Jack Tame: A new baby, a new generation, a new life

The first thing I noticed was Mava’s thirst. 

In the years I’ve known my wife, I can’t think of a time when she’s voluntarily consumed a glass of water. Coffee? Sure. Iced latte in the morning, Pepsi Max in the afternoon. But water? Water has never really been her jam. And yet here she was, all of a sudden, glugging back glass after glass of the good stuff. 

“You’re pregnant,” I said. 

The next thing I noticed was her sweet tooth, or rather lack thereof. 

“Do you want a treat?” I called from the kitchen. One of my wife’s finest qualities is she never says no to dessert. And yet... No. 

“I just don’t feel like it,” she said. 

“You’re pregnant,” I said. 

It’s amazing how much a line on a stick can change your life. 

I think when I was younger, I didn’t properly appreciate that sometimes life doesn’t go the way you expect it will. I have a lot of friends for whom getting pregnant and having children hasn’t been anything like our experience so far. Sometimes it just doesn’t happen, and it can be the most painful, traumatic experience. I feel so fortunate, in that sense. 

Crazy how quickly the algorithms get you. You sign up for one baby app —‘this week your baby is the size of a turnip’— and all of your ads change in an instant to pushchair brands with soft Nordic names and umlauts. Oh, to have invested in the baby business a few decades back. 

I’ve learnt a lot about my wife over the last 6 months. She’s tough. Retching at the traffic lights one minute, and back on with her day the next. How ever many billion years of evolution and pregnant women are left with scientifically-dubious acu-pressure bands and ginger tea?! The good news is her sweet tooth’s back. And her sense of humour never left. 

I’ve found myself thinking about the other parents in my life, and particularly my own. I’m one of four. Four! And my folks had no help. I can already see why people rate raising children as their greatest accomplishment. 

Although I understand it all in a theoretical sense, I’m not sure the full weight of impending fatherhood has yet sunken in, or will until our baby is born. 

Mava is due in February. We’ve got a pram. We’ve got a cot. We’ve tossed around a few ideas for names, and I’ve been mesmerised by the images on the ultrasound screen. But even as I place my hand on my wife’s bump and feel something, someone, a bit of me shift and wriggle and kick, for now it’s all just magic. 

I know there will be tough times ahead. Exhaustion and exasperation. But I also know the magic will only intensify. 

A new baby. A new generation. A new life. And the sense that mine will change forever. 

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:07):
You're listening to the Saturday Morning with Jack Team podcast
from News Talks at Me.

Speaker 2 (00:13):
Well, the first thing I noticed was Marve's thirst. In
the years that I've known my wife, I just can't
think of a time when she has voluntarily consumed a
glass of water. Coffee, yeah, sure, ice latte in the morning,
pepsi max in the afternoon, a bit of black death.

(00:36):
But water, Nah, water has never really been her jam,
And yet here she was, all of a sudden, glugging
back glass after glass after glass of the good stuff.
You're pregnant, I said. The next thing I noticed was
her sweet tooth, or actually her lack of a sweet tooth.

(00:57):
Do you want to treat? I called from the kitchen.
And one of my wife's finest qualities is that she
never says no to desert. And yet no, I just
don't feel like it. She said, you're pregnant.

Speaker 1 (01:12):
I said.

Speaker 2 (01:15):
It's amazing how much a line on a stick can
change your life. I think when I was younger, I
didn't properly appreciate that. Sometimes, you know, sometimes life doesn't
go the way you expect it will. I've got lots
of friends for whom getting pregnant and having kids hasn't
been anything like our experience so far. You know, sometimes

(01:38):
it just doesn't happen, and it can be the most
painful and traumatic experience. I just feel so fortunate in
that sense. Tell you what, though, it is crazy how
quickly the algorithms get you. You sign up for one
baby app this week, your baby is the size of
a turnip, and all of your ads change in an

(01:59):
instant to push chair brands with soft Nordic names and umlauts.
Oh to have invested in the baby business a few
decades back. I've learned a lot about my wife over
the last six months. She's tough, reaching at the traffic
lights one minute, back on with her day the next. However,

(02:20):
many billion years of evolution and pregnant women are still
left with scientifically dubious ACU pressure bands and ginger tea augh.
The good news is her sweet tooth's back and her
sense of humor never left. I found myself thinking about
the other parents of my life, and particularly my own.

(02:41):
I'm one of four four are you kidding? And my
folks had no help. I can already see why people
rate raising children as their greatest accomplishment. And although I
can kind of understand it all in a theoretical sense.
I'm not sure the full weight, the full weight of

(03:02):
impending fatherhood has yet sunken in, or honestly will so
until our baby is born Marve's jew in February. We've
got a pram, We've got a cot. We've tossed around
a few ideas for names, and I've been mesmerized by
the images on the ultrasound screen. But even as I
place my hand on my wife's bump and feel something,

(03:24):
feel someone, feel a bit of me shift and wriggle
and kick, for now, it is all just magic. And look,
I know there are going to be tough times ahead,
exhaustion and exasperation, but I also know the magic will
only intensify a new baby, a new generation, a new life,

(03:49):
and the sense that mine will change forever.

Speaker 1 (03:56):
For more from Saturday Morning with Jack Tame. Listen live
to Newstalks B from nine am Saturday, or follow the
podcast on iHeartRadio