Mamas & Papas

Michael Underwood: Rambling Thoughts of a New Dad…Almost!

By the time you read this, I could well be a new dad, however considering first babies are statistically born late, it’s likely Angellica and I are still going to be impatiently waiting for our new arrival to make an appearance!

 

 

I felt really guilty during the first part of the pregnancy mainly because Angellica was the one having to deal with the nausea, sleepless nights and hormonal changes.  So, to help me feel more involved, I took on the responsibility for researching all the baby products we would need (and some we wouldn’t) that are available on the market.  I was in charge of finding the right things, the safe things and the cute things.  I loved doing this; after all it was bit like finding loads of new gadgets…for a baby! The best thing was, it stopped me feeling useless during the nine months and I really felt like I’d played my part.

One thing I took great pleasure from was choosing a whole load of mobile apps to help with the pregnancy and beyond. It’s incredible how many different ones there are. Fertility calendars, baby cry translators, there are even apps that count how many times your baby does a ‘number one’ or a ‘number two’, so you can be sure that everything is working as it should be. Brilliant! From the advice I’ve been given by friends, getting a contraction counter app is a must. It keeps a tally of how often you partner gets them and how long they last, meaning you get a good idea of when it’s time to call the hospital. Personally, I like the idea it’ll keep me occupied during the time when men must feel at their most purposeless.

 

I’ve noticed, as we get closer to the due date I have ‘up and down’ moments when I think about what’s about to happen. Most days I’m just excited about becoming a new dad and starting my own family with Angellica. Other days I feel anxious about losing my independence and having to become responsible for another person for the rest of my life! I’m hoping that’s normal? Is it naïve to want baby to fit around our lives rather than us around theirs? Possibly. I guess we’ll find out shortly. Added to all of this, we have the extra anxiety of our child having a December birthday. It seems some people love it (exciting time of year to celebrate) and others not so much (we get a joint birthday/Christmas present).  If only we’d planned this better!

 

 

December and more specifically Christmas is an important time for us. We got engaged, married and are now having our first child all during the festive season.  It seems so perfectly timed, but it was just a happy coincidence.  We did always plan to get engaged in New York at Christmas. We both love the city and it just seemed the ideal time and place for me to pop the question. Getting married in NYC was a last minute thing we arranged just ten days prior to flying across the Atlantic.  We had originally planned to tie the knot six months later in Italy, but in a moment of madness we decided to elope, telling nobody, not even our families. It turned out to be the best thing we could’ve done, as it was 100% stress free.  I honestly believe all men (if they have a choice) would get married without any of the fuss that comes with a big wedding.

When it came to having a baby though, we had discussed starting a family, but there were no plans to have our first child at Christmas. Angellica had been away for almost the entire month of March filming ‘71 Degrees North’ and we hadn’t been in contact with each other for four weeks. Understandably, when she returned I was excited to see her and one thing led to another. Clearly the Arctic conditions kept her eggs fresh, meaning one night of passion was enough to kick start pregnancy! We were incredibly lucky in that respect, but it was a huge surprise to us both, but a really happy surprise. With a 19 December due date however, it was going to be a very different Christmas this year! In fact, all the plans are on hold until the little one decides to arrive. It could be Christmas Day or it could be in the New Year…hopefully not though! Whatever happens, it looks like I’ll be cooking Christmas dinner for two this year, so I’ll just be buying a small turkey and a few brussels.

One thing’s for sure, the next time I post on this blog I will definitely be a new dad!

Wish me luck!

Michael x

PS – Please feel free to leave a comment at end of this posting to share your experiences.

6 Responses to Michael Underwood: Rambling Thoughts of a New Dad…Almost!

1. Jackie says:

   December 20, 2011 at 5:53 pm

   Fab site – fingers crossed for easy, quick delivery!

   Reply
2. Sarah says:

   December 20, 2011 at 7:17 pm

   Looking forward to hearing baby Underwood has made his/her entry into the world. Can’t wait to hear their name and see some cute family pictures. Good luck for the impending birth, hope your little one is here very soon. x

   Reply
3. Lexy Smith says:

   December 21, 2011 at 11:54 am

   Hi Michael!

   I’m due tomorrow so know how ure feeling! I’m also concerned about a dec birthday but if you think about it this baby could only ever have been born at Christmas time, if you’d got pregnant at any other time it would have been a completely different baby! And im sure our babies would rather exist and have a dec birthday rather than not exist at all! My mum’s birthday is Christmas eve and I’ve always found that it makes Christmas even more special! As long as we make sure they get as much personal attention as if their birthday was at any other time of the year I think it’s a lovely time to be born!

   Good Luck to you both! We could have our babies on the same day!

   Merry Christmas!

   Lexy

   @Lexgees

   Reply
4. george brann says:

   December 21, 2011 at 1:12 pm

   Being a dad for the first time is magnificent.

   You’ll love it. I always look after my daughter on a daddy day care when my wife is at work and its not a nursery day. It’s utterly breathing taking the bond you will have.

   Hope all goes well

   Reply
5. Nicola says:

   December 23, 2011 at 11:52 pm

   Good luck on the arrival of your first born.Its a horrible waiting game not knowing when they are going to arrive. I have got 3 kids and all of mine where late. My 2 boys where very lazy my first was 2 weeks late and my 2nd boy was 3 weeks late I had to get started off with both of them. My girl was only 1 week late and i started on my own with her. My birthday is 28th December.I always hated having my birthday just after christmas when i was younger because some people did used to just give me a present for christmas and say thats for your birthday as well, how tight where they ha ha. I don’t mind it now though. I’m sure whenever your baby makes an appearance it will have the best birthday every year. Loads of luck to you and enjoy every moment of it.x

   Reply
6. louise bellk says:

   December 27, 2011 at 9:08 pm

   all the good luck in the world to you both, angelica was kind enough to reply to a tweet from me one of the few celebs who have and it made my day heres looking forward to some beautiful pictures look after your beautiful wife lots of lovex

   Reply