Swollen breasts, the constant urge to wee and broken nights are problems expectant mums know all too well and men have been unable to share, until now!
Here’s what happened when three dads became nine months pregnant! Jason Bramley, Steve Hanson and Jonny Biggins decided to discover exactly what it is like to have a baby on board by wearing pregnancy suits to honor mums in the run up to Mother's Day on Sunday, March 15.
While most mothers would be happy with a bunch of flowers, the married dads, who are behind a new personalized Mother's Day book called Book Of Mum, and are wearing pregnancy suits all day every day for a month.
Steve, 46, who is married to Kate and has a 12-year-old son, called Saul, said: “Everyday things, like putting on your socks, become a monumental task.”
The trio, who are from England but all work at an office in Barcelona, are wearing their bumps to work, to the pub and to bed and are only allowed to remove them to wash.
Jason, 44, who is a father-of-one mused on day five: “I wonder why pregnant women don't use wheelchairs.”
“I have a chair in the office with wheels and this is a blessing. I can glide effortlessly across the office to my desired destination.”
The 'empathy belly' comes complete with fake breasts and weighs two and a half stone; the average weight of a full term baby bump.
It is designed to put pressure on the bladder, stomach and lungs, and cause abdominal distention and the inability to get comfortable.
“On day three I didn't sleep a wink, I just couldn't get settled,” said company director Steve, from Doncaster.
By day three the constant swinging motion of the belly forced Jonny, 45, to visit his local pharmacy and seek medical help.
“I unzipped my jacket, exposing my belly and explaining my predicament to the woman behind the counter,” says Jonny, dad to Enzo, five, and Leo, one.
“I expected her to crack a smile or reel back in shock but she nodded professionally like she's seen it all before, opened a drawer and placed an elastic waist strap on the counter. A few minutes later, with belly strapped firmly in place, I waltzed out of there with a new-found spring in my stride. It was wonderful, I could move again.”
Despite the trials and tribulations, Steve admitted to bonding with his 'baby'.
“It seems to be taking on a personality. It has a name, and its name is Bump. I cradle it, pat it, rub it and I just caught myself talking to it while patting it.”
As well as writing down their experiences, the dads are also uploading videos of their pregnancy journeys to their online diaries, and all three are looking forward to Mother's Day when they can remove the suits for good.
“Huge respect goes to all you pregnant mums out there. Every single one of you,” said Steve.
In a similar experiment men strap on a machine to simulate labor pains at a hospital and here are the results.