As a father of two here are my words/anecdotes of wisdom:
OVERLOAD ON THE SLEEP NOW
Sleep deprivation is a type of torture and they say after a couple days of no sleep you start developing signs of schizophrenia. Well, get ready for the CRAZY. They kinda sleep a lot at first, then they want to feed every couple hours or so, then comes teething, then potty training (a.k.a., bed wetting), then nightmares and so on and so forth. All in all you'll probably reduce your total sleep time to about 4 to 5 hours per night unless you're the kind to go to bed at 7pm.
DO STUFF NOW
Go see a movie with your wife/girlfriend, go out for dinner, go see a hockey game, play video games all night long (I played Grand Theft Auto 2 for 5 hours straight the night before my son was born and haven't done that since...that was 4 years ago), read a book, go for a jog, go travelling...then say goodbye to all that when your significant other goes into labour. These days as I'm wiping my 1 year old daughter's ass at 3am I say to myself "That's OK, at least I got to swim the blue waters off the coast of St. Lucia and explore the catacombs of Rome."
SAY 'HELLO' TO YOUR LITTLE ONE(S), SAY 'GOODBYE' TO YOUR FRIENDS
Unless your friends have kids too you're about to inadvertantly alienate yourselves from them. Don't worry, what this means is the little time you do get to spend with your friends in the future will have more meaning. Besides...true friends will offer to bring you over dinner or help out. TAKE THEM UP ON THEIR OFFER.
SMELL THE FLOWERS AND DON'T SWEAT THE SMALL STUFF
While camping in Tofino last year I noticed my son was amazed by the ocean, trees and crackling campfire. I then realized this is the first time he's ever seen such a thing in his life and that made the simple things seem more magical. As your little one gets older you'll learn to see things through their eyes as if you're seeing it forthe first time too. You'l also learn that they see things how you see them too, so agression, frustration...all that stuff rubs off. Learn to let things slide and keep the "Hey a**hole, get off the f***ing road, you dipsh*t!!!" down to a minimum.
HATERS GONNA HATE, CRITCS GONNA CRITCIZE
My parents are very old school (i.e., gays are evil, everyone should grow up to be a doctor or a lawyer, etc.) and they just
love to tell us how to raise our children. While they do have some valid tips for the most part they aren't in line with how we want to raise our kids. That kind of static will come from all different kinds of sources: your in-laws, your siblings, cousins, friends, etc. You and your wife/gf have to be united on how you want to raise your kids. Take everyone's tips and treat them for what they are...tips. You should develop your own boundaries for your kids and teach them to be the person you want them to be. Don't make parenting a "keeping up the with Joneses" kind of scenario...
DON'T FORGET EACH OTHER
I'll be blunt. Your wife/gf is going to get BIG. Aside from the (average 7 to 10 pound at full term) baby, she'll develop 10% more blood, 15 liters
of amneotic fluid and whatever else she packs away after the many obligatory nightime sundae runs to Dairy Queen. Not to mention the boundless hormones that will make her weep at the sight of Bumblebee getting captured by Sector 7 agents (true story). Then you may watch the birth which will change your view of your significant other's vadge forever. Then comes breast-feeding which takes the "fun" out of her "fun bags".
Through all this you've got to remember to make her feel loved. You may even want to make her feel like that hot sexy chick you hooked up with long ago. It'll be hard...trust me, but its neccessary since you
knocked her up and made her carry that damn thing around for 9 months in the first place!!! Oops, sorry. Channeling my wife there...
There you go...take my advice how you want to. And good luck, daddy!!!
