Any dads-to-be on this forum?

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papa2b

Registered User
My wife is delivering in mid-May 2009 - and we're first time parents! Although i think (she won't tell me her username!!) my wife is quite active on this forum - i'm wondering if there any other dads-to-be here - especially first time dads?

Im sure there is a lot we could be learning from each other to prepare for the new arrival too...
 
Hi papa2b,
I'm a first time father of a 4 month old born in HK and would be happy to share my limited parenting experiences with you
 
my husband doesn't have a login but i do frequently show him threads, ask his opinion, etc.

I bet if a new dads group formed he'd be in.
 
i am a first-time father (delivery in feb-2009). but i am afraid i don't have any advice. i only have questions. i am only finding out that there is so little i know and my due date is so close.
 
Just go back from a trip....

Lets go ahead and ask questions and hopefully we'll get some good advice from some of the dad's (and mum's) on the site...

So i've got a couple...

1) What was probably the most useless purchase that you made prior to the baby being delivered? The list of stuff we need to get is endless, but i get mixed messages about what is important and not! What should i absolutely not bother with?

2) Air Purifyers - I am thinking about getting air purifyers for the house, but again am getting mixed signals. Some people say that it's absolutely essential in Hong Kong due to obvious reasons. Others say it's not good for the baby, because the air becomes too sterile and they don't build up their natural immune to germs/bacteria etc. What are your thoughts?

3) For working dads - does anyone know if there are any laws regarding paternity leave in Hong Kong?

Thanks!
 
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dont buy too much in advance as u can always buy stuff later. the lists that they give u at bumps to babes is excessive. we bought a rocker early on but didnt use much of it. havea place where u can change the baby without having to bend so much .

dont know about the air purifier as we didnt even consider it

i dont think there is a paternity leave but surely your company will give u days off but better ask your Company

take care
 
My most useless purchase prior to birth was a hair brush and comb set. My baby is 6 months old and still doesn't have enough hair to comb or brush. It isn't as if she is going to wake up one morning with a full head of long hair that needs brushing. Eventually she will have hair but I could use even that little bit of extra clutter out of the way.

Really, try to avoid a lot of the gimmicks. Swaddle blankets were a waste. You can swaddle with any blanket. Creepers and onesies- I can't tell you how many I've donated that my baby had never even worn. I was so worried I wouldn't have enough of the basics and in the end I was given so much stuff I never got around to using it all. Newborns don't get dirty. Mine didn't even spit up. So often times I could use the same onesie twice before washing. If you find you need something you can always go to the shops and get it. Rarely are the shops closed for a holiday and most likely what you find you might need isn't so urgent that you can't wait an extra day.
 
Hi there,

When I was pregnant, my husband & I were completely overwhelmed by baby shops. The 'what to buy' checklist in my pregnancy book was an entire chapter and there was such a dizzying array of choices in the shops.

Now that Finn is 7 months old, here is a list of what we found to be most useful for those first few months:

* A sling/carrier - we got the Ergo with infant insert and Finn loved it. He would pretty much fall asleep as soon as he was put in it. My husband used to go out for long walks with Finn and let me catch up on sleep :-)

* Large lightweight cotton muslin wraps - we were given a pack of Bubba Blue ones and they were fantastic. Finn really liked to be swaddled and slept much better wrapped.

* A rocker - A real lifesaver for us. In the early days, Finn really didn't like his cot and would sometimes only sleep in the rocker.

* Muslin cloths - we got a pack of 20 from Mothercare. We've used them as burping cloths, makeshift bibs and they're also large enough to cover up baby in the stroller.

In terms of an air purifier, we live in Guangzhou which is much more polluted than HK so we have bought an IQ Air. It's hard to know how much difference it really makes, but it does give us peace of mind.

Cheers,

Grace
 
We also considered a air purifier,but ended up just using our de-humidifier on the Air purifying setting ( apparently babys should have some humidity so dont de-humidify) It has two basic washable filters that remove the dust from the air but doesn't purify as such, even with the doors closed and aircons I still have to clean them of fibres and fluff.(maybe all the new clothes!).
As for what not to buy just yet - We bought a plastic laundry wash basin/tub as a bath as its 1/3 the size of a baby bath and cost almost nothing. and works fine- I still use it for quick washes and He is almost 7kgs.
I must agree with ladybug that you dont need so many clothes up front as we also gave away lots unworn.Everyone you know will give your newborn something so dont bother with toys etc till after the birth, when you see what you didn't get given.Good Luck and enjoy.
 
1. buy what you need right away (things that you will need for first week). everything else can be bought when the baby is already at home. make a list. you can cross out any useless stuff when you can think more clearly. i think most of the useless items people buy is because they are not thinking clearly and buy whatever is being sold at baby shops. newborns and babies grow out of clothes very fast. if you received a lot of clothes from family and friends, then do not buy at all.

2. getting an air purifier but don't know which brand yet. will get to purify only the baby's room and not the whole house. honestly, kids do need to be exposed to some pollution to build up immunity.

3. i know some guys have taken off but don't know if it was paternity leave or just regular leave.if there is paternity leave, i wouldn't expect more than 1 week.
 
There is no law in HK for paternity leave. They tried to bring it up for discussion for couple years but failed to make it a law. Like everyone else said, check with your company.

From the baby's point of view, nice bedding like pillow, bumper and deco is really a waste. I think they are just for the parents to feel good about the new arrival (which may be important to you).

If you are going to bottle feed, I won't get too many baby bottles, especially the smaller ones. I suggest getting enough diapers just to avoid unnecessary trips and using the time to spend with the baby.
 
hmmm, pillows are unnecessary i agree, but bumpers personally we cannot do without, esp as we have an active little one who at 4-5 months started to really enjoy squiriming up to the top of the cot and sleeping there with his head against the soft bumper. without a bumper (for us), there'd be many painful night wakings as he'd hit his head against the wooden planks on the side of his cot many many times throughout the night. but mayb that's just us!
 
for us, honestly, the most useless purchase was a cot. We had no intentions of being a cosleeping family but it does work well for us. I say get what they need at the start (a bassinet or moses basket) and buy the crib later when you need it. I admit that I would not have been able to do that myself!

Best purchase was an ergo carrier and infant insert. My baby loved it as an infant, it was like magical sleep inducing material, and 6 months later she still loves it. If she is fussy, I pop her in the ergo and go for a walk, instant calming.
 
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