- “My Daughter Was Born Nine Weeks Early and I was completely ill-prepared because there were no signs indicating I would have a pre-term baby. In fact, I had ignored the chapters in my baby books that dealt with premature babies. You think it won’t happen to you, so you skip those sections. Don’t!” --Suzanne Willin Woodacre, California
Lessons Learned in Hindsight:
- “Make Sure Your Car Works! When my wife went into labor, we had a one-hour drive to the hospital. Along the way, I kept noticing my car lights getting dimmer and dimmer until finally, the alternator went out and the car died. At two a.m. I had my pregnant wife in the driver’s seat while I pushed our car uphill to the Denny’s parking lot so I could call my mom to pick us up. We nearly named our first child Denny because of that experience.” --John Cooke Greeley, Colorado
- “My Wife Had Two Emergency C-Sections. It was so stressful because I had to choose between following the baby or staying with my wife while they finished the surgery. I chose the baby both times because that’s what my wife wanted, but I really wish that we’d had a friend or family member with us to stay with her.” --Jerry B. New York, New York
- “Make Sure That Whatever You Eat during labor is yummy (jello, juice, banana) because that’s what you’re going to taste if you throw up, which I did repeatedly with both kids. Not pretty advice, but I pass it on (unsolicited, of course) to all my pregnant friends.” --D.K. Foster City, California
What Husbands Aught Not to Do:
- “Hint To Husbands Whose Wives Are in Labor: Don’t stand around talking to the nurses about sports while your wife has contractions.” --Cathy K. Kirkland, Washington
- “My husband had the gall to complain that he didn’t have time to finish the Coke that the nurses had given him the delivery room because the labor happened so fast.” --Gretchen Roberts Palo Alto, California
- “My husband passed around chocolates while I was in labor. The nurses loved him but completely ignored me!” --Leslie Merrick, New York
