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Rising Star
My husband basically took over all house chores - he does most of the cooking and laundry, and when we clean the house together he’ll do the more chemical/heavy lifting for me. Basically just made my life super easy so all I had to do was focus on getting through the work day and resting otherwise.
Read. Doing chores and stuff is great, but simply being able to understand what my wife (now 38 weeks) was going through was huge. Thanks to the book I linked, I not only understood, but could anticipate what was going to happen to her next. I knew some things before she really knew, I had opinions on some decisions we'd make before she had to take on the mental load of learning for the both of us. It helped me empathize at a whole new level, which is what my wife needed more than anything else.
Anyone can do chores, the mental stress is what gets overbearing.
The Expectant Father: The Ultimate Guide for Dads-to-Be (The New Father, 18) https://a.co/d/7rCiKrs
Rising Star
Second this book! Husband also read this and really liked how the information was laid out for him, since 90% of the dr appointments, everyone paid attention to me instead of him
Pro
Same as M1 and just being incredibly emotionally supportive of my body changes, pain, fears.
I think that I would feel even better if I knew he was mentally preparing to be at minimum 80% as involved and mentally responsible for all that having a child entails. I still have a lot of fear that he doesn’t understand the commitment (I am oldest of 9, he is 1 of 3 close in age and doesn’t have any experience with babies or kids) and I will be stuck with the mental load of caring for the baby and household physically and in terms of shopping, making appointments, knowing what’s going on. Division of labor is already harder on the women, and having kids does not even the playing field.
We're Pregnant! The First Time Dad's Pregnancy Handbook, Advice For Being A Great New Dad https://a.co/d/hbXVYv5
This was nice. But I went through it in like 3 days 😂
Conversation Starter
My husband was already great about doing chores, cooking, and cleaning around the house - the most helpful thing he’s done now is to not get angry or judge me when I have days where all I can do is sit or lay down or nap. I’m
22 weeks now, but early on I think he thought I was lazy, until I explained that I barely had energy to eat or bathe myself, let alone clean or tidy. Now, he’s more compassionate and understanding, and will proactively ask how he can help, what he can bring me, and will make me food and snacks or remind me to eat.
He’s also been a great sounding board for my anxiety and fears - this is my third pregnancy but will be our first baby. He listens without trying to solve or fix, which is all I need.
Oh, and he brings me a cup of coffee in bed every morning. It’s the BEST.
Pro
There’s a working dad’s bowl. It’s not super active but maybe you can change that
Recent dad here. I read a couple of books (wife isn’t big on reading so I did it for her), took over meal prep and planning our weekends so we were getting some good outdoors time. Also, you’ll have to stop yourself from policing her. I used to keep close tabs on whether she was taking vitamins and eating what she should be eating but she got mad at me after a while lol. you have yo trust that her body will tell her what she wants.
Go with her to appointments (we had ours during COVID so I would drive her and stay in parking lot).
Once the baby comes - your responsibilities will need to change over time e.g., bed time routine and figuring out foods become important only after a few months. But one thing you can consistently do is take household chores (taking out trash, emptying out diapers, laundry, grocery runs, etc.) and planning weekends.
And respond to any feedback. My wife felt for the longest time post-baby that I wasn’t pulling my weight and we had a discussion then on how we could make it more even. We did understand though that my job requires more hours so it will never be an even split but maybe more like 65/35 or close
https://www.pennysimkin.com/shop/the-birth-partner-5th-edition/
A Dad created this bowl. Welcome man, just be there to help around the house, and go to visits eight now. Not much to do in the second trimester.
Talk about baby names and what if its a boy ir a girl scenarios.
Enjoy and good luck!
Hey there! Just became a dad (2nd time) on Sunday. Congratulations to you ! My (general) advice - work and communicate with and alongside your partner. I didn’t see if this was your first (assume it is) so keep fit, get plenty of sleep; eat healthy - but work with your partner’s schedule too ! Spend time reading father materials and get knowledgeable - hanging out with friends who are also dads are a great help. I read articles from the site “fatherly” as well . And - be - happy - ! Feel comfortable knowing that you want to be a great dad and take steps toward it ! Best wishes to you.
Thank you all! Great suggestions.. very insightful! 🙏