Advice

When my wife was first pregnant with our daughter we were so geared up for it. We had gone through a long battle with infertility, once we got pregnant I read all the books and for the most parts they are terrible. I found that I got much better advice from friends, and just letting it happen over the years. Now I have several friends who have wives who are pregnant. Some the first, others more than that. So for all of you here is some of my “sage” advice.

• Listen to all advice, then do what you think is best for you.
• Don’t expect your child to finish things you couldn't.
• Each kid is totally different, there is no one size fits all for parenting.
• There actually is a difference between boys and girls. I thought it was bull like the wind chill factor, but they are fundamentally different.
• When its not your first kid, remember your other kids too.
• There is something called the fourth trimester.
• Take a walk around the block instead of having a fight.
• There is one good book on fatherhood - The Guy's Guide to Surviving Pregnancy, Childbirth and the First Year of Fatherhood

Even more than five years later, I wonder what my dad or grandfather would have told me about being a father. But unfortunately, they were long gone by the time Nugget was born. So I just try to do the best I can, and they seem to be doing pretty good.