Big Daddy

Say hello to Baby B.

I'm finding it a bit weird to blog about becoming a father. But then, it seems to be dawning on me everyday when I look at Baby B. Some thoughts so far.

B Day: We were lucky to have labour pains that lasted for about 6 hours. I say lucky because we were next to a couple who were in the labour room for more than a day. And I've heard enough cases, including some at the pre-natal class that I was dragged to (and I'm glad I went), where labour was excruciatingly painful and you can't do anything till the cervix has dilated enough.

On Men: Seeing it through with my wife convinced me of something that I've believed in for some time now. Us men, we have it too easy. If we had to take even 10% of labour pain, we'd be headed out for a smoke or a beer - our preferred pain alleviation - within 10 seconds: which is perhaps our equivalent of asking for the epidural at the first sign of Braxton Hicks. I'm glad nature didn't make the father the mother. We'd be lousy at it.

Lessons: The biggest thing I learnt is that being pregnant, having a baby and delivering a child are all different things. None of them is easy. It's the biggest turning point for a couple in their lives. Far more for the woman than the man. And all of it takes time, even if time flies. So, what they show in the movies, believe me, is really meant for entertainment. Not much of it is from real-life and I doubt you'd want to see real-life on a Saturday night at a multiplex.

Life 2.0: I'm a bit surprised at how I've taken to twitter. Standing there alone in the maternity ward at 3am, I was busy tweeting. Yeah well, what's to hide? The...support(!)..I was getting from the lads there (and thanks to everyone who were tweeting back!) was very helpful. Always glad to have someone around at nervous moments. I was overwhelmed by the wishes that came in - and thanks again everyone for that.

I have no idea how things go from here. I think it's called life. For a control freak like me, all this is proving to be a bit unsettling. And I wouldn't have it any other way. Life is full of moments. And this was the biggest one for me so far.

PS - As luck would have it, I also got my iPhone that day. Awesome device, awful phone.

PPS - Only two photos uploaded so far and I don't think I'm uploading any more too soon. Too many kooks out there.