With our move to Brighton, the main focus was on finding a place to live, moving all the furniture and getting the commute right. Now that we’re here something major has come to light – I need to make some new friends! In my early thirties, I’m faced with a challenge that, frankly, I have [...]
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1. Get ready the night before – shave, shower – whatever you can do the night before, do it then. Minimise the time you need to be up in the morning before getting out the door – this can save you up to half an hour! 2. Breakfast muffins – plenty of recipes for these [...]
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I’ve been a Brighton to London commuter for about 6 weeks now, 5 if you consider I’ve been away on business for one of those weeks. Having done the commute for a while, I can safely say that none of the problems I expected have arisen. The train service has been very good indeed (tip: [...]
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We’ve decided to have a “fabulous” holiday in the next month or two with our 18 month old daughter. So we’re probably looking for somewhere that’s “family friendly”. The problem is, we’re not what I would call a “family” yet. That is – we are two adults who would like to be in a cool [...]
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We’re not in Brighton that long (just a few months now) but I’m still trying to establish the places I like to go on the weekend and in my spare time. Especially important to me is places to bring a baby in Brighton. My wife and I love to dine out so baby friendly restaurants [...]
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My daughter is 18 months old. She constantly amazes us with her rate of development. Here are some of her current tricks: iPhone – she’s been using my iPhone as a toy since about 11 months, but she can now unlock the phone, launch specific apps she wants to play with and even launch the [...]
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It’s almost a week since we moved to Brighton. The house move itself was absolutely seamless, but even without any hiccups, the whole experience was utterly exhausting. Once we had a few days to recover it was right back into it, trying out the commute to London for a few days. Looking forward to having [...]
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My first day as a commuter from Brighton to London is over. I have to say it was almost pleasant! Naturally, I got lucky on my first day. I have tried the commute out before fully committing to living in Brighton and had a sharply contrasting experience. Today my day started at 5.45am and I [...]
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To say the least, tomorrow morning’s early start will be a shock to the system We’ve had a few days to settle in to Brighton, but we’ve still got a mountain of boxes to unpack, no telephone line and most importantly no broadband to work from home! To make the wait for broadband less of [...]
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Today we completed our move from London to Brighton. I can’t believe we’ve made it. We’re here, all three of us, and all our belongings, but in a way this is just the beginning of the adventure. Looking forward to sharing the experience with you in detail in the coming weeks….
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With just a few days to go before I move to Brighton, I come across this headline in the local Brighton paper, The Argus: Stress of commuting cutting Brighton and Hove life expectancy Is the commute from Brighton to London really that bad? The article describes how people living in Brighton and Hove and travelling [...]
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With six days to go, I’m not sure whether I’m utterly calm or utterly panicked. I’ve been admittedly quiet of late, but as you can imagine it’s a busy time with all the move preparations. That and, well let’s say, some other major things going on (more on that next week) have been keeping my [...]
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Had a vivid flashback the other day to the very first weeks of being a new dad, and my memories of baby’s sleep (or lack thereof) and feed routines. What brought me right back to my early days as a father was hearing Mozart on the radio. Mozart was our saviour when it caming to [...]
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Things are progressing very, very well on the house front. Been spending most Saturdays in Brighton and doing some sailing – the weather has been absolutely fantastic. Took a look around our new house today, and delighted to discover all sorts of herbs and other plants growing in our back garden. Coming from an apartment [...]
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We’re so close to our move, and we seem very well organised – but it seems to0 straightforward! I’m like a nervous wreck in the midst of all the calm – deep down I keep thinking something is going to go wrong, the estate agent is going to mess us around, or something is going [...]
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It’s driving me crazy. Having waited six weeks for the delivery of the right part, and chasing the supplier every week in between, I’ve finally been able to take on the challenge of replacing our washing machine door seal. To my delight I discover a video from YouTube by the same parts supplier company explaining [...]
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We own the place we live in at the moment, but as we’re not quite ready to buy a house in Brighton yet, we’re going to rent. As it’s been a few years since I’ve rented, I’ve forgotten what a fiasco the whole renting business it. Estate agents really seem to earn their bad reputation [...]
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We were down in Brighton at the weekend, and as the day was so nice we decided to drive over to Shoreham beach to bring my daughter for a walk. Such a different life to be able to drive for not much more than 10/15 minutes and be on a long pebble beach, pretty much [...]
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After over three months of searching, we’ve finally found a place to rent in Brighton. I don’t know what was going on with the rental market but we were only seeing one or two places worth looking at for our needs come on each week. It was very slow going – and we were starting [...]
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The million dollar question for any property for a commuter is how long the walk to the station is. First there is the problem of getting an honest answer – estate agents have a very poor sense of the space/time continuum – either that or they just plain lie all the time (discuss). My other [...]
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I am not looking forward to move day. My wife talks about how nice and pleasant it’s all going to be, and how we’d save so much money just hiring a man-and-a-van instead of proper movers for our relocation from London to Brighton. If there were a moving house Olympics, I’d probably have a medal [...]
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My wife is from Brighton – born and raised – so for her moving to Brighton is coming home. She has family and friends alike in Brighton already. For me I am a newcomer, I don’t know the town other than weekends spent there visiting with my wife’s family. So I am determined to make [...]
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Found some interesting Brighton iPhone applications – mostly free. National Rail – this is great for checking the live departure boards before getting to the train station. I hate running for trains so it will be great to know in advance when the next train is leaving. Walk Brighton – nice free application with offline [...]
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The commute from London to Brighton is filling me with dread – and we haven’t even moved. I’ve tried the commute once, when we stayed with the in-laws and I decided to go straight to work from Brighton. My journey to work is a train from Preston Park to London Bridge and then one tube [...]
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My last post probably reads like it was a straightforward decision to move to Brighton – far from it. There were a lot of things I had to resolve in my mind before I was able to completely commit to making the move. Identity – the fact that I’m not British has never been something [...]
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My wife and I have decided to move from London to Brighton. It’s a no-brainer really. My wife’s family is there, the quality of life is fantastic and we love being there. It’s a big decision to relocate after almost ten years in London, but we are now well on our way to making the [...]
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M y daughter has never liked having her nails cut, ever since she was born. I’ve never understand how people have babies who make no fuss about this process at all. What’s been manageable up until now was my daughter would wriggle and squirm, gently complain, but mostly co-operate in the end when she realised [...]
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What is the best book for new Dads? This is one book that every expectant father or new Dad should have on their bookshelf: The New Father: A Dad’s Guide to the First Year (Mitchell Beazley Heath). This book covers the first year of baby’s life with a chapter for every month. The book is [...]
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There was a special issue of the travel section of our regular newspaper yesterday covering all sorts of kid friendly holiday options – taking your kids on a driving holiday across the U.S. Southwest etc etc. But where are all the baby friendly vacations? What do I do for the holidays with my one-year old? [...]
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Our baby was the perfect sleeper, and after a few months my partner had set up the perfect routine. Baby used to go to sleep at the same time every night with the minimum of fuss and sleep through. Now she takes hours to go to sleep and will only scream if we put her [...]
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My daughter has a wonderful diet thanks to my wife’s tireless search for the tastiest and most nutritious best baby lunch recipes – usually with the best ingredients as well. Avocado is a food my wife has always loved, and she’s a strong believer in its health benefits as “the only complete food”. As a [...]
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Don’t you just love cookery blogs? My favourite, Bibliocook, has reviewed a book of children’s cooking by New Zealand author Nicola Galloway. Much as I like the original Annabel Karmel baby meal planner for when baby is 6-12 months, I wasn’ t as taken with the follow up book on finger foods. Nice to find [...]
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There are a huge amount of books available on having a baby, becoming a parent as well as books on newborn babies, sleep routines, feeding and how to teach your child to play, read, talk, walk etc etc. Most bookshops these days devote an entire section to parenting books and baby books. So where do [...]
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How to get your blog ready for iPhone
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Here at New Dad we’re in the final stages of completing our New Dad Survival Guide, a publication packed with with everything the Dad-to-be needs to know about life after the new arrival, all the advice a New Dad could need. If you want to be in with a chance to win a free copy [...]
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In a bold step forward for this blog, I want to expand the scope a little and cover the topic of food. It was several food blogs that inspired me to blog in the first place, and over the last 5 years my love of all things food has extended to cooking myself. Besides, surely [...]
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My wife went back to work today, I was so proud of her. It’s great to see her able to get out of the house and do something beyond minding my daughter. It’s strange really, that I would say this. Firstly, it’s my own daughter I am talking about, and secondly I know what a [...]
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We’re almost six month into weaning our daughter on to real foods. For the first six months, we’ve been using the book of books on baby weaning, Annabel Karmel’s Complete Baby and Toddler Meal Planner. If you’re short on recipe ideas for weaning baby, this is the book to have. Without even realising it we’d [...]
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N ew Year is all about fresh starts, resolutions, plans and goal. This is my second year as a New Dad, and now that my daughter is doing well and is clearly a very happy child, I’m thinking back to my own life balance and my own personal development plans. I am now in a [...]
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During a recent visit to Ireland we were shocked to discover the price of goods consumers are faced with in Irish outlets of the major UK retail chains. We’ve been visiting family in Ireland over Christmas, and with the cold weather needed some extra bits and pieces for our young daughter. I’d heard anecdotally [...]
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When do I start brushing baby’s teeth? One of the things that has mystified me all through the first year of our new baby’s teeth is the advice around oral hygiene, specifically brushing baby’s teeth. When should I start brushing baby’s teeth? Should I use toothpaste. Do I need to use a special toothpaste for [...]
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My daughter has developed a new habit in the last week – having a nappy, i.e. a poo, in the middle of the night. As with any eleven month-old baby, poos are now significantly potent enough that even baby can’t stand the smell. They are so potent in fact that they wake my daughter up. [...]
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Travel with little ones can be a nightmare – here’s how to avoid any hassles when travelling with a baby for the holidays or going away for Christmas. Expect the worst – when you are planning at least, it’s best to prepare as if the worst could happen. Your train/plane/boat gets cancelled? Your car journey [...]
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Here are some ideas if you are looking to buy Christmas presents for new parents, need a holiday gift ideas for pregnant friend, new Mom or Dad, parent or parent-to-be or even Grandparent. There are lots of gifts in the shops for expecting friends, those who are becoming parents or are new parents, but these [...]
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French obstetrician Michel Odent stirred up controversy with his recent comments at the Royal College of Midwives where he said that men were a hindrance to natural childbirth and attributed the increased incidence of emergency caesareans (c-sections) to the ‘masculinisation’ of childbirth. It’s all too often medical experts try to make judgements on the entire [...]
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My daughter has stopped liking her bath – what’s changed? For eleven months now I have been doing exactly the same routine for bathtime, which immediately precedes bedtime: 1. Sing my own version of Bobby Darin’s “Splish Splash”. While bouncing my daughter up and down in front of a mirror, I sing an abridged version [...]
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For new Dads and new Mums, bringing baby home from hospital and settling baby into their new home is wonderful. The first few days at home with your new baby will be very exciting – here is some advice from the Dad’s perspective. Driving back from the hospital, with your wife beside you and baby [...]
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My daughter has progressed from crawling to cruising – and I’m terrified!
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My daughter mastered climbing the stairs a few months back, but to be honest it wasn’t a major worry, as she seemed to only want to attempt it if Mum or Dad was right behind her – reassuring. Safe in the knowledge that she wasn’t going to go it alone, we’ve held off on the [...]
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American student Amanda Knox was found guilty yesterday, along with her boyfriend, of the murder of British student Meredith Kirchner. There are a million news sites covering this story, but it was the interview I stumbled across on the BBC News website with Knox’s father that caught my attention. What came across from the interview [...]
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In the run up my daughter’s birth, and for several months after her arrival, my wife and I spent a lot of money on things we thought were essential for a new baby arriving into the house. As it turned out, a lot of them weren’t essential, and some were a downright waste of money. [...]
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My daughter is 11 months old next week and has yet to sleep a full night. When you meet people and tell them you have a baby, “are they sleeping through yet” always seems to be in the first few questions they ask, usually after “is it a boy or a girl”. When I tell [...]
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It’s only been about two weeks since we discovered In the Night Garden, but having introduced it to my daughter, I’m now as engrossed in it as she is. I’ve got it bad. Today I had to get to a toy store to buy some presents and had the theme tune for In the [...]
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There are a huge amount of resources available on baby weaning. Here are some ideas from personal experience on how to wean baby. My wife and I explored the two main methods of baby weaning: Baby Led Weaning – this is where you introduce baby to finger foods from the very start of the baby [...]
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This is a list of the top baby names in the U.S. and UK as survey by the U.S. Social Security Administration and UK National Statistics office. This is a list of the most popular boys and girls baby names for 2008. Choosing baby boy names or baby girl names can be a difficult exercise [...]
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I have to mention that the latest season of Top Gear – Season 14, Episode 1 to be precise – aired tonight on BBC 2. Top Gear must be the greatest car and motoring programme on the planet. I love tuning in and watching the antics of the by now world famous Top Gear Team [...]
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I received an email recently from the co-author of a DVD called Being Dad. Having seen some footage of the DVD, I can imagine this would be a perfect birthday gift idea or present idea for Dads to be who don’t have the time, inclination or willingness to pick up a book and find out [...]
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It’s important for baby and even more so for parents, to have a baby naming ceremony I’ve just returned from a baby naming ceremony. It was an Evangelical Christian ceremony, which isn’t my cup of tea, but nevertheless I really enjoyed it and was honoured to be there. We had a Catholic christening for my [...]
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Today’s UK Observer newspaper had an article about work-life balance for Dad’s. According to the article by Richard Reeves, requests for flexible working are more likely to be turned down when they come from men. This certainly doesn’t surprise me. Only yesterday I wrote on my other blog that I was having trouble with one-off [...]
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Since we bought ourselves a decent lightweight buggy last month we’ve been eating out and drinking coffee in cafés a lot more often. However, this increased experience of bringing our ten month old daughter to restaurants has brought some interesting failings to light when restaurants try, or don’t try, to cater to customers with babies. [...]
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Choosing a boy or girl’s baby name is a bit of a fine art – but the actual process of choosing a baby name is not something easily taught. Individual taste, impact of the surname when said with the baby name, current trends, names already used by friends/family and geographical location – all of these [...]
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Birth partner tips for Dads! D-day, the day of delivery, labour day. Call it what you like, the day of baby’s arrival in the world can be a daunting prospect for the first time dad, not to mention the first time mother! Whereas your dad may have spent the duration of your delivery in the [...]
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It’s a steep learning curve becoming a Dad for the first time. Every new Dad could do with some helpful books on all things fatherhood, even Snoop Doggy Dogg! Though this article is aimed at dads, these books would make great gifts for mums too. Here are some of the books I have found very [...]
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I‘m looking for a Dads’ group on the weekends to take my baby girl to. It ticks so many boxes – my wife gets a break from both of us, I get to do something with my daughter, my daughter gets to meet other babies and interact. The only problem is there are so few [...]
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We’re almost six month into weaning our daughter on to real foods. For the first six months, we’ve been using the book of books on baby weaning, Annabel Karmel’s Complete Baby and Toddler Meal Planner. What modern home doesn’t have a copy? If you’re short on recipe ideas for weaning baby, this is the book [...]
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Spotify removes In The Night Garden shock!
by Graham on May 14, 2010
Spotify, the online streaming music service, has removed the music of CBeebies’ (BBC) TV favourite “In the Night Garden” from its online catalogue. Like many babies and young toddlers, my daughter absolutely adores In the Night Garden. She cannot get enough of it. We’re trying not to expose her too much TV so I was [...]
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