Being A Daddy by Simon Ferguson

On the 16th of February 2012, at twenty to five in the afternoon, my baby daughter Lucy was born.  

As you will know, there is a nine month preparation period. It is curious, but you spend most of the time fussing about whether you are going to be a good daddy, preparing for all the legal paperwork that a new baby requires, and in my case moving flat because we needed a lift not stairs!

It is quite a stressful period, but attending birthing classes really helped us get an idea of what to expect and what to do when my wife started going into labour.

Nevertheless, all the birthing classes in the world couldn’t have prepared us for the 27 hours of labour, starvation and sleep deprivation that my wife had to go through. As result, when it came to the moment of pushing Lucy out, my wife was completely and utterly exhausted. So, I helped her push by putting my arm round her back and lifting her whilst shouting …PUSH!!! Eventually after three rugby pushes we saw baby Lucy’s head, and shortly after that the rest of her body followed, all 4.095kg of it! However she wasn’t fat, just very long (49cm). In that, she resembles her daddy.

The experience left me feeling more love and admiration for my wife for going through the whole process, and that we really are a family of three because it took all three of us to get her out.

Now, that she is about two and a half months, weighing 5.480kg we are surviving getting up in the middle of the night, changing nappies and enjoying her baby smiles. So, the big question is: Was it worth it?

The answer is, for us, yes! I absolutely love having her falling asleep in my arms. However, I am well aware of the fact that the baby period is short-lived and before we know it we will be dealing with temper-tantrums and head lice from school.

Glossary

birthing classes – clases de parto go into labour – ponerse de parto nevertheless – no obstante starvation – hambre sleep deprivation – falta de sueño utterly – totalmente resembles – parecerse a

go through – pasar por, atravesar head lice – piojos be short-lived – efímero, de corta duracion Was it worth it ? – ¿Valia la pena? changing nappies – cambiando pañales get her out – “expulsarla” dealing with temper-tantrums – abordar pataletas o rabietas