Knowing the cots from the car seats

By Published On: November 24th, 2014

I now have just one week until the due date […]

I now have just one week until the due date of my little boy, and I’m so excited to welcome him into my world. But, my gosh, there are a lot of new things to learn. It’s wave after wave of endless new information about baby stuff like which brands are good, which are not, how to dress a newborn and what to expect in the first month. And, of course, the new words like the brand OiOi—which until this year I would have considered to have derived from the London football terraces—and Braxton Hicks that I confused with a cheaper pickle alternative.
DSC_0441I’m in a brand new world, and it fries my tiny brain.
This sense of friedness (if that’s even a word) was heightened further when I walked into my partner’s baby shower.
Seriously lads, don’t do it!
So, picture the scene: It was Sunday around 1 in the afternoon, and I only wanted to grab my laptop and run out again. But, as I stepped into my kitchen to the sound of 20 broody women talking about babies and childbirth, they sensed my panic. Despite how stealth-like I tried to be, they all stopped talking and in unison looked up at me, striking fear deep into my being for I clearly looked mystified.
I know, right? It sounds straight from a horror movie.
But I guess I am mystified; all of us guys are. I think that it stems from a mother’s relationship with her child beginning a lot earlier. From very early on, women’s bodies begin changing and hormones are released ready for the adventure. They can feel their baby moving and kicking long before us dads do. They have that instant connection, while our connection begins with the birth. So ladies, if we sometimes look a little detached and nonchalant about it all, we’re not. We’re just not as lucky as you to know our babies as soon as you do.
However, despite my fried state of mind, I cannot wait for my guy to be here. I love him more than I’ve loved anything, and I cannot wait for him to be in the world, for me to hold him and sing to him and protect him. I cannot wait until he smiles at me and giggles as I tickle him. I cannot wait to feel that feeling I’ve never experienced when I see my partner with him, and I can say “look at my beautiful family” with me being a man who can say he is a family man. I cannot wait to feel more pride in what I’ve achieved than I’ve ever felt before.
I may not know my muslins from my monitors, my cots from my car seats or my rattles from rash creams, but I am ready and waiting for my boy to join the party. And in just seven small days (as cheesy as it sounds) a dream will come true for both my partner and me.