What makes a good parent? Right now I think Jess and I are doing a bloody good job but every now and again people ask us a question and I for one find myself wondering what the best response is. I know a few people out there who have kids who are also doing a damn good job and I wonder if any of you have fallen foul of the following questions. 1: Are you still breastfeeding? (Asked to Jess of course.) Now this is a fairly standard one but one that gets asked of Jess a lot (ei

This week I had the very unfortunate task of going back to work after my paternity leave. Yes, that’s right, our little Ru is already two weeks old and I had to sadly leave him and Jess at home as I made my return to work. The day before I was dreading it and I was actually a bit nervous. I’d spent two weeks giving him cuddles all day long and staring at his gorgeous face that it almost seemed unfair that already I had to leave him (between 8am and 4pm.) Here’s a rundown of h

Today marks a significant day as Rupert turns 12 days old. Not a particularly big birthday I know, but it means that today he has been at home as many days as he had to stay in hospital. Not many people know but Rupert and his Mummy had to stay in hospital for 6 days as they both had an infection. Now, after a 9-month wait, followed by a 54 hour labour, the last thing you want to hear is that your wife and your new son will have to have a course of antibiotics and a stay in h

On Friday morning, 9.42am, on the 23rd of November something truly magical happened – Jess and I became parents. Our little boy decided that he didn’t want to wait until his due date and instead he wanted to come and say hello a few days early. After what seemed like a long, 9-month wait, we were then greeted with a labour that started around 54 hours before he finally made his first appearance – but more on that later. Let me take you back to the start. It seems like fore

Time is such a precious commodity. It’s one of those things that when you have a lot of it you don’t need it and when you need it you don’t have it. Since J and I became pregnant I’ve noticed that some days I really don’t have any time to do anything. It’s partly my own fault because, especially in the early days, I wanted to wrap J up in cotton wool, and protect her and the baby. Since then though, doing as much as I can around the house is my way of showing her my love and

Why when people find out your pregnant, and they’ve had children, do they tell you all the bad bits? J and I recently shared the good news and for every ‘congratulations’ I think I’ve heard just as many ‘sleepless nights’, ‘pain’ and ‘poo-nami.’ Yes that’s right, poo-nami, a tsunami of poo that is akin to a natural disaster, just with a baby’s diarrhoea instead of water. We know it’s going to happen though, so it’s not like it’s a shock. It’s something you know is inevitable

So currently J and I are tackling the minefield of baby shopping. Quite frankly I’m lost already underneath the mire of travel systems, carrycots, cot-beds and breast pumps. Today I went for a walk and of course I ended up in the nursery section of two different retailers staring blankly at the prices wondering a) how we can afford all of this stuff and b) what do those prices include? When I went in I pulled the one down that I thought looked nice and as soon as my hands hit

After nearly a year of marriage and almost six years of this relationship, you think I’d know my other half. And I do to a certain extent, but with pregnancy comes a whole new list of ‘rules.’ Here’s a handy list of dos and don’ts I’ve picked up along this extremely fast-paced road of the first trimester. Do: Be more attentive. It sounds obvious but something as simple as noticing that she now doesn’t eat broccoli, loves the smell of your hair gel or just needs to relax is am

Jess and I are having a baby! That’s right, today we went for our 12 week scan and saw our little prince or princess for the first time and it was absolutely magical. We are both extremely happy, over the moon in fact, but it’s been a journey and an adventure to this point already. For starters, people don’t tell you the bad side of trying for children. They don’t tell you of the heartbreak each month when you try and test and it comes up negative. It’s a long wait as well. F