Tuesday, April 11, 2006

What can an expectant father expect on the D-day?

Honestly, you can prepare as much as you like; but when the D-day (or delivery day) comes; it is definitely a different experience. So here's some 3 tips for all you new dads out there:

  1. Remember to bring sets of clean underwears and most importantly a pair of slippers! I made the mistake of preparing for my wife, my kid, my car (filled it up with plenty of petrol), my pocket (withdrew enough money and sourced out where to get my daily New Paper), but not for myself! I FORGOT MY UNDIES! okok, there is nothing to be proud of... fortunately mom is around.. Thanks mom! And yes! those are my boxer shorts, not highly ventilated shorts... Also, I was wearing my weekend shoes. MISTAKE! Your feet will stink to kingdom come (and probably incur the wrath of the hospital staff for attracting the flys). I was barefooted most of the time (which means dirty soles).
  2. Get someone from the family to drive you car back. Believe me, you may assume you will have time to go back home and take a shower, watch a couple of football matches, and maybe even have a couple of beers with you buddies whom you have not seen for a day. WRONG! See, your family job scope has suddenly increased when your kid comes out. Now you are the errand boy, the go-get-the-baby-from-the-nursery guy, the quick-get-the-nurse guy, the talk-to-the-doctor guy, the entertain-all-the relatives-and-friends guy; while at the same time, you are thinking (hmm, i wonder when would mom get here with my boxer shorts?). So trust me, you car will be sitting in the carpark, while Wilson Parking will happily collect your 3-day parking fees (or $10 a day, which is enough money to buy 1 months worth of New Paper; plus a couple of beer!)
  3. Sleep as much as you can before the baby arrives. Now I know it is going to be tough to miss your weekend live football but trust me; you will sell your TV without hesitation if you buy time for some sleep. Remember guard duty? Imagine guard duties for 3 days in a row (plus maybe a 24 klick walk from your room to the nursery, back and forth; and no new undies for a day, while you are hoping seriously for new undies tomorrow). I am barely alive when Ethan's doc, Dr Wong, did her rounds in the morning at 7am. Our conversation went something like this:

dr: good morning!
me: zzzzzz......
dr: i said GOOD MORNING!
me: huh?.. who are you?
dr: i see mommy is doing well! that's good.. i am here to tell you your kid has G6PD...
....... (after 10 minutes)
me: huh?.. what time is it?

So how do i summarise my 3 day stay in the hospital.. ermm... to put it in layman terms.. it felt like my first day in Nee Soon Camp, except I don't need to wash up after food....

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