Charlie Pierce of Devon, England, describes the UK tradition of wetting the baby’s head, a pub outing for a new or expectant father before the baby arrives. Friends buy the rounds, and the father-to-be is not supposed to pay for any of them. The custom is compared with American rituals such as handing out cheap cigars after a baby is born and with other possible male counterparts to a baby shower. This is part of a complete episode.
Transcript of “Wetting the Baby’s Head Means Celebrating a Birth at the Pub”
Charlie Pierce from Devon in England wanted to weigh in on the question of a male version of a baby shower.
And he wrote, in the UK, we have a tradition of taking a new dad out for one last hurrah.
And we call it wetting the baby’s head.
I’ve heard of this.
Have you?
Yeah.
Does it involve a trip to the pub and copious amounts of alcohol, like he said?
Yes, it does.
Oh, really?
Wetting the baby’s head.
And the expecting father is not supposed to buy any rounds.
He should never get stuck buying a round.
Okay.
But wetting the baby’s head is a very good tradition, right?
Here we have, after the fact, the cheap cigars.
Is that even done anymore?
I hope not.
Do people actually do that?
Like the yellow?
Yeah, I don’t know.
Well, that’s after the baby’s born, right?
Right, yeah.
I’m just trying to think of those male stereotype traditions.
Oh, the bonding, yeah.
I was so busy after my son was born.
There was no time for anything.
Like for the first week, a week and a half, I did all of the baby stuff except for the nursing, you know?
Well, the way Charles is describing it, it’s one last hurrah right before the baby is born.
Yeah.
But still, like the weeks before you’re expecting the baby, it’s all busy, man.
You are building a nest.
Maybe they have a tradition for expectant fathers where you’re from.
Let us know, 877-929-9673.
