Am I ready to be a Dad?

When I discovered I was to be a dad for the first time it was with very mixed emotion.


24 January 2006 23:34 GMT / By Ben Harvard Taylor

Hello, I'm the other half.

When I discovered I was to be a dad for the first time it was with very mixed emotion. Yes, I was overjoyed that a mini-me would soon be making their way in the world, but god, have you seen how much those things cost?

Was there really a need for me to give up my study for a baby? Would it really require me to remove those piles of electronic detritus that littered the house? How would I afford that upgrade to my PC?

An initial review of finances, followed by a cursory look at buggies, cots, car seats, prams, clothes and nappies quickly drained the colour from my cheeks, this wasn't going to be the smooth run I was expecting. My wife would probably refer to me as a bit of a skinflint. I like to think of myself as being economical on the unnecessary things in life. I'll happily spend a few hundred pounds on a new flat screen TV, but shell out for more washing powder? You've got to be joking. So, I viewed the inexorable descent into debt with horror.

It started with the baby books. There are thousands. They spell out the gory details of nipple rash, pre-eclampsia and nappy changing. Being me, I looked at the pictures and snickered at the love-making positions recommended (although that's the first thing that goes once the pregnancy is announced). So the first piece of advice - don't, whatever you do, read the books in any great detail and , if you have to, pick one and stick with it. Conflicting advice and a hormonal wife are not a good mix.

I hope, over coming months, to provide a insight into my experience of fatherhood. If all goes to plan I'll even be able to provide a decent view of what gadgets you really need, which you can post-rationalise and which are a waste of time and effort.

I hope this blog will serve to reassure many of you. I hear from those more experienced than me that it's always scary, money is invariably tight and some of the gadgets you've hankered after for months will go by the wayside. But it does mean you have the perfect excuse to buy amazing baby gadgets, wonderful electronic toys and lifesize mechano type equipment, all in the name of child rearing. It can't be all bad can it...
Full tags
Dad, Baby

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