Blogger Spotlight: Giles Alexander, YOU THE DADDY

YOU THE DADDY was launched by Giles Alexander in 2016 to offer a male perspective on pregnancy, babies and parenthood. Already a widely-read blog, YOU THE DADDY features all the stages from symptoms of pregnancy to fatherhood, to give new parents a realistic view. Although the blog is quite new to the scene, Giles has already worked with top brands and provides engaging content, including interviews with other fathers, as well as the funniest dad jokes, funny pregnancy tales, and product reviews. In this spotlight, Giles, who appears on our daddy ranking chats to us about why he started blogging, his life as a parent, and why fatherhood hasn’t changed him. 

Tell us about your blog? I launched YOU THE DADDY shortly after we found out we were pregnant back in February 2016, as a resource for first-time dads on pregnancy, babies and parenthood. Since then, the site has evolved so much, becoming much more parent (dad and mum) focused, covering everything from top tips on fatherhood and dealing with your pregnant other half, experiences to expect and prepare for, plus all you’ll need to know to survive pregnancy and life as a first time parent. Ultimately, I always try to cover topics that I think new parents will find interesting, engaging and entertaining, and that people will actually want to read!

What prompted you to document your life as a father in a blog? On discovering we were pregnant, I could hardly contain my excitement and wanted to tell everyone our big news. But being just a few weeks into the process, of course, we couldn’t…at least, not yet.

So I poured my attention into finding out as much as I could about pregnancy and what to expect week by week. But after scouring the internet and downloading all the pregnancy Apps I could find, I quickly realised how crap the online resources were for new dads. While there were, of course, loads of awesome, well-established dad blogs already out there, almost everything pregnancy-related was targeted specifically at new mums; which is kind of understandable given that they are the ones going through the most intense physical and emotional changes.

But of course, finding out I was going to be a father was, for me, probably the most emotional moment of my life. So I decided to set up my own dad-to-be blog, partly so that I could share my excitement about my impending fatherhood (albeit anonymously at that stage), but also to act as a source of information and real life stories for expectant and first-time parents.

How do you help your readers in their journey as a parent? As a brand new dad, I’m going through all the different stages of parenthood for the first time myself, so I try to share my experiences and learnings every step of the way. In my group of friends, I’ve always been the one that people come to for advice, so I try and do the same with my blog. But, as its life, I’m careful not to ever actually tell people what to do; but rather just share the tips and tricks that worked for us.

What is a typical day in the life of you as a dad? Unlike my wife, Rosie, I’m an early riser, so am inevitably the first one up when my alarm goes off between 6-6:30 in the morning.  Luckily, our son Teddy is a great sleeper, so doesn’t usually wake up until around 7 (if we’re lucky), by which point I’ve usually left the office (literally tiptoeing out of the house after sneakily checking he’s OK before I leave).

My commute to and from work is my time to write, so you’ll usually find me tapping away on my phone drafting my latest blog while squeezed onto a packed Northern Line train. Once I get to work, it’s pretty much full on there from 8:30-6pm, but I try to FaceTime Rosie at least a couple of times a day to keep up with the day’s events at home. My absolute favourite days are the ones when I can make it home for bath time, but that’s probably only once a week currently given my manic work schedule, so on most weekdays our son, Teddy is already tucked up in bed by the time I get back.

As a result, I see my weekends as absolutely sacred and my time to do some proper dadding…

How do you manage your blogging career and being a father? I can’t lie…it’s a struggle! Juggling a seriously busy job in the City while trying to be the all present, all singing, all dancing dad I aspire to be, plus blogging on the side, is more than a full-time job…it’s three! But I’m determined to still be a hands-on dad at every opportunity, even if it means going into work a little later on some mornings so I can do the wake-up, nappy changing and bottle routine before the daily commute.

How has fatherhood changed you? What did you learn about yourself after becoming a parent? To be honest, I don’t think fatherhood has really changed me that much, mainly because I feel like I’ve been preparing for fatherhood for so long. I’ve always wanted to be a dad and over the past 11 years, I’ve spent a lot of time looking after my 12 nephews and nieces, who I think prepared me pretty well for what was to come.

Saying that though, as the main breadwinner of the family, I definitely feel a much larger sense of responsibility now, around the need to provide financially for our future.

How do you like to work with PRs? And how can they improve their blogger outreach? I’m always open to suggestions! The best PRs are the ones who come to you with great creative ideas that are targeted to your unique audience rather than just asking for a straight product review. I did a few of those early on but quickly found that people just don’t read them, which is why if I write about a product now, I make sure to do it in the most creative and engaging way possible, as part of a wider themed feature.

My top tip for PRs is to make sure that you know what specific topics the bloggers you are approaching like to write about and, importantly, that you know what age their kids are. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve been approached to write about products or events aimed at 5-10-year-olds, and I’m like, “You do realise that my baby is 9 months old, right?!”

What’s the main challenge that you face as a working dad? Leaving for work every morning knowing that you’re missing out on all of your baby’s firsts…it’s such a killer.

What advice would you give to a new dad or dad-to-be? During pregnancy and in the first few months of parenthood, if someone offers you help, say YES, and ask them to make you a few meals for your freezer. These will be a total lifesaver and give you two of the best gifts that all new parents need…food and time. And don’t buy everything new. So much of the expensive baby kit you’ll need can be found second-hand online (most of the time, in tip top condition and at a fraction of the price), as well as at specialist charity shops like FARA Kids, where you can find some amazing bargains.

What’s your secret tool that helps you to cope when the going gets tough? You’re going to think this is seriously odd, but for me, it’s got to be our ironing board. Whenever I’m at home and tensions are running high, I immediately head to the sitting room, unfold the ironing board, whack Mad Men on Netflix and start tackling the massive pile of ironing that never seems to go down. I’m a firm believer in the mantra ‘Happy Wife, Happy Life’ and from my experience, there’s nothing that calms a frustrated wife more than a guy doing household chores…