Wife is pregnant...

Congratulations!

I expected the worse and kept waiting for it but it never happened. I would like to attribute the smooth pregnancy to my wife being in great shape before being pregnant and then eating very healthy and getting the right amount of sleep. Take good care of her and it will pay off big time.

During the first trimester (and the last trimester) she is going to be tired. While it makes hugely obvious sense toward the end, don't discount the reality of it during the coming few weeks. Being fatigued is an essential physiological reminder to her that she needs to take good care of herself. Help her out as needed, and give her the time to sleep and take it easy. She make look the same as she always has, but remember that there are big changes going on within her and she's not just being lazy or trying to take advantage of you. Similarly, respect her needs if something normal-smelling strikes her as nauseating -- for me, it was something as innocuous as marinara sauce (and of course cigarettes) that set me off.

In the meantime, enjoy this special time together and share the experience with her. Congratulations.

If your wife is like my wife was, she will be asleep by 8 o'clock, allowing you to put in some good mileage at night. Put a lot of miles in the bank, build your base, because the first couple of months post-birth, your time will be at a premium.

May your first child be a masculine child!

If your wife is like my wife expect to get shut off in the sex department. Of course there's nothing sexier than a pregnant wife.

Being a Dad is much more fun than I ever expected.

A wise person told me before my first son was born that having a child will be the most satisfying and challenging experience of your life.

Regarding training....

Assume that your training will be shot for at least a month. Accept that you won't get much sleep and will need to make yourself available. Thereafter, I highly recommend a jogging stroller (which you can use after the baby is 6 months). My sons both loved the jogging stroller, and it allowed me to run guilt free while giving my wife a bit of reprieve. Of course you can't do speed work, but the jogging stroller is great for easy days or long runs.

Good luck

At first she will be tired all the time, so let her sleep in. Once you see some ultrasound pics and start to feel the baby kicking it is pretty cool. Sign up for some birth classes at your hospital and the nurses there will answer almost every question you can think of.

If your wife is up for it, get in as much sex as possible for as long as possible up to the birth. We went crazy (in a good way) because we didn't have to worry about birth control, plus her hormones were running high. After the birth, you are going to be shut out for at least two months, maybe more.

Expect to put on about 20 lbs. yourself.

Hey, it wasn't me. Hehe, j/k. Congrats!

I am so sick of people getting on here and saying how great it is to be a parent and how wonderful it is to have kids (later to bash those who don't have them). All too often to I see parents who are overwhelmed, there kids are brats and run the house and they complain about how "hard" it is to be a parent.

Maybe so but you chose to have children...so live with it. All too often I hear:

"It is so wonderful to come home and have the kids excited to see me."

(Yeah, well my dog is excited when I come home too).

So what does this guy have to look forward to now?

1. Wife will keep you on the clock. Sorry man, no late night at the office. And those long runs? Too long, you'll need to cut them down to how long you can push a baby stroller.

2. You will not get any "breaks" but required to take the kid off your wife's hands because she is "exhausted" from working so hard all day.

3. You will (maybe) have sex once a month.

4. You will never be able to sit down and have a nice dinner conversation.

5. In fact, you will never have a normal conversation again. All conversations will now ONLY be about your kids. What they did, what they ate, what color their poop was.

6. When all the kids are out of the house you will realize you haven't really spent any time with your wife in the last 30 years and you really don't like her very much. This is often refered to as: "we are trying to get to know each other all over again."

So you know, one or more of these are present in every single person I know who has kids. Best of luck, these next 9 months are the easy part.

Hey Snoochie,

We have some pent up issues, don't we? The OP asked about the 8 months of pregnancy, not about what happens when the last kid is out the door to college....

Go get and read "What to Expect When You're Expecting."

You can find it at any bookstore and most WalMarts, Targets, etc. A lof of docs give it out at your first pregnancy visit.

It was a long way of saying his life is over. haha...

How did that happen!

Snoochie Boochie wrote:

It was a long way of saying his life is over. haha...

Issues.

Congratulations! Our daughter was born two weeks ago, having a new baby is a fantastic experience. Yes, running is a much lower priority now than it used to be - no surprises there. Take good care of your wife while she's pregnant - lots of rest (especially in the first trimester) and pay close attention to your diet. Good luck!

1. So what? There's much more rewarding things in life than just a long run and a night out. One of those is spending time with your child which I value more than anything on this earth. Give me a run or time with my children and I'll pick the latter every time.

Secondly, as your child gets older, your time away is freed up more. And if you have friends and in-laws, they will be thrilled to watch your child for a while as you go for a run.

Your priorities change and your time management changes. No big deal.

2. GREAT! You help your wife out and you get to spend great time with your child. It is incredible!

3. Only for a loser like you. Not true at all.

4. Again, a falsehood. Young children sleep a lot and sleep through dinner time. If they are awake, they just goo and ga a lot.

5. Which is awesome! There is nothing like sitting at dinner and hearing my children tell me about their day. Having dinner together is one of the funnest things we do.

6. My kids aren't old enough to be out of the house. It takes both to do a great parenting job and we do everything together. You are a moron.

7. You are going to make a GREAT husband and father some day! I bet the women are lined up to meet you!!!

Man Advice -- and put this in your pocket, 'cause it'll come in handy...

Executive summary:

Wifey's known baby longer than you have; don't worry if your bond takes a while. Baby will smile eventually, and you will love it.

Discussion:

By the birth day, your wife will have known/bonded with/loved this thing for A LOT LONGER than YOU have!

You are NOT going to just wake up and LOVE this thing (as your wife will). In fact, over the first three months, I am willing to bet that you will ask yourself, perhaps more than once, "My G-d, what have I done?" and "What is WRONG with me? I do not LOVE this thing!"

So: RELAX! Cut yourself some slack/give yourself some time, and (for marital accord) PRETEND to love it, grit your teeth and love it if you must, because buddy, the day that thing smiles at you, you are gonna say, "Hey, what was I THINKING? I **LOVE** this baby!"

Recap:

Wifey's known the baby longer than you have, so don't worry if the bond takes three months or so to form. Baby will smile eventually, and you will love it.

You'll thank me later. Pass it on.