Tell me about being a Dad...

[Buff]

With our first kid the due date was on the 26th. The doctor was concerned that my wife was measuring so big and worried the baby was coming much sooner and/or needed to be delivered by c-section so he ordered another ultra-sound to get some measurements and sure enough, the due date was bumped up.... to the 24th (but c-section wasn't likely... and didn't happen). When was the little one born? The 25th.

[Hemi-Cuda]

Originally Posted by nickerjones

ughhh that's the worst. The doctor told us our baby was definitely coming early. Due date was March 30th. They told us on March on 13th the baby would be here in the next two days for sure..... The baby came 6 days late. The 2 + weeks of it could happen at any moment was terrifying and exciting at the same time.

Had kinda the opposite, baby was a bit larger than normal so they decided to induce, and everything they told us was that induction would be a long labor process, especially since it was my wife's first. We go in at 11am, they apply the gel at 12 and then send us home, saying come back at 5pm and prepare for a long night. At home the wife starts feeling mighty uncomfortable almost right away, but we though it was cramps related to the drugs since she wasn't supposed to have contractions for many hours yet. But by 4:00 it's bad enough that we pack up and go back to the hospital, they confirm labor has started, yet still insist it will be many hours yet. They move her to the delivery room and right as they page the doctor that administers the epidural suddenly it's defcon 1 and all hands on deck. Daughter was born at 5:20, wife only had to push for 15 minutes or so

I was quite thankful everyone was wrong and it was a fast process, but holy crap was it ever a blur

[wooohooo]

Originally Posted by Hemi-Cuda

Had kinda the opposite, baby was a bit larger than normal so they decided to induce, and everything they told us was that induction would be a long labor process, especially since it was my wife's first. We go in at 11am, they apply the gel at 12 and then send us home, saying come back at 5pm and prepare for a long night. At home the wife starts feeling mighty uncomfortable almost right away, but we though it was cramps related to the drugs since she wasn't supposed to have contractions for many hours yet. But by 4:00 it's bad enough that we pack up and go back to the hospital, they confirm labor has started, yet still insist it will be many hours yet. They move her to the delivery room and right as they page the doctor that administers the epidural suddenly it's defcon 1 and all hands on deck. Daughter was born at 5:20, wife only had to push for 15 minutes or so

I was quite thankful everyone was wrong and it was a fast process, but holy crap was it ever a blur

Wow that was crazy. Similar thing happened to us in terms of being induced. They told us over night, even when we called the help line they told us to come back tomorrow morning as it was too soon. Good thing we decided to get checked up since we didn't even leave the hospital yet and bam, her water broke in the check in. We were in the labour room for about 5ish hours then we had to do an emergency C-section. But man, you only had an hour and a bit? That's crazy!!

Did your wife have an epidural? We had a friend that wanted one but the baby came so fast they didn't have time to put one in. She said it was the worst pain she's ever had. I'm really not sure how women can go without drugs man...

[OutOfTheCube]

Originally Posted by wooohooo

Did your wife have an epidural? We had a friend that wanted one but the baby came so fast they didn't have time to put one in. She said it was the worst pain she's ever had. I'm really not sure how women can go without drugs man...

My wife had an epidural on our first, but the second came too fast and they didn't have time to do it (even though she wanted it). She said it was super crappy to not get it at the time, but that the recovery after having the baby was so much easier. She could get up and walk around and go to the bathroom by herself, was less sore, didn't get tired as fast, etc.

[Hemi-Cuda]

Originally Posted by wooohooo

Wow that was crazy. Similar thing happened to us in terms of being induced. They told us over night, even when we called the help line they told us to come back tomorrow morning as it was too soon. Good thing we decided to get checked up since we didn't even leave the hospital yet and bam, her water broke in the check in. We were in the labour room for about 5ish hours then we had to do an emergency C-section. But man, you only had an hour and a bit? That's crazy!!

Did your wife have an epidural? We had a friend that wanted one but the baby came so fast they didn't have time to put one in. She said it was the worst pain she's ever had. I'm really not sure how women can go without drugs man...

No epidural, everything happened too fast. Really glad she only had to push for a short while, because she was in a lot of pain. Also we only got into the delivery room just before 5, so really we were only in there 20-30 minutes before it was done

They say the 2nd child birth is a lot faster than the first, if that's true I may have to buy a catchers mitt

[I-Hate-Hulse]

Originally Posted by snootchiebootchies

Same here. We kept them rear facing as long as possible. At some point though, their legs just become too long to keep them scrunched up in a rear-facing seat. I forget when we switched over our first to forward facing but our second was about 2 years and 8 months old when we finally switched him over.

After reading up on the swedish experience with rear facing kids until they're 4-6 years old I figured I'd wait as long as I can. The stats make it clear that RF is the safest way to go - period.

Our 35lb son is still rear facing. We have a extended rear facing seat (Diono) and bucket seats in the 2nd row so the backrest can be set so his legs aren't too squished. He's not complaining because he doesn't know any better...

Admittedly, extended rear facing might not be practical in some cars/SUV's due to space limitations.

[GGG]

Originally Posted by I-Hate-Hulse

After reading up on the swedish experience with rear facing kids until they're 4-6 years old I figured I'd wait as long as I can. The stats make it clear that RF is the safest way to go - period.

Our 35lb son is still rear facing. We have a extended rear facing seat (Diono) and bucket seats in the 2nd row so the backrest can be set so his legs aren't too squished. He's not complaining because he doesn't know any better...

Admittedly, extended rear facing might not be practical in some cars/SUV's due to space limitations.

while the crash test dummy data shows lower impact forces with extended rear facing in 1-2 year olds. I know when I looked there was no data on 4-6 year olds in rear facing seats. I'd be intereseted to see that if that exists now.

The other thing that doesn't exist is any data that shows that in the transition to extended rear facing that it as a policy reduced injuries. Is this decision such an insignificant one that it gets lost in the noise of car accident data?

So while the crash test data does show reduced forces And that should correlate into reduced injuries we may be at the point in the risk profile that it doesn't make a meaningful difference.

It's kind of like booster seat militancy. The data does not exist to show that differences in injury rates of children within jurisdiction with different booster seat laws are statistically significant.

[flamesrule14]

Originally Posted by flamesrule14

So due date was today. Nothing is happening at the moment. Anticipation is killing us. This week has been really long and the wife and I both want this over with. Hopefully the little one decides to come soon!

Love reading this thread just can't wait.

Had my little boy today at around 4 pm. Didn't go quite as planned as baby's heart beat was fluctuating every time the wife had a contraction. Was dropping more then they liked and they figured something might be wrong. Eventually at 4cm they decided they couldn't wait and risk anything and we had to do an emergency c section. What a fast process and it seemed like it just happened in an instant. Baby was having a bit of trouble with breathing and they've had to put him on oxygen and are monitoring him for atleast 24 hours maybe 48. They don't seem concerned at all and we are hoping we get to have him tomorrow hopefully.

Been a long day, but man that half hour just flew by. Almost to fast to really soak it all in. Especially sucks when we don't get the little guy to ourselves. Wife's getting a good night sleep and recovering and then hopefully tomorrow we can get our little guy. Such a cutie just can't wait to be able to hold him and not have him hooked on machines.

[Cali Panthers Fan]

Originally Posted by flamesrule14

Had my little boy today at around 4 pm. Didn't go quite as planned as baby's heart beat was fluctuating every time the wife had a contraction. Was dropping more then they liked and they figured something might be wrong. Eventually at 4cm they decided they couldn't wait and risk anything and we had to do an emergency c section. What a fast process and it seemed like it just happened in an instant. Baby was having a bit of trouble with breathing and they've had to put him on oxygen and are monitoring him for atleast 24 hours maybe 48. They don't seem concerned at all and we are hoping we get to have him tomorrow hopefully.

Been a long day, but man that half hour just flew by. Almost to fast to really soak it all in. Especially sucks when we don't get the little guy to ourselves. Wife's getting a good night sleep and recovering and then hopefully tomorrow we can get our little guy. Such a cutie just can't wait to be able to hold him and not have him hooked on machines.

The EXACT same thing happened to us. He was a few days past the due date when we went in for a doctor visit. Doc listens to the heartbeat and it the heart rate dropped significantly during what could be characterized as a very mild contraction. She sends us over to the hospital where they stick a monitor on my wife and the heart rate drops a few more times in the span of an hour. A couple hours later, my wife is getting a c-section. However, when they opened her up, they couldn't see anything wrong with our baby and he didn't have any health problems whatsoever immediately following, so I can't relate to your situation. Fast-forward a couple of years and he's as healthy as any kid out there. Big and strong, and never really gets sick other than some sniffles now and then.

It definitely sucks to not have the baby right away, but on the bright side, it will allow your wife to recuperate a little bit before having to do any childcare. Soon enough you will get your fill of having a baby to care for at all times. It's amazing, but it can be quite demanding, especially for the first couple of months. Rest up now while you can and good luck!

[Hockeyguy15]

The whole thing with the heart rate dropping with a contraction isn't because something is wrong with the baby developmental wise, it's because the squeezing from the contraction is causing the baby distress (the contraction is cutting off blood flow to the baby). So yeah in most cases there is nothing wrong with your baby, and there would be nothing that the doctors would see once they did the C-section and there would be no long term development issues associated with it.

[Hockeyguy15]

Originally Posted by flamesrule14

Had my little boy today at around 4 pm. Didn't go quite as planned as baby's heart beat was fluctuating every time the wife had a contraction. Was dropping more then they liked and they figured something might be wrong. Eventually at 4cm they decided they couldn't wait and risk anything and we had to do an emergency c section. What a fast process and it seemed like it just happened in an instant. Baby was having a bit of trouble with breathing and they've had to put him on oxygen and are monitoring him for atleast 24 hours maybe 48. They don't seem concerned at all and we are hoping we get to have him tomorrow hopefully.

Been a long day, but man that half hour just flew by. Almost to fast to really soak it all in. Especially sucks when we don't get the little guy to ourselves. Wife's getting a good night sleep and recovering and then hopefully tomorrow we can get our little guy. Such a cutie just can't wait to be able to hold him and not have him hooked on machines.

Congrats!

I would suggest picking up one of these nasal suckers to have on hand.
https://www.amazon.ca/hydraSense-Nas.../dp/B00BMXEFLE

Since your little guy didn't get squished while being born he could still have some mucus in him. Our little guy had some mucus still after coming home and that thing helped out a lot. You might not need it, but it will be better than running out late at night to try and find it like I did.

[manwiches]

Originally Posted by flamesrule14

Had my little boy today at around 4 pm. Didn't go quite as planned as baby's heart beat was fluctuating every time the wife had a contraction. Was dropping more then they liked and they figured something might be wrong. Eventually at 4cm they decided they couldn't wait and risk anything and we had to do an emergency c section. What a fast process and it seemed like it just happened in an instant. Baby was having a bit of trouble with breathing and they've had to put him on oxygen and are monitoring him for atleast 24 hours maybe 48. They don't seem concerned at all and we are hoping we get to have him tomorrow hopefully.

Been a long day, but man that half hour just flew by. Almost to fast to really soak it all in. Especially sucks when we don't get the little guy to ourselves. Wife's getting a good night sleep and recovering and then hopefully tomorrow we can get our little guy. Such a cutie just can't wait to be able to hold him and not have him hooked on machines.

Congrats! My wife had an emergency c-section with our little guy, and honestly, it is single-handedly the scariest, worst, best feeling I've ever felt in the world. What appears to be absolute chaos and terror to us, is routine and easy for the team that assembles in like 10 seconds, and then minutes later it's more or less done.

I remember going from tired as hell from 12 hours of labour, to concern when the nurse commented about the heart rate, to absolute panic and shock when the doctor came in and called for the emergency c-section and 5-6 people ran in. I was in such survival mode for my wife that i was trying to calm her down the whole time, until they carted her in the OR, and then the nurse told me to wait outside. Right at that point when she told me to sit and wait, I broke down and bawled like a baby, for what seemed like 10 minutes. Composed myself after a talking to by the nurse, in the OR, tried to keep my wife calm through the drugs, and then absolute utter elation hearing my son cry.

The process our SOs go through to bring a baby into this world, is on another level.

[CroFlames]

Originally Posted by manwiches

Congrats! My wife had an emergency c-section with our little guy, and honestly, it is single-handedly the scariest, worst, best feeling I've ever felt in the world. What appears to be absolute chaos and terror to us, is routine and easy for the team that assembles in like 10 seconds, and then minutes later it's more or less done.

I remember going from tired as hell from 12 hours of labour, to concern when the nurse commented about the heart rate, to absolute panic and shock when the doctor came in and called for the emergency c-section and 5-6 people ran in. I was in such survival mode for my wife that i was trying to calm her down the whole time, until they carted her in the OR, and then the nurse told me to wait outside. Right at that point when she told me to sit and wait, I broke down and bawled like a baby, for what seemed like 10 minutes. Composed myself after a talking to by the nurse, in the OR, tried to keep my wife calm through the drugs, and then absolute utter elation hearing my son cry.

The process our SOs go through to bring a baby into this world, is on another level.

Man, reading this thread gives me joy but tons of anxiety too. I don't know if I have what it takes to handle the childbirth that is mere weeks away for me now. I need to be strong, but I don't know if I can be.

Then I'm reminded that what we bros go through pales in comparison to what the women go through.

[manwiches]

Originally Posted by CroFlames

Man, reading this thread gives me joy but tons of anxiety too. I don't know if I have what it takes to handle the childbirth that is mere weeks away for me now. I need to be strong, but I don't know if I can be.

Then I'm reminded that what we bros go through pales in comparison to what the women go through.

Honestly, enjoy the process. It's almost every base human emotion you will experience, in a 'single' experience. That final feeling of hearing your little one for the first time, is second to absolutely nothing in this world.

[Rubicant]

Originally Posted by CroFlames

Man, reading this thread gives me joy but tons of anxiety too. I don't know if I have what it takes to handle the childbirth that is mere weeks away for me now. I need to be strong, but I don't know if I can be.

Then I'm reminded that what we bros go through pales in comparison to what the women go through.

Don't get me wrong, what the woman goes through is very obviously more difficult/painful/awful than what the man goes through.

That said - I found it very difficult to watch what she was going though and feeling completely powerless to help in any way. My first son was a crash c section after watching massive decels in his heart rate, and failed trial of forceps (my wife moved down the bed when they pulled). The helpless feeling I had while my unborn son and wife were going through that was horrible.

It all turned out well - which is what you should focus on at the end of the day.

[GGG]

Originally Posted by Rubicant

Don't get me wrong, what the woman goes through is very obviously more difficult/painful/awful than what the man goes through.

That said - I found it very difficult to watch what she was going though and feeling completely powerless to help in any way. My first son was a crash c section after watching massive decels in his heart rate, and failed trial of forceps (my wife moved down the bed when they pulled). The helpless feeling I had while my unborn son and wife were going through that was horrible.

It all turned out well - which is what you should focus on at the end of the day.

The big thing for me was not knowing if I should be panicing. There are beeps and buzzes and all kinds of commotion going on around you as they transition from labour to C-section and much of it is likely routine but in the moment every beep or line on the fetal heart rate chart causes you panic and you have absolutely no control.

I think I would have rather been on the table than helplessly watching.

But then everything in the end generally works out fine and did eventually in our case after more complications in recovery. But in the moment it might be the scariest thing you ever do.

[CliffFletcher]

C-section with twins was a bit of a gong show. There were something like 12 doctors in the room (the standard 8 for twins, and 4 medical students observing), so I definitely felt like a peripheral figure in the whole affairs. Was a bit freaked out when a gout of blood shot up and landed on my foot. And when my daughter had to be put in the oxygen tank because she was red and not breathing. But there's so much adrenaline coursing through your veins that I didn't really feel anxious, just wired.

[undercoverbrother]

Originally Posted by CroFlames

Man, reading this thread gives me joy but tons of anxiety too. I don't know if I have what it takes to handle the childbirth that is mere weeks away for me now. I need to be strong, but I don't know if I can be.

Then I'm reminded that what we bros go through pales in comparison to what the women go through.

Originally Posted by manwiches

Honestly, enjoy the process. It's almost every base human emotion you will experience, in a 'single' experience. That final feeling of hearing your little one for the first time, is second to absolutely nothing in this world.

This really is good advice.

I can't think of another experience like being there to see my kids being born.

[tvp2003]

Originally Posted by CroFlames

Man, reading this thread gives me joy but tons of anxiety too. I don't know if I have what it takes to handle the childbirth that is mere weeks away for me now. I need to be strong, but I don't know if I can be.

Then I'm reminded that what we bros go through pales in comparison to what the women go through.

Try to be calm and supportive -- the doctors and nurses will take good care of mom and baby so don't feel like you need to be anything more than that. With our first one, it was more of a relief that baby was out, safe and healthy.

Looking back, labour and delivery was a struggle for us but in my opinion, the real joy (and work!) is seeing them grow up and develop. Giving birth was simply the first step in that process (or maybe I've just blocked out all of those bad memories -- lol).

[Calgary14]

We are expecting later this year and are very excited. It's been pretty overwhelming trying to get everything we need. Crib, dresser, playpen, diapers, stroller, car seat, and lots more.

Not sure if this is the right thread but what is the difference between a daycare and a day home and what do they typically cost in Calgary? Most of them have decent websites with lots of info but nothing on availability or pricing