Skim read the posts so having a camera in the hospital bag may have already been mentioned.

First picture of the three of us was taken by one of the doctor / nurses types within seconds of the Beamlet arriving in the world.

Stand by for the best days of the rest of your life. Being a Dad is ace!

Get all the sex you can squeeze in now. Seriously.

5 weeks and counting here. I'm wasting away 🙁

No it's not. Formula isn't as good at all. It's not gonna poison your kid, but there you go. End of. It's not meant to be a guilt trip. As long as you tried as hard as you could then fine.

The reason for the pro-BF propaganda is that a lot of people just can't be arsed with it for their own convenience. Not saying that applies to anyone on this thread but I've heard a lot of people just not bother even trying. Now that boils MY piss.

FWIW we had extreme pain, cracked nipples, mastitis etc for about two months ish and our midwives were supportive (not because they'd been told, but because they really were behind the idea) to the point that we eventually got the hang of it, and it was worth all the trouble for the subsequent ease and freedom. Note that I am not meaning to belittle anyone else's efforts so hold your fire.

You got 5 weeks to go, and I am 5 weeks into being a dad… Its the absolute best thing I ever did..

Good luck..

Here is a picture of my Jimmy having a little shut eye in the park. 🙂

Notice he is ready for some riser bars already..

No, it won't poison them. It'll feed them fine, and they'll grow up perfectly well on it. If you live in a developing country with unsafe water I'd say otherwise, but that's not the case here.

They'll be missing out on some of the immune system advantages, but that's about it. Again, unless you live in a developing country it's not going to make much difference.

I watched my wife suffer in pain during the first month, watched my first daughter not gain weight, crying with frustration and hunger. Given that choice, bottle feeding is far superior.

Well mogrim, don't want to go on about it too much but research suggests that there is more to it than immune system benefits. It's all available via google if anyone wants to read.

Cracked nipples does indeed equal bad technique. It's easy to tell a mother what the right technique is, but not so a newborn baby 🙂 For instance, you're meant to tickle their top lip (I think, don't remember now) with the nipple, then when they open wide, stick it in. Well Meg didn't open wide. only a little bit… Hence troubles with technique and cracked nips.

+1 and even more. The midwife confided to us she was 'on a warning' as her breastfeeding rates were low compared to her targets, so when she saw how determined my wife was she wasn't going to recommend a bottle despite it being the right thing to do. I was pissed off with her, but it was her job on the line I suppose; I was mega pissed off with the local PCT for putting her in that situation. The only thing that stopped me really stewing merry hell with the PCT was that Polly went so well once she was on the bottle that 'all's well that ends well' won out.

Still boils my piss 6 years on. As does anyone that dares to suggest we didn't stick with it long enough. Sorry, i know what the science says but you weren't here, you didn't live it, and I think doing the right thing for mother and baby far outweighs the apparent benefits of breast milk. Again not aimed at anyone on this thread but to the OP who *might* be faced with the same dilemma in another month or two. Go with what your instincts tell you, no matter what the BFM insist.

Currently sat in our labour-delivery room and I've only got time today to read this single thread. But its much appreciated, baby Kaitlyn arrived 38hrs ago and we're still in the middle of a super-steep learning curve.

Tips so far: pack lots of food & drink for yourself & Mrs. YOU need to keep your strenth up too and hospital food probably won't help. And regulate visitors – Mrs Burts works in this hospital and we've had too many visitors from her dept today, it doesn't give us enough time to do what needs to be done.

But its all worth it!

If no one has said it yet, first aid kit/course. Tiny babies don't often need it but they don't stay tiny long and then all sorts of bangs and scrapes, ingestions, foreign bodies start causing trouble. The other day my boy went from this:

to this:

when FatSpaniel decided he was going to chase a rabbit. He had the lead wrapped around his arm and couldn't let go quick enough.

Well there is a right way to do it.. that's when you finally figure it out and wonder what the fuss was all about. Once you get it down, it's the absolute easiest thing ever.

+1 for taking food to the hospital tho. I mixed Torq energy drink for my wife because she was working as hard as you would on a bike ride, only for 20 hours or so.

£250 on a pump? We have a plastic cheap looking thing!!

BTW- good ride last night binners. My first ever technical-content night ride 😀

It means I leave early this afternoon I take the family out for the afternoon and pamper them in exchange

I'd avoid Gina Ford books, you can't get a manual for a baby, they are all different.You will find what works for you and your child, its got the human race this far, its seems to work…….

And as already noted, get all the sleep you can now!

Well, ours sold for £75 (cost us £90 for the model we got).

I don't entirely agree – books can be a help – just don't just slavishly do everything they say – after all you will soon work out what your child wants/needs.

We tried to apply Gina Ford's draconian methods with the Beamlet. She wasn't having any of it.

All three of us were getting mega stressed trying to make her comply so we gave up in the end. We are all much happier now.

What I was trying to say is by all means read books if you need help and direction but don't assume it works. FWIW we tried the Gina Ford but gave up on almost all the things she said, but there are a couple of things that we tried and have worked.

What no-one told us is that we could expect almost 6 months of non-stop illness – we have had tonsillitis, eye infections, ear infections, more tonsillitis, suspected glue ear, colds, sore throats, coughs, rapid breathing, wheezing, more ear infections, conjunctivitis, tonsillitis… I think we have had just two unbroken night's sleep since November – when one is well the other invariably isn't 🙁

remeber to keep yourself well groomed around d day.shave and a wash at least everyday. when my little one way born i had two days growth on my chin, really needed a haircut, and had my minging specs on.
till the day i die the "special" pic of my newborn babe and me,the happy father,which sits on the mantle piece for all to see, has me in it looking like worzel gummidge!
gutted.

Don't forget that you're still one half of a couple, and it takes some effort to preserve that.

That's a lesson I learned the hard way (although it takes effort from both parties), but I'm not bitter – yet.

Nope – its down to the over-eager interpretation of blanket legislation. We knew MrsTT wasn't going to be able to breast feed in advance, yet the help was not there and the implied stigma was shocking – not the way a developed country should behave.

Buy good quality bibs – not cheap ones that don't absorb anything. Good bibs and swaddling the baby works really well.

No it's not. A lot of people really just can't be arsed. I've spoken to a lot of them.

There's the pro BF message and then there's hysterical weirdos. Not the same, necessarily 🙂 No-one's saying that if you have a physical problem with it then you are evil and bad. Having said that a lot (but not all) instances of physical problems can be overcome.