Becoming a father... the best thing ever!

It's finally happened, I've joined that club of men who can be called fathers... and I don't mean a priest! Yes, I am the proud father of a beautiful baby. Whenever you seem to talk with a man in the lift and you discover they're a dad there's a bit of a common bond instantly established. It almost goes without saying, you just know, they have a different air about them. Perhaps it's the twinge of grey in the hair from the stress, the distinct look lack of sleep gives any new parent or perhaps it's the beaming smile they just can't seem to shake - and why would they? Many people ask 'what's it like becoming a dad?' and until it happens to you, there's no real way to describe it.. it's amazing, scary, beautiful, special, unpredictable, exhausting and numerous other things all rolled into one big feeling. The moment you discover you're going to be a dad is exhillerating and daunting... the build up as the weeks tick by shift from exciting to boring to preparation and a bit like your first Christmas... the anticipation is all consuming. Birth day, depending on how the birth goes, is just breathtaking, the finest example of human nature in its rawest, simplest form. You are fairly helpless apart from offering support, requesting attention from the medical team or just begging the wife to push as hard as possible when they're spent from all the contractions and reassuring her when they finally are delivered. Ultimately, it's something that is so personal and intimate you can never express it properly but you know you wouldn't change any part of it for the world and the pride and achievement, even though you're mostly a spectator in their life, is beyond compare. Finally the sense of love you experience for and from your child and partner is perfection and blissful in its truest form. Lovely... simply lovely!