Parenthood : a Fathers Tale : Part Three The Birth

If there is one area where I wish that I had done more of, and so does my wife, and that is taking photos and videos of our daughter through her early stages and each developmental step.  A child develops so quickly it beggars belief, one minute (it seems) they are lying on a mat, gurgling to themselves and patting at toys swinging above their heads, then the next they are toddling along and suddenly they are running around the house, screaming like a banshee and investigating absolutely everything within their reach!

Babies can be an expensive adventure, if you buy everything you need at full price then the Child Benefit figure will not last very long at all.  So it pays to do some research, before the baby is born (as you really won’t have time afterwards!), get a list of all the things that you thing you’ll need – these can be found in books, online or from chatting to friends with kids and find out the price of all the items from one of the baby websites, as this will give you an initial budget to work to.  Have a look at part 2 of my Fatherhood diary for more specific suggestions at:   

Anyway, back to the birth.  Our daughter wanted to lie-in, so was nearly two weeks later than the estimated date of birth and Alison (my wife), I and bump went into hospital on the 1st December 2008 to start the process of inducing the birth.  Unfortunately, as we were being induced a water birth was not an option for us, and as such we found ourselves in a ward with other expectant mothers, being told to walk as much as possible as the movement and (to quote a nurse) to let gravity assist!  The first set of drugs seemed to have little effect and dilation was very slow and it was with a heavy heart that I had to head home that evening, leaving my wife and unborn child in hospital whilst I slept 6 miles away.

The morning of the 2nd December 2008 came with a nasty surprise, the roads that had been clear the previous evening were covered with snow in one of the worst winters of the 21st century.  The sort of day that any sane individual would leave their car on the drive, stay snuggled up in a nice warm house with a hot chocolate and enjoy the stunning white vistas.  Not for me, I cleared the car and started the relatively short journey to the hospital, which took over 2 hours!  I was not a happy bunny!