Too little too late?

[keljian]

Hey all!

Thanks so much to everyone for the warm welcome!
@Duncan - I'm deliberately not in the CBD much, live in Croydon, work in Clayton, but thankyou just the same for the offer. Beer for me = snores, and I figure both me and my partner need as much quality sleep now as possible as such I'm very much beer free at the moment. That said I do enjoy a brew myself.

I've added all of the aforementioned books to my amazon wishlist and will slowly get through everything.

Thankyou too to everyone for the advice, it is most welcome. Certainly I know where to turn if I need help moving forward.

[Lolakitty]

During the newborn stage you will be changing lots of nappies, feeding and trying to get bubs to sleep.
Then of course all the cooking & cleaning etc you have always had.
You will both be tired and trying to nap when the baby is asleep (if possible)
During this time, just do what you have to do to get through each day.
It's a blur to be honest. It goes quick!

You will start to get back into the swing of things when you baby is about 3-5 months. You will probably have the start of a routine going. You will then be working around the babies sleep times to get things done.

No info on c sections sorry. Maybe just keep on top of the housework for her while she heals.

Bunny rugs are thick blankets used in prams and to go on top of baby while sleeping (tucked in), muslin wraps are very thin blankets used to wrap a baby in, swaddles are wraps with Velcro or zips to wrap a baby in

I think just ask your wife with this stuff. My hubby has to ask me sometimes and we are into baby number 2

DH & I

[peoniesarepretty]

I was going to recommend Baby Love too. It's really practical & sensible. Our paediatrician in the hospital told us to get it. When I said we already had, he said "well read it" then looked at my husband & said "that can be your job"

TBH it's a learning curve for you both & the midwives in hospital will teach you a lot there - bathing, settling, wrapping etc. I had a c section too & they really get the dads involved in the first couple of days. As such I still think my DH is better at settling bub to sleep because he attended the settling class in hospital & I wasn't able to. He's also in charge of bathing because he did it from the start. He changed a nappy & wrapped him before I did too. And I can tell you he didn't really read books or get up on any lingo during my pregnancy. That doesn't matter at all. What matters is learning by doing, which we're both doing together. And that he has taken an active role right from the moment bub was born. There's nothing I do for bub that he doesn't, aside from the breastfeeding, and he does what he can to support & make that easier. This practical assistance & active interest is far important than anything else. Good luck!

[keljian]

How about W Sears "the baby book"? It's a great read, talks about different stages of development and it's written by a dad (who is also a paediatrician) together with his wife

Having listened to a good few chapters of this book, it is stellar, thank you so much for suggesting it.

[WiseOldOwl]

I was at BigW yesterday and saw a book called First Time Father by Dr Graeme Russell & Tony White. It was $22. I remembered seeing this thread and thought you might be interested in taking a look.

[VanityFey]

Not sure if anyone else has mentioned it but theres a blog called daddydoingwork, it covers a heap of different subjects. When I discovered it I asked dh to give it a read and he loves it
its quite funny and practical so even I quite enjoy reading it every now and then.

Sent from my GT-I9505 using The Bub Hub mobile app

[BH-bigbadbrad]

Lots of good advice here but thought I would add my 2 cents.

Attitude counts for heaps, you are already asking good questions and asking for help which makes things a lot easier for both of you. Having run the Bub Hub for 11+ years I can tell you the biggest issue for many new parents can be the pressure they put on themselves.

Every baby is different and what worked for your Mum or for a friend with their baby may not work for you and yours. My advice is:

1. Ask for heaps of advice
2. Use the advice that works for you and your baby
3. Ignore everything else.
4. Remember you are not alone!

There are books out there but it is highly unlikely any book will be 100% useful to everyone's journey, but the more you know the better prepared you are.

Knowing more about a vontuse delivery would have prevented me from looking at the doctor with a very menacing glance at the birth of our first as while it looked really bad was completely normal.

Last piece of advice is to sign up for a week-by-week pregnancy email, we have one here. But there are heaps around. This allows you to know things about your partners journey that most men do not want to know but she will feel pretty special if you take the time to learn more.

All the best

BBB

[SugaCaine]

Hi there,
Congratulations.

I have no idea personally where to find the information you need..

But...someone in a post I just read before this suggested to someone else the book "so you're going to be a Dad"... They said it was an interesting journey of discovery written by a Dad who started out without a clue.

From that regurgitated description..it sounds like it could be just what you want.

Don't blame me if it's not though. All the best!