5 Top Tips for Expectant Dads

Whether you have just found out you are expecting, or you are counting down the days till your little one’s arrival, here are some top tips for making sure you are prepared.

Bond with your baby before they are born

By 24 weeks your unborn baby can hear sounds from outside. This means for most of the pregnancy, your baby can hear your voice.  They will know who you are and already be bonding with you.
Once Baby is born, when you talk to her, she will recognise and respond to your voice from the times she heard it during pregnancy. Therefore, obviously the more she has heard you speaking during pregnancy, once she is here your voice will be more familiar to her. This is brilliant in terms of being able to calm her when she arrives –making it easier for you to calm and soothe her when she is here in your arms.

Attend antenatal appointments
As long as your partner is happy with you being there, attend as many of these as you can. The antenatal scans in particular are a great opportunity to see your baby and how they are growing. They will help you start to visualise your baby and bonding with them. As men, we find it hard to attach to things we can’t see, hear or touch.

 
Find and go to antenatal classes which suit you both

You and your partner should have a chat about what kind of birth preparations you would like to do, as there are a wide range of antenatal classes now available to help you prepare for the kind of birth you would like to have.  Research what classes that are available in your area and make sure you attend the ones that suit how you feel the about your birth – if you are hoping to have a birth without using medical drugs, then it makes sense to attend a class which specifically teaches ways of making this more likely through learning specific techniques and skills.

Have a birth plan
Ignore those that tell you ‘there is no point having a birth plan’ as this simply isn’t true. Work on your birth plan together and research the choices available. Trust me, there are more decisions available to be made in relation to pregnancy and birth that you can probably imagine.

From where you would prefer your baby to be born, to whether you would like delayed cord clamping after the birth – a birth plan isn’t all about pain relief or type of birth. Your role is to try and support, as far as is reasonably possible, the birth plan to be heard but you can only fulfill this role, if you have a plan to start with.

Take as much paternity leave as you can  
Paternity leave is always something I don’t think many of us give enough consideration to in the build up to the birth of our children. Start planning early, talk to your employer and see how flexible they will be. Legally, we are entitled to two weeks paternity leave on the birth of our child, but think about extending this by using holiday entitlement.

So many of us dads are left with a hollow feeling when it is time to return to work and mums can suddenly feel very lonely and overwhelmed that all of a sudden they will be on their own.
If you do have to return to work soon after the birth, make sure you stay in touch with mum, ring her each day to see how she and baby are doing, and see if there is anything you can do on the way home. On that first day you are away, take her home some chocolates or flowers, so she knows you have been thinking of her.

Dean Beaumont is founder of the award-winning antenatal programme for men, DaddyNatal and author of The Expectant Dad’s Handbook – come and get your copy at The Baby Show, Birmingham NEC.

Original Found Here.. http://www.thebabyshow.co.uk/blog/2013/05/5-top-tips-for-expectant-dads/