Antinetal classes

Ok so what is this ? Yet another buzz word, well it may sound threatening or a tongue twister but don't fret. they are nothing but pregnancy classes which help you and your more specifically your partner to prepare for labor, feeding, basic grooming of new born etc.

They are spread over a span of few weeks and batches are usually consist of mothers (ofcourse father's too have to join) belonging to similar trimesters. You are thought some essential breathing techniques, exercises and some inside scoops on what you can expect going forward. Well you might think, there are already a host of people showering you with their wisdom do we need one more ? Well it does help and you can enjoy with your wife these few hours of classes in a week and they are fun and at the same time informative. Look at it this way nobody takes free advice seriously, but once you pay up , you sure will listen up till your penny's worth.

Travel bug

For all those regular vacationers and travelers out there , now is the time between first and second trimester to tick off the holiday check box.From this point onwards vacations will become more cumbersome for your wife and hence there are more chances of it being more of a pain than pleasure.

 Also with the arrival of the little one vacations are really something else.

Take advice of the doctor whether it is ok to travel, good to avoid long road trips considering the state of India roads, short flights recommended cause they can get uncomfortable and a vacation which does not entail sightseeing but just lot of lazing around would be perfect.

Do check out http://getaways.groupon.co.in/ for wide range of holiday deals

Cravings

Hmmmm along with a pregnant wife , comes along cravings, you are asked by many is your wife having any cravings ? Well thankfully my wife did not have any extreme cravings which did not warrant any late night run to the shops as these cravings are glorified usually.

Philips soup maker

My view on this as a foodie is , this may be the opportunity for you also to indulge in some good snacking. Stock your refrigerator with your mutually favorite ice cream if or if its winter some delicious soups. Speaking of soups there is a innovative product in the market from Philips called the soup-maker. Hot soups made from your favorite ingredients are just a button press away. Go ahead check it out it can make smoothies too.

You can also stock your favourite fruits and get munching turning yourself into a health nut.Surprise your wife with a nice dinner over the weekend, even head out to your neighborhood McDonalds or KFC.

Xbox or PS4

You all must be wondering what connection do the gaming consoles have with the parenting world? The simple answer is that after the next 1.5 years you will not be able to immerse yourself in your favorite gaming world. Facts are like this , once the baby is born , your schedules will revolve around the li'l one,weekends or even work days will never be the same trust me.Your home will become a silent zone for the baby to sleep , yes babies sleep quite a bit, they wake up only for their feed. Even if you work around this with a pair of wireless headphones,this fix will not last more than six months because once your baby gets into crawl mode, your controller will be the immediate target and you cannot keep him or her out of action for long.

So now getting back to my title the best time to invest in a gaming console is now . Pick up your Xbox One or PS4 up your favourite gaming title and get gaming. Mind you if you miss this time of your life , next time you will be playing , you will be fighting for the controller with your son or daughter for your turn playing Super Mario bros or whichever is the best title in the kids category.

Scoop: Amazon is running some good deals for the Xbox 360 as well in their Xbox exclusive store right now.

Scan - The ultrasound type

Continuing onwards another integral part of the P journey are the numerous ultrasound scans visits which are scheduled. New technologies, 2D , 3D , with sound , colour and what not. Your test of patience starts here, Iam not sure about other places but for my wife a trip to the scan lab was a half day task. The first time we went , we were stunned by the crowd there, so many expectant mothers waiting their turn to have a peak inside their womb. Well you can just wait , pack some short eats like energy bars and water to drink to tide over cravings and may be take a book to read  or your kindlewith your current ebook while you wait.

It is quite a moment getting to watch the baby form, as you would have read in your biology text books , may be one can take a snapshot on your smart tablet for your history record. Each scan is accompanied by a report to be shown to your doctor and a fair warning would be not to look up the terms in the report on the internet. Generally, the human mind would tend to look for negatives and invariably the Google search bot will find posts linking negativity to those terms and try to scare you. Its tough to prevent the urge from doing that search but its all for good, let your doctor interpret them for you in layman terms and be happy to know that everything is progressing as per plan

The Tech Age - digital history

There will be parents or to be parents who were born in the 80s and have seen world of technology evolve in front of their eyes, from only paper to being paper less, landline phones to smart phone.

Making it whole lot easy for us to document our lives and record history. It is so much easier now to create a digital footprint of oneself , then why not create one for your baby. 

It will be best to invest in a tablet , choosing from the OS you are comfortable with Windows, Apple or Android.Apps to help track pregnancy , create photobooks and what not. I will in the coming days introduce you to best of apps in this sphere and help record your own piece of history

Morning (sic)

As happiness continues to grow along with the little one, your daily routines might get disturbed a bit, thanks to "morning sickness". Imagine how many times a hangover on a work morning would have slowed you down and the wish to sleep the day out is topmost on your mind and the extreme discomfort you feel while doing regular tasks. Morning sickness attacks which your wife will undergo are similar but with more extreme reactions like nausea and imagine going through this for days together more frequently during the first trimester. It is her body's orientation into the 40week new program which is getting launched.
She will have to continue her regular tasks, whether she is a working woman or a home-maker, but what will certainly help will be sharing more work around the house, getting her the morning cuppa will sure be a good start ensuring a good start to her day, doing the laundry and letting her chill out during the weekend by turning chef and whipping up her favorite meal.

Remember as the male counterpart, we cannot experience the pain which they go through but we can for sure take part in it by hand holding through the entire process, your initiation into the world of parenting starts now.

Your Doctor

A major player in this journey other than you and and you wife is the doctor. Choosing the right doctor is very important and the hospital where your wife will deliver your bundle of joy. Even though its early to think about delivery at this stage but invariably the doctor whom you decide on will be connected some hospital or the other.As a father to be , you should also try to make to as many doc visits as possible preferably scheduled over the weekends to ensure that you can clear your doubts first hand and reason out scientifically any practices being suggested by elders. In the age if internet and a search button ever present at your fingertip, the temptation remains to read up many things on the internet and you can think you are more informed than your doc,this approach could be dangerous and you might start to undermine your doctor's diagnosis or even step too far ahead then what is warranted at this time.

Its starts now - The 1st trimester

Now we have a term for this period the first trimester. Wifey becomes cynosure of all eyes. Grand parents to be, neighbors, well wishers , friends etc have suddenly turned themselves into knowledge banks and the pace of your life slows down. From now on you got to be extra careful, think twice before you do things, even care about what you speak or listen to cause there is a life taking shape and it hears everything.Spooky isn't it but not to worry u tend to get used to it.

Now we start planning, it would be great if some one has put everything down in a book right ? The answer is yes and it has been done.

</What to Expect When You are Expecting

The dad's must be thinking , what the hell ! these books are for women, but trust me it is one of the best resource you can find, its well written and make interesting read as well. It does help acclimatise to the change which has started happening around you and help you be part of the process somewhat.

The day we came to know that we were going to be parents

My wife breaks the news to me gently, "I think we are going to have baby". More questions follow "Are you sure ?" , "Are we ready ?", oh wait we need to be sure, cannot depend on off the shelf pregnancy test, lets see a doc. As we drove to see our doc, a silly silence , mix of ecstasy and nervous silence prevailed. Met the doc she did her tests and we were given The confirmation. The moment of happiness had behind it a thousand questions.. but the sheer thought a bringing a life into our family was pure bliss.

There begins our journey till now into the world of parenthood. Through this blog take part in my journey till date and as we get along I will introduce all the products, aids, tips and tricks from a dad's perspective.