Going into labor

[Chris]

Hi everybody!  My wife and I are expecting our first kid.  She's 8 months pregnant and due date is April 12.

 

We are seeing our OB 2x a week for Biophysicals, Ultrasound, and Dr.

 

We did the hospital tour and packed 3 Ready To Go bags.

 

Any advice?

 

 

[arch stanton]

Get all the sleep you can handle before the little bundle of noise arrives.

[red321]

12 month overseas assignment

[AngelsLongBall]

A ) Congrats!

 

B ) Buy some lotion.  You'll be spending a lot of time with yourself

Edited March 17, 2016 by AngelsLongBall

[Angel Dog and Beer]

Seriously, getting adequate sleep is the hardest thing to adjust to.  When the baby is waking up every couple hours in the middle of the night to feed, you and the wife start to become zombies.  Start talking about the nightly schedule, who is getting up to feed the baby, if you're going to alternate, if your wife is going to strictly breast feed or if she's pumping, then putting her milk in bottles, or if you're strictly doing formula. Have a good system in place for the "night sessions" as my wife and I liked to call them.  

 

Oh, you'll be washing bottles up the yazoo constantly.  Most bottles nowadays have multiple pieces to them, to help prevent against the baby sucking in air, which causes burping, spitting up and general discomfort. So have a place to store all your bottles and their pieces, and their cleaning supplies.  Also, this sounds stupid, but a bottle warmer is handy to have if you keep your breast mil in the fridge, or if you pre-make your formula. Its faster and cleaner to warm up a bottle at 2am when your zombied-out, plus you always know its a safe temperature.

 

Get a cozy chair for these nightly feedings too, but don't fall asleep with the baby in your arms.  (((Sad story upcoming)))  My friend and his wife just had a baby, and it was a long labor. First night in the hospital, the wife's exhausted, she falls asleep, slouched over while breast feeding her baby. Suffocates it.  Terrible story, but just a warning. You'll be exhausted the first couple days, and then really tired the next couple months until the baby eats more at a time, and sleeps longer. Some babies sleep 6 hours right away, some are colicky and don't sleep more than an hour.

 

Have a blast! By first kid came into our world at 7:10pm, just in time to watch the Angels game that night. 

[OCAngelsNotLAA]

be a man and cut the cord with your teeth

[Chuck]

Congrats, Chris. 

[Jay]

Congrats

[NJHalo]

All good advice about getting sleep, and setting schedules to share the responsibility (sleep deprivation).

 

Remember, babies are not made of glass. I am sure you will be gentle, but don't make yourself neurotic. They are tougher than you think.

[Angel Oracle]

Congrats Chris!

Just drink a lot of coffee these next few months.    Seriously, I will always remember the joy of my daughter being born and signing a lyric from "Buffalo Girl" (It's A Wonderful Life) to her upon her birth and cutting of the cord.   

[Blarg]

AO is divorced so you may want to put a lot of thought into your choice of singing in the delivery room.

[Adam]

Make sure your wife breastfeeds.

 

1. Cost $0

2. You can sleep through the night. 

[meat]

and get her to the hospital before the labor progresses too far.  My wife was like the deer in Tommy Boy trying to bust out of the car.

[AngelsLongBall]

Make sure your wife breastfeeds.

 

1. Cost $0

2. You can sleep through the night. 

3. Giant cans

[mp170.6]

Make sure her bus pass is current.  It would suck if she had to walk to the hospital. 

[Tank]

be as helpful as you can, a real johnny-on-the-spot for her. she'll have it tougher than you, so don't disappear.

 

read to your child as much as you can every day. may not seem like much, but it helps put her into a routine that's easier to maintain as she grows, plus it helps her audiologically. it also helps create an interest in books and stories, and those are pretty useful in a lot of ways.

[Sully151]

Any advice I have would be about 8 months too late

Seriously, slow down and enjoy being with your wife right now, cuz it's all about to change (for the good and not so good).

Go to the movies together, spend a night away, just hang out. If you have a dog, spend a ton of time with the pup, he/she is about to experience a big shake up.

Make a playlist on your device of choice to play during labor. You will remember the first song your kid hears.

[mp170.6]

Cherish the time spent with your mother in law staring at your wife's vagina.  Good times.

[mrwicked]

Congrats!

[mrwicked]

Any advice I have would be about 8 months too late

Seriously, slow down and enjoy being with your wife right now, cuz it's all about to change (for the good and not so good).

Go to the movies together, spend a night away, just hang out. If you have a dog, spend a ton of time with the pup, he/she is about to experience a big shake up.

Make a playlist on your device of choice to play during labor. You will remember the first song your kid hears.

 

we can give requests!

my choice: 

[Amazing Larry]

Make sure your wife breastfeeds.

 

1. Cost $0

2. You can sleep through the night. 

 

Can't stress this enough.

 

I also hope you're on good terms with the grandmas of the family. They're clutch when it comes to babysitting.

[Tank]

+1 on the grandma thing. add in the aunts as well. they'll want to help, and you'll appreciate what they bring (hopefully none of them are psychos).

[Adam]

Can't stress this enough.

 

I also hope you're on good terms with the grandmas of the family. They're clutch when it comes to babysitting.

 

Ha! Seriously. In-Laws watch my kiddos M-F, 7:30-5. My parents pitch in a few hours on T/TH and weekends. 

 

And they do my dishes and fold my clothes.

[NJHalo]

Any advice I have would be about 8 months too late

Seriously, slow down and enjoy being with your wife right now, cuz it's all about to change (for the good and not so good).

Go to the movies together, spend a night away, just hang out. If you have a dog, spend a ton of time with the pup, he/she is about to experience a big shake up.

Make a playlist on your device of choice to play during labor. You will remember the first song your kid hears.

We had the same Doctor deliver both of my daughters. He cranks The Beastie Boys "Girls" when the baby daughters are born.

[Chris]

Thanks everybody!  Good advice!

 

The mother in law is staying home to watch our Chihuahua.  Just us.