Getting used to being a dad

Your a dad, congratulations!

When the excitement of the birth has died down, many couples find that it is all a bit of an anti-climax. In your partner this is as a result of a huge change in hormones levels, many women feel teary and down for several days even weeks. In men it usually manifests its self as feeling completely exhausted.

Just when you least feel like socialising, you've got to deal with all the friends and relatives who want to know what's happened and can't wait to see your new bundle of joy. Despite their well-meaning calls and visits, this is a time for you, mum and your baby to get use to each other. Try to be polite but firm with visitors it would be better to get the visits over as quickly as possible, so throw a little party and get it over in one hit. This will give you several weeks of peace so you can have quiet time to bond with your baby and catch up on the lost sleep. You can use their help though to catch up with all the things that you have let slip so don't look a gift horse in the mouth.

Learning to cope with the demands of a newborn and adjusting to being new parents can seem a bit daunting. It is common to experience a short period of baby blues, but if this period continues it can develop into a more serious condition know as Post Natal Depression (PND). It affects around one in ten new mothers, the symptoms are similar to other forms of depression. It can also affect you, you need to talk about your feelings together, as often as you can you will both benefit and you'll both be aware of any negative emotions that could be a sign of needing help.