- Introduction
- Best ways to get ready to become a dad
- Conclusion
Becoming a father will be the biggest and life changing event of your life. So far, life was easy without any responsibilities. It was just you and your partner who could whatever things at any given point of time. You both were grown up adults and hence, no one was dependent on the other. Now, the person who is coming to your life would be new to the world.
The whole environment would be new for her and without your support and care; she would not be able to survive. Hence, you need to prepare yourself efficiently so that you can stay by her side and give her all the warmth and affection she requires. Make the most of the time that you get out of work to prepare yourself for a great start as a dad.
When your partner is pregnant, she might get all the attentions of the people around; however, when your new baby arrives, both of you have to work as a team for the well-being of the baby. You should mentally be prepared to build a string relationship with your child. You can achieve that only when you spend ample time with your baby once she comes in to the world.
Best ways to get ready to become a father (dad)
Following are some of the honest ideas that will help you to prepare yourself for your newborn baby.
Start with your research
You might not be carrying the baby physically, but you are the prime part of pregnancy and birth experience. Even if you are adopting or choosing surrogacy, you should definitely get involved. There are number of books for expectant fathers that you can read to grow your knowledge. You can even join few online groups or sign up for pregnancy newsletters. When you get these information online or offline, you can support your partner when they carry your child inside them. Knowing about the delivery types, diaper changing and breastfeeding would be helpful.
Stay healthy
Much before your baby arrives, you should focus on keeping up your health. If you have the habit of smoking, try to quit because it enhances the risk of heart issues in newborns babies. Check your eating habits as only if you eat nutritious food, it will act like fuel and boost up your energy levels. Consider consuming immune boosting and fiber-rich food to your daily meals. It would be even better if you could schedule an appointment with your family physician. Only when you are healthy, you would be able to take proper care of your partner and new baby.
Discuss about parenting with your partner
Every new parents aspires to bring up their babies in a special way. This is the time to start all those discussions and come to a conclusion about what kind of parents you plan to be. Things like breastfeeding, making the baby sleep in a crib, need of a nanny or whether both of you would be working should be discussed among every couple. The decisions might change after your baby arrives; however, it is better to have a plan before she enters your life. Beginning of these discussions would help you both to be on the same page.
Talk to the fellow father(s)/dads
Becoming a father for the first time can be overwhelming. These can be different types of thought passing by your mind and you can feel bewildered. In such situations, you can find some other experienced fathers from your friend circle. Talk to them and clear your doubts that you might have in your mind. Talking with someone who is acquainted with similar challenges of parenthood would help to learn. You can learn from their experiences and use those tips in real life situations.
Understand that your sex life might change
When you become a parent, your sex life is bound to change. The moment you learn your partner is expecting, you might be flooded with a series of emotions. Even if you crave for intimacy, you might feel nervous that it may affect your pregnancy. In such cases, you should communicate openly with your partner. Sex after pregnancy will take time as your partner undergoes several physical changes and she might not be ready for it. You simply have to understand and accept the fact that sex life would change and there is no alternative.
Understand that you are important for your baby
The life of the newborn baby consists of several phases. At times, you may feel disconnected from your baby; but do not assume that you are less important to her. You might face difficulty in returning back to work but that doesn’t make you are bad father. When you are the earning member of your family, you have to leave your child with her mom and go for work. Fatherhood is all about being consistent in the relationship with your child. There will be moments to rejoice when she holds your finger or says “dad”.
Make the essential preparations
There is a lot to prepare before the arrival of your newborn. Apart from carrying the baby or saving money for her future, there are several items on the list that needs to be taken care. Things like, packing the hospital bag, learning how to install a car seat for the baby, making phone calls about childcare, painting the room, researching about the best baby carriers and taking classes on breastfeeding or birth with your partner should be done before your child comes to the world.
Start doing things as a team (like a father-mother/mom-dad duo)
You and your partner should think yourself as a team. You both need to be on the same page for every decision taken. Your partner, you and your baby are bonded for lifetime; hence, even if you and your partner fall out of love, you should start viewing things from the perspective of your baby. For any reason your baby should not face any negative consequence and you as parents, you need to ensure that. Help each other whenever there is a need and let go of those ego clashes.
FINAL WORDS
Much before the expected date of delivery, you should plan your leaves and schedule your work so that there is no chaos when your baby arrives. You should be able to take care of both the baby and the new mommy. Even after delivery, you partner might be low on energy, hence you should offer her a helping hand by cooking meals, doing the everyday chores or baby proofing the house.
This way your partner would be able to get good amount of rest and take better care of the child. For bonding with your baby, you should attend the parenting classes with your partner and learn to change diapers as well. Every step your take will help you to evolve as a good dad. As a dad, you will have huge impact on your child’s life and that impact would start now. After all, the newborn babies come into the world to share a great connection with both the parents.
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