[erroxiainsona]

Congratulations!!

[maxtp]

Congratulations.

Prepare for sleepless nights, dirty nappies, being sprayed when you change them, possiting down the back of your best shirt, being visited by people who you barely know/relatives/so called friends etc,spending a fortune on baby food, spending a fortune on clothes.

But also, taking her out for walks in the pram, having pleasant conversations with other parents in the park, wearing a stupid grin for weeks on end, those special cuddles when she gurgles as you hold her, feeling like a MAN should when you calm her through cuddles and singing, watching her sleep.

And when she is older - reading her stories, going to the park, baking cakes together, playing football, playing with her and her dolls, making a den out of your furniture so she can make a home in it, sticking her favourite pictures on the wall, teaching her to ride a bike, helping with the homework, displaying all those pictures she paints.


and so very much more besides.

Enjoy it my friend. happy happy days. They go by far too fast

Lee

[ingeneensueva]

Excellent! Don't worry, the first 25 or 30 years are the hardest. If you put her in a convent though you will avoid a lot of problems.

[Aniplinipsync]

congrats tango!

[Kghyutgykim]

Hey, congratulations!

I am by far too young to understands the feelings of a father, but I believe your full of gladness right now!

\o/ \o/ \o/ ;D ;D ;D

[Charryith]

Congratulations Rogers!

[attackDoold]

Congrats Tango!
Best wishes for the whole family!

[Enjoymmsq]

Congradulations on the new bundle of joy, time to buy a baby shinai

[metropropuskruww]

Congratulations!
New dad advice:
1. When the stinky diapers happen-- don't change it right away. Wait about 10 minutes...there is more on the way. I changed 4 diapers in about 10 minutes once.

2. Tummy time: Give her 5-10 minutes on her tummy about every hour when you are with her. It will help her neck strength and crawling eventually...make sure you remain in her field of vision...she will accept it more.

3. Be ready for blowouts-- For the first several months, the babies eat A LOT....conversely....they WILL (not IF) fill up their diaper to 160% of its capacity...be ready with cloth diapers (towels), wipes and an extra set of clothes. Pray that the blowout will not happen in the middle of grocery shopping.

4. Get your wife a gym membership...some place with a childcare (after 6 weeks old) most will take them in if they have infant care. This will help your wife get back in shape...and give her some "free time" for herself....which is very good for you in the long run.


Take a lot of pictures and video-- time will FLY BY.

Those first three months are the hardest....they almost seem endless. But remember to have the baby adjust to YOUR schedule. Do not adjust your schedule to them--dinnertime, naps, breakfast etc.

This will eventually mean the heart-breaking "bedtime" ...eventually she will not want you to leave, and not be ready for bedtime,
and will cry and cry and cry because you "abandoned" her -- fight through it, in a week she will accept the bedtime and fall asleep easier...but listening to your baby cry her heart out, and you just have to ignore it is very, very difficult.

Nothing will melt your heart faster than when your little girl first is able to crawl...and you come home from work, and she turns around scream-giggles and makes a b-line for you giggling and laughing all the way.

Our little girl is 20months now and is just picking up words everyday...
We have another one coming soon in March..don't know if its a boy or a girl....don't care-- they are such a joy.....ENJOY!

[ticskebasse]

Cangrats tango-man!!! happy and difficult days, they say.

[herrdwq]

Congratulations, Tango!

I'm sure that right now, your sleep patterns are just fine. Be warned, that will change very quickly.

All of the advice everyone else has given has been great. Not a parent myself (shoot blanks), but hey, I had 5 younger brothers. I learned how to change diapers at an early age.

[Yartonbler]

Aw, so cute!!!

Steph, you are definitely going to have to control this obession you have about me

[boltondd]

Congratulations, and good luck.

[sjdflghd]

Thanks for all the well wishes and advice!

I got kicked out of the house today (and tomorrow) because my in-laws are staying with us through the weekend, so.. on the condition that I got at least one block of 5 hours uninterrupted sleep, I agreed to come into work (where it's very easy to access the board here).

She's feeding, waking, and sleeping very well and she's setting a good feed-wake-sleep cycle on her own. We expected to be up every couple of hours and so far, this isn't really a big deal. When the baby's sleeping, we're doing our best to get our own rest. So far, it's working out ok.

1st diaper was -- as some have said would be the case -- pretty blown out. 160% might be a conservative estimate! Haha.. At this point, I can only deal with DIRTY loads by wearing rubber gloves, but we'll see how long that lasts. As a friend told me previously -- everything washes off your hands with soap and water. Good advice!

Don't know if there are any kendo plans for her for the future --- wifey isn't really that interested in introducing her to it, but we'll see if she gets interested when she gets to that 9, 10, 11 yr old range after seeing her old man head off to practice every week.

Wifey has put together a quick slide show (14 images) for pics:
http://www.slide.com/r/VcbK1y5z5T8tI...&view=original
I recommend clicking on the link in the upper right that says "GALLERY VIEW" and then you can click through the images faster.

Baby's name is "Holland" (her great-grandmother's maiden name)... and I plan on bucking the system by nicknaming her "Dutch"...

Again, thanks for all the kind words from everybody!

[Cucoulkrory]

I don't give much parenting advice, but this is the most useful thing someone told me and I've since seen people make a mistake in this area: sometime between now and when she's 3 months old, you're going to have to put her in her crib, in her room (not yours), close the door and let her go to sleep. This will be one of the hardest nights of your life. She will cry miserably, but as long as you know she's clean, fed and not in danger, you'll just have to lie there, grit your teeth and wait for her to fall asleep. After that, it will be easier.

Also, if she's spending the whole night in bed with you now, stop that crap immediately. Of course there will be times when she must be in bed with you, but as much as possible get her in the bassinet (or whatever you're using).

Avoid this advice at your peril - I've know people who slept with their 3 year olds in bed between them every night. It's not healthy for parents or child.

[8jIDXQ80]

Ho, snap! Congratulations!

[Giselle]

I don't give much parenting advice, but this is the most useful thing someone told me and I've since seen people make a mistake in this area: *snip*

I hate to contradict you, Neil, but I have seen and experienced a very comfortable and healthy application of co-sleeping. It's different for each kid, and if your child is sleeping with you at 3 you have toddler-sized issues, not baby issues. But, seriously, to each his own. Some excellent examples I have seen and experiences is parents taking shifts, baby sleeping on somebody's chest on the couch, etc., until baby is about one year old, at which point the periods in the crib have become lengthier and grown into all-nighters.

Sleep, cribs, etc. is one of those areas - and there are many - where it really is a to each his own scenario.

[Assauraarguck]

I stand by my advice. Your marriage is affected enough by the new kid without having her in your bed for a year or more.

[somamasoso]

Damn that Pocket PC, I'm pretending really hard it's in pink don't worry. It's so pink now I think I'm in Barbie heaven Thank you very much for pretending it is written in pink. I really wanted to write that in pink. I'm so happy you can now see it in pink! As a result, you have now officially entered Barbie heaven where everything is pink! May your days be all pink with happiness!

Kaoru