do whatever is required.

On a different note, I made pasta for dinner last night which was great fun and the fettuccine actually turned out rather nice but when I looked at the kitchen afterwards it was like a big flour bomb had gone off, both me and the kitchen were covered in flour. It made me think that mess is something I need to get used too. From what I have heard keeping the house tidy and clean is a constant battle one you have a little one. From the early stages of nappies etc to the eventual pile of toys which seems to spread out across the house and get under your feet, you are on a downhill battle to keep things in order. Which brings to something that has been playing on my mind… electronics….

I have heard friends talk about the wonderful things their little angels like to put in weird places especially electronics. The most common is to insert jam or toast or pizza or milk into the CD/DVD player. Now all our stereo equipment – PS3, set top box, amplifier etc sit quiet nicely on the floor under the TV stand. There is really no where else they can go in our little house but since the PS3 warranty does not cover damage from toast inserted into the DVD slot, I’m definitely going to have to look into doing something. All I can come up with so far is buying one of those mesh fire guards and putting that in front. I am of course open to suggestions.

Anyway back to the brochure, it does have loads of helpful information and hints on where to get help. From parenting services, “Hey Dad WA” to “Manhood Online” there seems to be heaps of help out there. I must say to me, Manhood online sounds either like an unsuitable site with unsuitable pictures or a place where men can go to have their manhood flattered. Sounds interesting nonetheless.

Toast.......

And then there was toast….

I have heard of cravings and I’m sure all of you out there know of some weird and wonderful cravings. So far we have been through a number – tiny teddies, oranges, honey sandwiches and hot chips…. But there has been one constant – Toast.

I don’t think I’ve ever made so much toast in my life and more often than not it is in the wee hours of the morning when the only person excited to see me out of bed is cupcake thinking she might get an early morning snack.

Now that winter is upon us, it is even worse getting out of bed at some random hour opening the freezer, finding the bread and then standing in the cold watching the toaster with it’s warm red glow, so inviting "oh I could just hop in there" and trying to remember the order. Was it for butter or butter and raspberry jam or butter and vegemite or butter and apricot jam or like this morning just plain toast and all the while that warm snugly spot under the doona, that you spent the last 5 hours creating, has escaped into a distant memory.

I think our baby is going to come out with a jar of raspberry jam and a knife in hand ready to go nuts on a few fresh loaves. Better remember to take a toaster to the birth.

The other weird thing happening at the moment is that suddenly everything in life seems to be about babies. Everywhere I turn there is something about them or one of them. Even the TV is turning on me. For anyone who saw Packed the the Rafters on Tuesday night. OMG – I want to send it back!!!! All that crying, not attaching, not sleeping and the worst part – did anyone see how crazy Mrs Rafter went?? Arghhh I don’t want my wife turning into some crazed emotional feeding machine…

And if all the baby stuff on Packed to the Rafters was not enough, the ads during the show were all about babies.. well perhaps that is a slight exaggeration but the one that sticks in mind is about “Baby Love Pull up pants”. The scariest part is that normally these kind of ads drift past my eyes with little attention, but on Tuesday night I actually started to think “oh they look good – they will be very useful, I must remember about those”. Normally only ads about food and music are of the slightest interest.

In all seriousness today was our 12 week scan and all looks wonderful and healthy with good strong heart, hands and brain. We even saw thumb sucking, feet rubbing and hands in the air. I said to my wife – Does it feel weird knowing all that is going on down there when you can’t feel it? I think from the response it was weirding me out more than her.

Jamie

It's only the beginning........

In this last week the reality has hit that YES my wife is pregnant, 11 weeks and 5 days to be exact and that in well now 28 weeks and 2 days (or something like that) there will be a little person and I, YES ME, will be a Dad...

I hope to use this blog to share this journey......

So to begin.....

The first thing is why has it taken 11 weeks for reality to hit?

I'm not sure when reality hits for most men, but I expect it varies from man to man. The moment of the positive test result might jolt some into the realisation that things are about to change, for some maybe it isn't until they hold their child in their arms and well I have met the odd Dad for who reality still hasn't hit even though their kid is well out of nappies.

So for me, What finally brought me to the realisation that "yes my wife is pregnant and yes I'm going to be a dad"

It was a combination of two things really - the 9 week scan with heart beat and moving hands (cute but yes it really is in there and it really is alive and moving), not being able to book a weekend away on a house boat for 4 weeks before the due date... (seemed like a sensible idea to start with but then think of how comfy the house boat bed would be at 8 months!!)

So far, since this realisation, it only seems to be getting more serious. I have had three conversations with friends about drugs - the prevalence, challenges for kids not getting involved and also received advice on how to give your child the skills to say no.

EICK ...Can I send it back? This is scary!

I was thinking that all I had to come to terms with at this stage is how to change nappies and the fact that sleep might be limited from early January 2011. But somehow life is all so complicated these days that you already have to start thinking about cots, prams, school - both primary and high school, daycare, the size of the car, redecorating the nursery- the list is endless. I'm wondering if I should be opening a superannuation fund just to be on the safe side.

I keep telling the cat that things are going to change but somehow I think she (just like me ) is blissfully unaware of how much the world is going to be turned up-side-down.

We both like long sleep in's and afternoon naps neither of which , from what I hear, are features of babies.

Here is a photo of said cat (cupcake) enjoying nap.. she looks so peaceful.. get it while you can Cupcake!!!

Having a cat has actually been pretty cruisy. As long and she is feed, watered and gets a lap to nap on occasionally she is happy. I don't need to load her into the car for a quick trip to the shop or consider moving house so we live in the right area for the best cattery. What have I got myself into........and it's only the beginning......