I'm sure I heard his echo in my baby's new born tears (Mike and The Mechanics)

Yes - that's me -on the right - a day after Keegan arrived,
and then, on the left, a year later. 

Wie geht's?

Adam is about to become a father for the first time and he's commissioned me to write about what he's in for when his daughter arrives.

So, for Adam and everyone else in the blogosphere who is about to become a father for the first time - here goes with 10 things I wish I'd known before I became a father.

BTW - that was a while ago, Keegan was born in December 1984, so my memory will need to be exercised here.

1. First thing is - I wish I'd known how overwhelmed I'd feel watching Jacky giving birth. I guess most new dads weep with joy when their baby arrives but I was unprepared for how I'd suddenly feel different about my entire life. I immediately understood my own dad a whole heap more. It wasn't a gradual thing, it was a sudden realization as I cradled Keegan in my arms in his first few hours while Jacky rested. I got a palpable sense of life's true importance and I understood in that moment that life had changed forever. It didn't seem like such a big deal before that moment. Now I got it. I'm sure you'll know what I mean when it happens for you Adam.
2. I wish I'd known how inept I'd feel in the first few days of getting Keegan home. I'd creep into his room through the night and listen to him breathing while holding my own breath and worrying about him getting his next breath. It's a strange sensation - listening to your new baby's breathing and worrying for him. That's never really gone away. 
3. I wish I'd known that I was going to make a whole heap of mistakes with our first child. I (we) learned quickly but the first born gets the real rookie parent deal. I'd have been a bit more relaxed if I'd known that - I would have leaned into parenting a bit more. By the time Adam emerged (still a great deal of crying accompanied his birth) I was able to be a bit more relaxed as a dad. 
4. I wish someone had told me to put my records away more securely, so that Keegan didn't use them as skateboards. We put hooks on kitchen cupboards but I forgot about my record shelves to my cost (literally).
5. I wish I'd known about the new expectations on me to be a practical dad. Jacky was great - for someone who didn't think she was all that maternal she certainly seemed to be a natural when the time came. She trained me well and set a template that would last through the next three children. During the night, I became tuned into the children's individual cries (Jacky never heard them - apparently), starting with Keegan - I'd get up, change his nappies, bring him to Jacky for feeding, then go back to sleep as she put him back in his cot. We became a tight team. I became adept to seeing what needed doing and helped out (no vacuuming - that was clearly a JFP controlled event) but washing and attending to clothes was now in my wheelhouse. Sharing baby duties (changing, feeding, bathing etc) became a thing.
6. Something I learned quickly - don't put your fingers down the back of a nappy to check if there is a package involved.
7. We learned with each successive baby that you don't actually need half the baby stuff that you're led to believe is necessary. First baby though - we got caught in that trap of buying an excessive amount of baby stuff.
8. I learned quickly that it didn't matter what I did at work during the day, that was all forgotten when I got home at night and the day started again with dad stuff. I quickly realized I had to plan lessons and mark student work before I got home or on Sundays because dad stuff didn't include that when I got home.
9. I wish I'd realized that cloth nappies where a terrible idea (I don't believe they exist now) - instead, I wish I'd been less environmentally friendly and gone for disposables. Sorry - but parental sanity is a valuable commodity. Cleaning a pile of stinky nappies is no picnic. So, my advice here is to go with what you need to do.
10. Finally, one that I didn't see coming, but I adjusted to quickly, was the change in the pecking order with my spouse. If you are selfish, you may struggle to make the adjustment. From the birth onwards it's not about the father, and that change from a co-star to a supporting role may come as a shock to dads. During birth, quite rightly, the mother and baby are in the limelight and that continues when you get over the rosie glow and head home to a new reality of hard slog and worry. Eventually the pecking order blurs and no longer is even a thing - instead it's a new team and that's great!

There you go Adam. I hope that helps and is what you were after. Sing out if not and I'll aim to oblige.

Love and peace - dad