The Daddy Diaries....the first drive home

Every now and then, we’ll be posting short blogs from parents with there comings and goings in the infant world. This week we have Darren writing in:

Hi Everyone!
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The first time I was an expectant father, I remember reading a book called Pregnancy for Men: The Whole Nine Months, amusing and informational, it had a big job to do to erase my complete and utter ignorance on the matter and did as good a job as it could have been expected to do. I also attended hypno-birthing classes at a birthing centre in Windsor; that really opened my eyes to how my limited ideas of the arrival date had been shaped, and went to some antenatal classes, which I can’t really remember at all.

There was a lot to digest and I must admit that I became so preoccupied about the safe arrival of my baby that I didn’t really give any consideration to everything that would come after that. Actually, no. There was one exception. I was beyond terrified at the prospect of driving my new baby home from the hospital for the first time. In fact, I remember praying that I’d be allowed to drive home outside of rush hour to relieve the stress.

​I’m not sure why I was so preoccupied with this task. Maybe because I felt that my baby would be safe in the hospital, and at home, but out on the road there were so many added hazards and so much unpredictable behaviour. I really wanted to make the 50 minute drive in a slow fashion but was aware that this can antagonise other drivers stuck behind me, who wouldn’t be aware of the situation, and in some cases react, umm shall we say, negatively. Now, I’m the type of driver who prefers to pull over and let cars behind me pass if I’m in a new place, perhaps looking for an address, but the route home from the hospital didn’t provide many options on that front.

My son was born at 11am in the morning but we stayed at hospital overnight due to some complications and were promised we could leave the next day. Irrationally, I was hoping to be given the greenlight before the evening traffic started but predictably, we had to leave right in the thick of it, on a cold, dark November night. Of course, the journey was fine, and I did manage to find a layby to pull over in and check on the baby, which is now always referred to as my son’s layby whenever it is passed by.

What do you need for a new baby? Now my boys are older, I sometimes think a bike and a football are enough, but I remember researching baby products before selecting a car seat for my new-born baby. I was looking for the best baby products which had won baby awards, since the financial outlay was one of the larger ones I had to budget for, along with a pram. In the end I settled for a Britax model ( https://www.britax-roemer.com/car-seats),  a trusted brand with a strong reputation for newborn products and a host of baby awards to instil confidence into new parents.

Thanks
Darren