The Essential Guide to New Fatherhood
Wisdom and Must-Haves for Surviving Pregnancy, Birth & Newborn
Written by a Real Dad
This guide includes everything you need as a new Dad
10 Easy Purchases to make your life easier
A few tips for thriving in the transition into parenthood
and some New Dad Gift ideas for moms wanting to thank and celebrate the new dads in their life!
Hey Dads! Chris here.
Adjusting to life during pregnancy and with a new baby can be very hard. Even more, it can be hard to feel supported yourself. It is easy to feel lost. I can remember being shocked at how I responded to having less sleep. I struggled to be proactive at times because I didn’t know where to start. I also found myself wanting to help Hanna but being afraid to speak my opinion or have an opinion because I thought I “should give her space” or “let her decide.” However, I knew Hanna wanted me to speak up and to be a part of the process, and I knew I wanted that for myself. I was the first of my friends to have a baby and so there wasn’t a lot of wisdom to lean on. I put this post together to help remedy this situation. My hope for all dads is that they can be educated, confident, and vocal when it comes to pregnancy and birth.
Educated so that they can be informed on what happens before, during, and after the baby is born.
Confident so that they can feel at ease and empowered in the decision-making process.
Vocal so that they can communicate their own needs and informed thoughts.
Yet, I know it takes time to feel ready for all of these things. It is a journey. It will take time to adjust to life with a new baby. With all that said this post should help give the basic tools and ideas for a dad to start this journey. Remember, having a baby is a tremendous blessing and responsibility. But, more than that, it is a joy. I think you will find that the more you engage in the process, the more you put your heart into it, the more of that joy you will experience.
** Also do us a favor and if you decide to purchase any of these Essentials, to use the link provided here to help support Hanna and her growing small business**
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Keep the Fridge Stocked and Learn to cook a few favorite recipes.
Personally, I love cooking. It is a love language for me and where I can be creative. I know that’s not everyone. BUT, you don’t have to become some master chef to show your partner that you care! Remember your partner is experiencing the roller coaster of pregnancy and that includes cravings. If she wakes up in the middle of the night needing a Big Mac or can down a pint of ice cream in one sitting, don’t stand in her way! But something that helped us a lot was finding a few essential favorite recipes that I knew Hanna would love and making those on repeat. This proved to be a huge mood boost for Hanna and a way we could really use a pick me up. I’ll share the 3 best things we made over and over for literally 9 months and 100% recommend! These recipes all come with videos to watch so you can know exactly what you have to do.
Banana Bread
BEST Cookie EVER
Grandma Style Pizza
2.
Plan Date nights before the baby arrives
Having a baby will rock your world! Find time to connect and celebrate those last months before baby arrives! Whether its a fancy restaurant or Babymoon vacation, don’t let those days go un-celebrated. Personally, we would go to our favorites. Soak up those last days as ‘just you two’ by building memories.
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Take charge of some of the Research
If you are worried about something or your partner’s anxiety is through the roof. Help her out by taking ownership of some of the research. Google can be a bottomless pit of looking things up and worry. Take this off her plate and ease her worries by actually making choices together and researching yourself. We actually decided pretty early on that I would take ownership of finding a like-minded Pediatrician for Jude. We got recommendations from our doula and midwife but I still was the one to make our first appointment and am their main contact for future appointments so Hanna doesn’t have to worry about it.
Just one more thing I can help with to relieve the Motherhood mental load off Hanna.
6.
Invest in a Family Camera
We are lucky because Hanna has all of this equipment but She wanted to add this one in and her recommendation for an easy basic camera for Dads who want to capture this season for his partner. I have loved pulling out the camera all throughout this time to try and document Hanna because I know it really matters to her!
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Take a Birth Class!
We loved our class with Wanda here in Chapel Hill at the birth center because it was extensive and you got to meet other parents who were going through the same season. Hanna actually found this one and signed us up, but I was so thankful we did. Especially when our birth went completely different from our plan it was so beneficial to have practical ways I could help Hanna through and to just know all the possible circumstances of birth.
9.
Baby Wraps are for Men too!
This was great because Jude was a fussy baby. The wraps proved essential to help him calm down and also helped me bond with my son. I loved holding him close and already miss not being able to do this anymore since he has gotten too big and wiggly.
Ergo Carrier
$139.00
Boba Wrap
$39.95
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You are very likely going to be the one doing most of the bottle feeding in those early days. Especially if you are supporting your partner in breastfeeding. She will need some space and feeding breaks and having a good set of bottles will be essential to jumping up and taking over a feeding shift when needed. Also a bottle warmer will make your life so much easier! Though we boiled water on the stove for those first weeks, I really wish I had gotten a bottle warmer just to make life a little easier.
13.
Netflix Subscription
If you have been living under a rock and don’t have Netflix… then now is the time to invest! We watched the Office together and it was so helpful to keep us awake but not consume all of our needed brainpower!
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Postpartum is hard and your partner’s body has changed so much over the last 10+ months. Just let her know you still see her and celebrate her by encouraging her to get in front of the camera and loving her body and power!
Shameless plug for my talented wife but seriously she describes these sessions and the healing they offer and I really think they can be a great gift for you to give your partner!