Yello Interviews Sales Manager and New Dad Leigh Hipkins

At Yello, we enjoy celebrating the fathers on our team. This year, we sat down with Sales Manager Leigh Hipkins, who welcomed his first child, Cade, with his wife, Kelly, on 5 December 2023. Leigh shares his experience as a new dad and a few lessons he hopes to share with his son when he is older.

How did you prepare for your child?

Leigh: Obviously, once you tell friends, family, or anyone that you are expecting a child, everybody wants to give you advice, which is very helpful. So, there was some of that. I also downloaded and read books written for first-time fathers but with good humour.

One was “Don’t Panic! All the Stuff the Expectant Dad Needs to Know” by George Lewis, which was a great book. Another book that was recommended to me and I found quite good is “The New Dad’s Survival Guide – What to Expect in the First Year and Beyond” by Rob Kemp. These books helped me prepare and feel less overwhelmed.

Share some of the emotions you felt just before your son arrived.

Leading up to the birth of my son, I had what you would say was a ‘melting pot’ of emotions. I was obviously very excited but also scared, apprehensive, and overwhelmed. Those emotions changed over time. Then, our little bundle of joy decided to arrive six weeks early without warning, so things started happening really quickly after that.

Describe how you felt when you met your child for the first time.

It felt like a bit of a whirlwind. My wife felt like something was happening when she woke up that morning and said we should go to the hospital. Literally, within four hours, we had Cade. So, I went from thinking that we still had approximately five or so weeks to being told that she was going into labour because the baby wanted to come out. Thankfully, we had gotten everything ready early.

Once he came out, and he was fine and healthy, then I just had the most incredible feeling. I’m not sure how to describe it. It was like pure joy and instant unconditional love for this tiny human for whom we were now responsible.

What’s it been like watching him develop over the past months?

It’s been amazing watching him develop, not just in terms of his physical growth but also his personality. He is inquisitive. He keeps looking around, taking everything in, and he’s not yet quite six months old. Every day, we observe him doing something different. He makes these noises and grunts like he is trying to form words to communicate with us; it’s incredible. When we set playtime with him, he’s trying to crawl. It’s incredible how quickly they develop.

He's a very content baby. My wife and I tell people we’ve been lucky so far. He’ll wake every three hours or so to be fed, but then he goes back to sleep and doesn’t give us any issues at night.

Share something you look forward to doing when they are older.

Everyone who knows me knows I’m a huge sports fan and music lover, so we took him to a few big sports events when we visited family in the UK earlier this year at Aston Villa to watch my favourite team. I’m looking forward to when he is a little older. Hopefully, he’ll take after me and enjoy sports, and we can go to games together as a family. It’s the same with music. I’d love for us to go to music shows and concerts when he is older.

You are in a band, too, right?

Yes. The band is called The Neverines. It’s an Indie-Rock band, and I play the guitar. My wife briefly brought Cade to one of my shows, and he had his ear defenders on. So, technically, he has seen and heard Daddy play. We will have to wait a while longer until he is older and understands what’s happening.

Share an important lesson you hope to teach your child.

Good manners are essential to me. It doesn’t cost anything to have good manners, treat people how you want to be treated, and stay humble. Those are some of the crucial things I want to instil in Cade.

Thanks for sharing this part of your journey in fatherhood with us, Leigh. We hope you have a fantastic Father’s Day!

*All images provided by L. Hipkins.