[djpr]

1. Your life will be utterly transformed. My child has been a source of wonder and joy, but also immense challenge. Stop comparing to your previous life, you gotta dive into it.

2. Get fit. You'll likely end up needing to carry a lot of baby and toddler stuff for some time.

3. Grow your empathy muscle. It isn't easy being a newborn or a kid. There's so much they don't understand, get confused or frustrated about. So when they cry, tantrum or rebel, realize they're just trying to make sense of things but don't have the language or capacity to express them.

Be intentional on how you spend time with your kid, listen and observe them as away to connect.

4. Be intentional about connecting with your child. Some folks think there's this magical connection that exist the moment the baby is born. It wasn't the case for me. I wanted a kid but I had to intentionally understand and make that connection with my kid. For me, that meant talking to my newborn, pretending like she understood me, even if she's just a week old. See #3. re: building empathy.

5. Stay connected with you partner at all times. In the beginning, it'll be like hurricane ripped through your lives. In the beginning, staying connecting is making sure you know how to support her. End of the day, she has it tougher with you with all the body changes and breastfeeding demands (if she choose that) to do.

As you two figure things out, go from "all hands on deck mode" to being a pro at changing diapers, make time for connecting and learning to be a couple with a kid and without a kid (when you're kiddo is in daycare).

6. You're gonna buy a lot of baby stuff you'll end up not needing. It's fine, you're figuring this out by trying things.

7. Baby-led Weaning was amazing for us. No purees. No special "baby food". At six months, our kid ate with us on the table, same food as us. Really helps their independence, easier on groceries, and helps to bond eating the same thing together.

[notacoward]

> Get fit. You'll likely end up needing to carry a lot of baby and toddler stuff for some time.

This is good advice, but there are far more reasons than that IMO. For one thing, somebody needs to keep up with their kid(s) not just in physical effort level but in the overall energy/initiation/will sense, and a regular exercise habit helps develop that as well. I've stayed in shape, my wife hasn't, and the difference that has made in how we each interact with our daughter has been profound.

It's also important to set a good example. Just being seen exercising regularly will help normalize it for your kid, helping them develop their own exercise habits early (when it's easier) instead of having to "catch up" later in life when their metabolism shifts and the pounds have already started piling on. It's also a good example in general, of exhibiting a self discipline that they might learn to emulate.

[itsmemattchung]

> Get fit. You'll likely end up needing to carry a lot of baby and toddler stuff for some time.

Spot on. Grew up as an athlete, thinking I'd be impervious to dad bod. Nope. It happens, very gradually, then all at once. Seriously — it'll be difficult but establish a self-care routine that incorporates both physical and mental exercise.

[wngr]

> 7. Baby-led Weaning was amazing for us. No purees. No special "baby food". At six months, our kid ate with us on the table, same food as us. Really helps their independence, easier on groceries, and helps to bond eating the same thing together.

Totally! Only limiting factor are the teeth.

[Freak_NL]

Also, no honey before 12 months because of that weird bacteria in it they can't handle yet.

But yes! Baby food may save time, but you can easily make pureed vegetables yourself (plenty of advice in books with tips on how to round out their dietary needs). Ice cube trays are useful if you prepare it in batches. Just defrost as many as you need before hand. We never gave our kid store bought baby food, and by age one he was eating along with us. At age three now he's a great eater.