What are the first few weeks like with your first baby? Wondering what it's like for a man

[Pruni]

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[DaddyCool]

f'ing awful, but not nearly the kind of distress dw went through.

I remember alot of not knowing what the hell to do, being very very tired and having take-aways whilst sitting on the bed with a sleeping baby.

but i wouldn't feel bad about the man. DW had it much tougher than me. thats what we're here for. to take abuse in times like these.

[Pruni]

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[DaddyCool]

he should be

... but i'm sure the joy of the baby will pretty much shadow all the other stuff. i remember being a pretty happy camper when ds was born regardless of sleep depravation and the world crashing in on us.

[tribpot]

I just asked dh and he said "like being stranded on a desert island and having to learn to live all over again".

Admittedly, dh is a SAHD and was there for all of the early time too (thank god, or I would have lost it big stylee).

[vimfuego]

Incredibly stressful but amazing, absolutely amazing to have a child of your own. Even though I'd had nine months to get used to the idea, the second the baby came out I was hit with an overwhelming sensation that life was never going to be the same again.

[BigGitDad]

Very very stressful! It was the lack of sleep that my wife and I found difficult to cope with. Both our children had colic which made things worse. How envious we were of our friends whose babies slept well in the night at an early age.
But on the flip side, very rewarding. Every day brings something new and it really is wonderful watching your children grow up before your eyes. (my kids are 2 and nearly 4 now)

[UnquietDad]

Stessful, sleepless, feeling that just as soon as you've got the hang of something the goalposts are moved. Gets better after about 3 months.

[IntergalacticWalrus]

DP said he gaed 10 years in the first week of DS1's life.

Sums it up really!

He loves it now though

[UnquietDad]

It's true - look at pictures of yourselves as a couple from before you had children and you look about 13!

[BigGitDad]

Absolutely UnquiteDad, My wife and I have a picture of ourselves and the rest of my family taken a month after our first born and we look like something out of a Vietnam war movie, dark rings round our eyes, the thousand yard stare, the lot!
Oh happy days!

[yeahinaminute]

All DH raves about was the infection I got in my C section scar and the unabounded grotesque joy he got from changing the wick in it and having a general squeeze around getting the gunk out !!!

[BigGitDad]

Okay that's enough! Way too much detail! my wife had a c section and that is something I do not want to think of.

[DrDaddy]

When the first child arrives, you soon understand what the word zombie actually means...
But when you hold your firstborn in your arms for the first time, no one can describe the feeling of joy you will feel as a dad.