AS the 24 hours set aside for the appreciation of dads everywhere approaches, SAM WONFOR hears from a couple of first-time dads ahead of their first Father’s Day.

COLIN Stephenson was ready to be a father when his wife, Rebekah screamed with excitement at the positive pregnancy test.

But it would be an understatement to say the 35-year-old, who is head of communications for Northumberland, Tyne and Wear NHS Foundation Trust, and his wife were completely unprepared for their daughter Jemima’s premature arrival in January, at just 30 weeks.

I ALWAYS wanted to be a father. The vast majority of my friends became fathers in their late twenties and early thirties and always commented on how much it had changed their lives for the better.

Like a lot of couples our age, we first experimented and tested out our parenting skills by becoming proud parents to a beautiful cocker spaniel named Lollie.

To be completely honest, when I found out I was going to be a father I felt both shock and slight surprise. We were fortunate in that within a few months of deciding to try for a baby, we found out my wife was pregnant one Sunday morning.

I would honestly have been an involved father-to-be if given the opportunity. Jemima arrived suddenly 10 weeks early. The ante natal classes were booked, and I was due to attend. I had also hired a skip one Saturday and completely emptied the nursery-to-be of its old contents ready for the walls to be plastered by an expert in Jemima’s uncle Simon.

We had also just started to shop for items the week before she was born. As Rebekah and I were visiting Jemima in the Royal Victoria Infirmary every day for seven weeks, her uncle Simon came to the rescue and completely decorated Jemima’s nursery.

I was nervous, apprehensive and scared all in one when it came to being a father.

All parents say this but having a baby does completely change your priorities. You now have a mini-you which needs to be protected and looked after. My beautiful wife has been superb and taken to it like a duck to water which has made it much easier for me to be at work full-time.

Due to the circumstances of Jemima’s birth, I think being a father did not really hit me until she was seven weeks old and we got her home for the first time.

Visiting her in hospital for seven weeks but not being able to take her home meant we didn’t have that usual sudden full-time parent experience. She had fantastic baby sitters at the RVI though.

As you would imagine with 10 weeks of expected pregnancy still to go, the day my daughter was born was one of huge shock. My wife had an emergency Caesarean section within 45 minutes of being admitted into the RVI suffering from a bleed.

It was all a shock as we had just been eating lunch an hour before. Thankfully the maternity staff at the RVI were absolutely superb, keeping us both informed of the ongoing situation and informing me very quickly of the good health of Rebekah and Jemima soon after delivery.

At first I think I mainly felt shock at the speed of it all and the disbelief that our daughter had arrived 10 weeks early.

With Jemima being born at 30 weeks gestation, it meant her lungs had fully developed and she was able to breathe unsupported within seven hours of birth.

But due to her low immunity and the possible risk of infection, it was a few days before we were able to hold her. She was 2lb and 12oz at that stage. After everything she had been through the wait to hold her for the first time was definitely worth it and a memory I’ll always treasure.

We had been desperate to bring her home for seven weeks, so the day we brought her back was the first time we felt like a family. A bottle of Champagne was opened and we finally got to celebrate her arrival. She then proceeded to keep us awake all night with her gurgling.

So far, fatherhood has been exactly how I thought it would be and strangely a lot easier than I thought it would be. She is a happy and content baby, and rarely cries.

She’ll always be extra special to us due to the circumstances of her birth we’re now very much looking forward to seeing her grow in the years ahead. I’m also very much looking forward to giving the ‘Shotgun and Shovel’ speech to her first boyfriend.

I think a father should be a strong guide and an excellent listener.

My father has a very caring attitude and a wonderful sense of humour so I’d certainly like to cherry-pick the best traits from her grandfather. I’ll also chuck in a few of the values that I believe are important and probably a few more liberal approaches which are a product of my own generation.

On Father’s Day I think a swimming lesson might be on the cards.

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