give me your collective wisdom!

To sum it up again. 1. Infacol. 2. Calpol. 3. Baby Nurofin. Can be used with Calpol to get a temp down fast. Different one every 2 hours!!! 4. DR Brownes, if bottle feeding, for first 3-4 months and then Advent. Major help with winding. All 3 of mine!! 5. Teeting rings or even a steel tea spoon(YES)! 6. Relax, your going to be the best dad in the world!

Something else that is a life saver is infacol and when the baby is older gripe water. Helps with gas.

Well it's been seven and a half years since my last one so I'm a bit rusty but here goes: 1) All babies/kids are different, so what works for one won't work for another. My eldest was the easiest baby ever. Fed well, slept well (even down the pub!) but the next was almost the exact opposite. We had real trouble geting the second to sleep through the night, then we moved him to his own room and he did it first night. Think the missus' snoring had been disturbing his sleep! 2) Whatever people have told you about the birth you still won't be prepared. My missus is a midwife so I knew a lot more about what might happen than other expectant fathers, but it was still a shock. And so on to point… 3) Your wife shouldn't eat too close to the final throes of labour. Believe me, she and you (and the midwives) will thank me for it. 4) If your wife/partner is overdue don't try any of the supposed methods for getting it started (especially castor oil), except for sex. It's unlikely to work but it may be the last you'll get for some time. 5) Don't go in for too much routine. Routines can be good but don't let them rule your life, you still need to be able to go out and have fun. My brother and his missus had such strict routines that they'd hardly ever go out in the summer as they always had to be home for meals at specific times. It's given them real headaches ever since and the youngest is now six! We kept things loose and now have pretty easy going kids. 6) Calpol is a lifesaver. Oh and a lesser known one is Ashton & Parsons teething powders.

As said, Calpol (and always make sure you're not running out) is a must. The only thing I'd add is before you leave the hospital, get the doctors to check for tongue tie (depending on the severity, it can greatly affect their feeding)! We'd never even thought of it, or been told about it, but our small person was diagnosed the day after we got home by the community midwife, and the waiting list for a snip is six weeks on the NHS round here! We went private, but it can cost a couple of hundred quid, so it's best to get it done before they leave the hospital if you can. Good luck!

Welcome to the club bro. The advice you got was spot on. Its tought at the start but gets easier and the bonding with your child is quiet something. Calpol an absolute must bro. Good luck guardian

Congratulations / Mwhahahaha!!! :) Thoughts that come to mind straight away. 1) There isn't one right way to do anything with kids. Not all health workers / midwives / doctors / parents / friends give the same answer to any of your questions. Sometimes all the answers are valid ones. So listen to the advice, and do what you feel is right / suits your new family. 2) Survive the first 8 weeks - don't fight it, give in to it. You have a new being in your life that you can't control. Just when you think you have a routine, your baby will progress, and it changes again. 3) Don't wish too hard for the next stage of his/her development to come along. Wanting them to sit up, or crawl, or walk or talk. You can wish the days away, and then before you know it, they are teenagers. The time goes faster than you think. 4) The best thing you can give your kids is your time. See point 3. 5) Calpol. There are thousands more, and you never stop learning, or beating yourself up about not being as good as you think you could be, or worrying about them. But those three things are what means you care. How's that for starters? Good Luck.... Steve.