Be My Baby

Book excerpt: When two lines appear on the pregnancy test kit, Humphreys’ world is turned upside down. He is excited but clueless and urgently needs some directions. After all, his biggest responsibility to this point had been a pet hamster and he lost that twice. From the moment his doctor tells him to book an obstetrician’s appointment, he knows he is out of his depth — he doesn’t know what an obstetrician is. Humphreys deals with parents who mock his sex drive, midwives who question his usefulness, friends who share only horrific birth stories, strangers who rub his wife’s belly and folks who seem to know everything there is to know about pregnancy (but often don’t have kids of their own). And there’s that troubling dream about her giving birth to a plastic toy lizard made in China. How will he deal with his parental insecurities? What’s the secret to being a decent dad? Will he drop his baby at the birth? Both funny and poignant, Be My Baby is a frank account of Humphreys’ quest to be a good father. Every parent will identify with his journey and perhaps begin to realise what they themselves put their mummy and daddy through, even in the womb.