Man-Child

It's one small step for child but a giant leap for dad-kind.

Man-Child follows political journalist and new dad Mike Wesley-Smith through the first 90 days of being a parent. He's deep in the trenches with his newborn daughter - no schmaltz, no filters - just the ups, downs and gritty reality of life with a newborn.

This is a tale of man and child, nappy lows and milestone highs, and all the daddy dos and don'ts that no one mentioned beforehand….

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Man-Child podcast episodes

Man-Child episode 1: The arrival

Wearing a pregnancy suit to work gives journalist Mike Wesley-Smith a new appreciation for mums-to-be.

Man-Child episode 2: Breasts and bottles

Mike gets to grips with feeding, bathing and all that crying, then straps on a TENS machine to see how a man might fare during labour.

Man-Child episode 3: Code Brown

Every parent has experienced a poo-nami, here's how journalist Mike Wesley-Smith handled his daughter's explosion.

Man-Child episode 4: Baby loss

The saddest day of his life was losing his first baby. Journalist Mike Wesley-Smith shares his story.

Man-Child episode 5: Daddy daycare

In the past year 31,000 Kiwi mums took paid parental leave compared with only 444 men. Mike Wesley-Smith chats to two members of the rare stay-at-home dad club.

Man-Child episode 6: Dad-hood

As a father, what example should Mike set? He speaks to his father and his father-in-law about the models they followed, and meets a dad who has been a full-time parent to his children for more than 50 years.