Monday, January 19, 2009

So you're going to be a Dad


My forward-thinking parents bought Phil this book for Christmas (So You're Going To Be A Dad, by Peter Downey), and much to my surprise, he read it cover to cover in just a few days.
I say 'surprise' because, unlike me, Phil is a more practical, logical hands-on guy who, rather than dither, research extensively, read widely, dither some more, procrastinate and finally act on a random whim, has an instinct for the right thing to do and just does it.
At last count I had about five books to do with getting pregnant, pregnancy, childbirth and child-raising by my bedside. In my defence, most are donations from friends and family, but I have read most of them at least in part, and in the case of the childbirth book, have even been taking notes. Despite this, I suspect all that rationalisation and logic is going to go completely pear-shaped once reality kicks in/the first contractions hit.
Anyway, this book by Downey is actually a very enjoyable read, and written with great wit, humour and wry observation (yes, I read it through too), so I can see why Phil is enjoying it so much. It's very non-prescriptive, non-judgemental and pleasantly honest.

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