So, from what I’ve read, I appear to be experiencing a sympathy pregnancy at the moment.

I’m not sleeping too well, just constantly tossing and turning, and that does me no good at all. The tiredness is making me extremely grumpy and with a bit of nausea mixed in as an added bonus. All in all, it’s shit.

Again from the articles that I’ve read, this is all supposed to be linked to worrying about becoming a father. Obviously there is an element of stress involved with that but for me whatever worries I have are far out wait with excitement. I think that the cause of this sympathy pregnancy lies elsewhere and that I could cure it if I could just win the lottery tomorrow night… It could, after all, be me!

Mrs C and I have spent quite a lot of time in the company of new parents recently. Mostly because Mrs C’s brother has a) a new baby son and b) Sky television. This has been really helpful to us because a) it gives us a bit of exposure to new born babies and b) we can watch the Champions League matches that aren’t on terrestrial.

Mrs C brother is one of those guys who love company and he loves to talk. So much so that after 8 weeks of talking, Mrs C and I have come up with a list of things that we agree we will never talk to people about. The list so far:

• The colour of junior’s poo
• The smell of junior’s farts
• How many times junior has wee’d on us this week
• The noises that junior has made so far
• How little sleep we’ve had since junior was born

From the sanctuary of 130 days to go we’re quite happy to make this list. I suspect that a few days after the birth and cabin fever has set in I’m sure we’ll in such desperate need of human company that we’ll be shouting the colour of his poo from our bedroom window at strangers on the street.

“It’s green. It’s sloppy. God you should smell it.”

Oh, I can’t wait, but until then, I don’t want to know.

Mrs C’s new policy towards food is pretty much “See it, Eat it!” and sometimes includes the sub-clause “Think it, Eat it!”.

The upside of this is it’s pretty easy for me to plant suggestions in Mrs C’s mind as to what I would like for dinner and that’s what we have. Now don’t look at me like that. This is only mild manipulation compared to “In the summer I’ll be really hot and sweaty and just want a shower so we should get a new bathroom suite…”. And Mrs C thinks that she thought of it plus I’m probably making tea so I don’t think it’s too bad. Am I convincing you?

The downside to this is that if we are more than about 15 minutes from home and Mrs C has a code red hunger emergency we have to get food, and quick, from wherever happens to be near. This involved us going to McDonald’s today, which for me was the first time in a good 10 years I’d say. Not that I’m a fast-food snob, it filled a hole, but it’s maybe not the best thing for Mrs C to be eating.

Still it’s better than the Ginsters that we had from a Petrol Station the other week…

Mrs C and I have long agreed that it makes the most financial sense for her to return to her job and for me to quit mine and look after junior (I’m not ashamed to say, she earns nearly twice what I do).

Some men might think that this is a ridiculous idea. Looking after babies is woman’s work; but in my mind this could be the best thing that has ever happened to me. It’ll mean that I get to spend more time with my new (well, 6 month old) son but I was also hoping that it would give me an opportunity to spend some time developing my business (you know when junior’s asleep, because babies sleep all the time right?) and for me to break the chains of permanent labour.

However….

Mrs C has been trying to convince me that it might not be such a walk in the park. I put this down to her trying to trick me into saying she should stay off her job not me. But after reading His BabyBlog I’m starting to feel the foundations of my great plan are a little shaky to say the least.

By all accounts looking after babies takes up an awful lot of your time. So maybe not so much time for the business. Plus - and this is something I’m genuinely concerned about - it seems that it can be a fairly lonely pursuit. We plan to get the boy talking as soon as we can, but I’m pretty certain I wont get much of a conversation out of a 6 month old. The companionship at work is what I like most about my job, am I ready to completely give that up (even though I think I’d be a hit at the local play group!)?

This is something that we need to think about a lot more in the coming months, and as much I would love to give up full time employment, I know I have to do what’s best for my new family.

I think that’s responsibility starting to descend upon me….

When some folks find out that they’re going to become parents, the shopping begins. Prams, pushchairs, pushchair accessories, car-seats, play mats, baby grows, baby outfits. You name it, you can buy it. And you simply have to buy those things because if you don’t your kid will grow up to be maladjusted and that means YOU ARE A BAD PARENT!

There’s an increasing number of stores in the UK that sell designer clothes for babies to pander to these parents. Everything comes with the associated designer price tag. People dress their kids in the latest Prada, Versace or Jeff Banks (well, maybe not Jeff Banks) because if you don’t they’ll be bullied by the other designer kids at nursery and that means, oh yes my friends, YOU ARE A BAD PARENT!

There seems to be a bit of a debate in the States about the pro’s and cons of being a *Hipster Parent* (You can take a test here to check out whether you are). Parents dressing their kids up in fancy clothes, buying them fancy things, and essentially treating their kids as fashion accessories that can themselves be accessorised.

I think it’s safe to say that our boy wont be a fashionista from a young age as neither Mrs C nor I give a monkey’s about fashion. I virtually gave up buying clothes when C&A shut down, if it weren’t for BHS I’d be buck-naked nature boy…

Anyho, some parent’s seem to have a real issue with accepting 2nd hand baby stuff from friends and relatives. The mere thought that another baby has worn an item of clothes and God forbid, poo’d their nappy whilst wearing it, is too much to take. Again, Mrs C and I are not those people. When I came home from work today our living room was turned into a 2nd hand baby stuff warehouse. Baby grows, baby outfits, toys, a bouncy chair thing, just about everything that you could think of short of a pushchair (that’s coming in the next couple of weeks because, you know, there’s only 4 months to go now.).

Our friends and families have been so generous that we’re having to turn things away (or ask for cash alternatives) and we are very, very grateful for their kindness.