joemichaels1982

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Dear Rats,
My wife and I are having a baby we found out yesterday that she's pregnant and we are very excited.
I just wanted to share my joy with others and if anyone has any tips or advice it's appreciated...

koЯnut

Congrats mang!! Post this in the BOTH and get some real traffic coming through!!

Hope to get a little bun in my wife's oven soon as well!

aceof

good

AnGeLz

Congrats!

My husband and I are starting to try for a baby...
it's been fun... but I'm anxious!

Congrats again!

odysseusignmail

Congratulations!

My advise is make sure to keep your wife happy. It's going to be a rough time for her and she'll need your support. Also, get in all the sleep you can while you're able to.

speegs

congrats. My sister just had a baby girl 7 days ago.

jeffc574

Congradulations!! I have two, 4 1/2 and 13 months. It explains why I get about ten minutes a day on line for fun.

In Parents Magazine, there is an ask the readers for advice column. They printed two sentences of my reply. Here is the whole thing.

In May 2004, Parenting magazine listed a question from Dimitrios who wanted to help get ready for the new baby. In November my one line was published. They took the second sentence from item 2. Here is the slightly revised letter in its entirety.

Welcome to Daddyhood. I love being a daddy and it sounds like you are well on your way to being a great one. Here is my advice:

1. Forget everything you have seen in TV shows and movies. Diapering is easy. It’s a daddy job. Learn it. Just ask my daughter, “Daddy does the best diapers.” Check out the “Daddy on Duty” diaper bags at www.wingdomusa.com/daddyonduty.html. Just make sure the diaper bag is one both you and your wife can live with.

Also, I got a travel changing pad (it was about $7) and it is stocked and in the trunk of the car 24/7 next to the jumper cables. It holds about 4 diapers, wipes and diaper cream. It has come in very handy.
2. Help set up the nursery. You and your buddies should set up and move the furniture. It does not matter if our nursery is a second hand crib in your bedroom or an entire page from Pottery Barn Kids. Have everything ready at least one month prior to the due date.
3. Attend childbirth/parenting classes. They are cheap and informative. It will help you and your wife make decisions about the birth and the days that follow.
4. Know your wife’s feelings and decisions on these two important matters. The amount of drugs she would like during delivery and breast feeding. For months my wife’s favorite line about childbirth was that I had one line, “More drugs now doctor.” As it turned out my daughter was born via C-section so it was a moot point. But know how ‘natural’ a child birth your wife wants to have and follow her decision. She can always change her mind.

The same with breast feeding. Breast feeding is the best thing for your new baby. But thousands of babies turn out just fine on formula every year. Yes your new pride and joy is going to make a ‘recreation area into a snack bar,’ but you can learn to live with it. You can also think of it this way. Some where between four and six months, breast feeding becomes less costly than formula. A lot less costly. Healthier baby, happy baby, not spending $30 to $50 dollars a week on formula. Pretty good deal. Put the money you save in the child’s college fund.

Breastfeeding is not for everybody. It is your wife’s decision. And it is your job to honor that decision and keep the radicals from both sides from bothering your wife.
5. Arrange now for time off from work around the due date. At the same time get information and the paper work for the Federal Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA). I was able to stay overnight at the hospital with my wife and new daughter and it was a great experience. I only took one week off after she was born. It was worth it. You may not need to use the FMLA, but if you do or want to you can have the paper work already done. You can always tell the boss you will be back to work sooner. Contact your HR department at least a month prior to the due date. They should have the forms on hand. You will need your wife’s doctor to sign them. It is likely they can fax them to your company for you.
6. Learn to operate the household equipment. Can you do laundry? Load and run the dish washer? Vacuum? Now is the time to learn. The same goes for grocery shopping and cooking. Babies can go through clothes. Newborns can also spit up on their parents, sheets, towels and furniture. It is easy to clean up.

jeffc574

May I suggest an ovulation test kit. It should be next to the PG kits at the drug store. My wife and I went 2 for 4 with it.

OrdinaryGirl

Congrats! Savour every moment!

Weezer1982

congrats!

wudluv

Congratulations! Now your parents get to spoil their grandchild.

Dullard

Congrats! All I can say is start stashing away as much money as you can and save all your vacation time for when the wife says ,honey it's time. good luck and enjoy!

BlackPearlSpace

Congrats man. My advice (albeit totally biased by design): get a good massage therapist. for both of you. don't wanna go into it, but pregnacy massage is a sub-specialty of massage therapists here. don't know about cali. do some research and get a good one.

there's allot going on with muscles and fascia during pregnacy, and an experienced therapist will help her allot. things you might not think of like back pain, circulatory congestion in the legs, mental stress and fatigue. also, some women go through funny body image stuff, so an empathetic and talented therapist will be able to help if that comes up. there's even some specific treatments for abdominal muscles. of course, outcomes depend greatly on the health of the tissues and individual before pregnancy.

finally, there are some excercises and stretches specificly to condition and extensibility of the perineum prior to childbirth that will minimize damage and pain. these are done by the woman and/or her man, and the therapist will give you information and guidance on how to do these, if you want. of course, they won't do this themselves, if they offer, RUN AWAY.

haha, just kidding, no serious therapist would. note that these days, professional therapists don't like the word masseuse, and consider this a euphamism for prostitute. massage therapists are regulated health professionals in most Canadian provinces; again, don't know about California.

hope this is of use. if the therapists in your area have less than 1000 hours of training (2000 plus is better), don't ask their help for this. they'll be able to give a general massage for stress reduction, but won't know what to do in the case of pregnacy for specific treatment.

oh, yeah, most importantly, don't see one untill the start of the second trimester.

if you'd like my advice, please PM me, I'd be happy to help (I'm an RMT) I can consult my notes and relay any information you may need. Please note that while we spent a good deal of time on pregnacy at school, I'm not experienced in treating pregnant women. An experienced therapist in your area would be better, but like I said, I have lots of info if you want it.

again, good luck and best wishes for you both.

pootent

Many congrats.......hope all goes well