As Olly Mann and family prepare for a new arrival, he ponders whether anything can ever live up to the glory of early fatherhood.
I'm about to become a father again. All being well, by the time you read this, I will be—we’re expecting our second son in three weeks. Except, of course, it’s not really me who’s the "expectant" one. My fat, tired, emotional (strong, heroic, might-read-this) wife is "expecting". I have merely attended a couple of scans, dug out the cot from the loft, and initiated some premature conversations about baby-names ("Alvin" was my favourite, but then we got a kitten and I can’t now suggest our son should have the same name as the cat.)
I don’t feel remotely prepared. I didn’t the first time round, either— as I articulated in the first of these columns, back in January 2016. My anxieties then, apparently, concerned how to support my wife through labour (now I know: just be there, pretend everything’s fine, don’t faint) and what to buy to help us through sleepless nights (now I know: a white noise app, a Netflix subscription, and a wine box).
This story is from the Reader's Digest September 2019 edition of Reader's Digest UK.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Sign In
This story is from the Reader's Digest September 2019 edition of Reader's Digest UK.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
Culinary Grandes Dames
Paola Westbeek celebrates the women who have influenced her journey in gastronomy-from Elizabeth David and Julia Child to Nigella Lawson
My Britain: Winterton-on-Sea
WITH A BEAUTIFUL BEACH on one side and the Norfolk Broads on the other, Winterton-on-Sea is a lovely little village with a big heart.
Under The GRANDFLUENCE Prince Stash
From aristocratic, eccentric friend of Sixties rockstars to TikTok sensation
Steve Conte: If I Ruled The World
Steve Conte is a musician known for his memorable guitar work as a member of New York Dolls, as well as his collaborations with Japanese composer Yoko Kanno on the soundtracks to several hit anime series
My Great Escape: Rome, The Eternal City
Our reader Barbara Hull takes a Hollywood-inspired trip to Rome and reveals that some wishes really do come true
BOTANIC GARDENS OF THE WORLD
Tales of extraordinary plants, botanical history and scientific discovery
THIS BACON FAKERY MUST STOP
I WAS RECENTLY given bacon-flavoured dental floss for my birthday. My first question was: who the hell gives dental floss as a gift? My second question was: has bacon gone too far?
GOOD NEWS FROM AROUND THE WORLD
Meet the Crufts competitors who changed their owners' lives completely
HOME AT LAST!
A cat missing for ten years, a dog who disappeared during a wildfire, and more heartwarming true stories of pets who were lost then found
New Love Lexicon
Do internet terms help or hinder healthy romantic relationships?