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Preparing for fatherhood can be a slightly challenging task for many but it is also a time when some of the sweetest moments will take place. Getting to know that you are going to be a dad can be such a life-defining moment. You may also face some mixture of feeling from joy to terror, and that is completely normal.
It is slightly hard to completely develop yourself for becoming a dad. But you can prepare yourself as best as you can so that you won’t get fully confused when the baby arrives. However, here I have made a list of the 18 most effective ways to prepare yourself for becoming a dad.
18 Ways To Prepare Yourself To Become a Dad
1. Get Better At Your Health
Before the arrival of your baby, it is the best time to focus on your own health. You must try to quit all those habits that can ruin the health of you and the people around you.
If you are not eating right, you must start eating the right food. Eating well has the potential to provide you immense power to face all those long days and nights. You should try to add some immune-boosting and fiber-rich foods, it can be very beneficial for you.
If you have the habit of smoking, try to end it. When women get exposed to smoking during their pregnancy period, it can cause an increase in the risk of congenital heart defects in new newborns.
2. Communicate To Your Partner About Parenting
Pregnancy is a perfect time for both of you to talk about what type of parents you have planned to be. These are the few things that you should consider:
- Will both of you go to work?
- What are your childcare plans?
- Are both of you agree on breastfeeding? In the success of breastfeeding, a father plays a major role.
- Do both of you want your baby to sleep in a crib in their personal room as soon you both arrive at the home?
See, it’s good to consider these things beforehand but remember that all these things are theoretical. When the baby will arrive, there is a higher possibility that your feelings may change.
Some discussions would not be relevant now but still, they are important. You should start discussing the disciplines such as spanking before your child converts into a feisty toddler. If you start the discussion now, it would be a great thing for opening the lines of communication and will also help you in getting on the same surface of parenting.
3. Be Aware Of The Dad You Want To Be
You may be had a great father and you want to be just like them, and that is really a great thing. You should definitely go for it.
There is also a possibility that maybe your dad has left lots of things to be desired and because of that, you may be feeling worried about your own character as a father. But the great thing is that you are getting a complete chance for determining the way of approaching parenthood.
So, go and get your own fatherhood role models. You are going to build this character from scratch, it completely depends on you that how you want it to appear.
4. Start Your Training With Real Babies
This is one of the best ways that you can use while preparing for fatherhood. There a lot of guys who are very great with babies (without even becoming a father). Maybe they have this quality from birth or maybe they got lots of opportunities for holding a baby. But on the other hand, many guys get scared when someone asks them to hold a baby.
So, if you are the one who is preparing for fatherhood, then you must start your practice with the babies so that you can get comfortable in it. Never be shy, just grab the opportunity that comes to you. You can even ask your friend to hold their baby. Remember, avoid taking the baby in your hands when you are sick or your hands are not clean.
5. Do Research
If you are not the one who is carrying the baby physically that doesn’t indicate that you don’t have any role in the pregnancy and overall birth experience. The same can go for the people who are using adopting, there will be a few ways for sure that can make you feel engaged.
You can take up the books that are available in the market but make sure you don’t limit yourself here. You must do sign up for the pregnancy letters or join some online groups.
If you are noticing that your partner is feeling some pregnancy symptoms such as heartburn or morning sickness, go and do some research on it. Researching is one of the most effective things that you must implement while preparing for fatherhood. Your partner will thank you for understanding and supporting them like this.
6. Get Better At Your Time Management
While preparing for fatherhood, time management plays a major role. Maybe you are already good at managing your time but if you are not, pregnancy is the perfect time to learn. For improving your time management, you must try to be more efficient and waste less time. For example, if you are supposed to spend 30 minutes in the shower, try to reduce it to 5 to 10 minutes. Believe me, these small changes can really make a big difference.
7. The Sleep
There are lots of approaches to sleep available and it will demand some errors and trials to discover the right one for your family. The most important thing is that everyone is getting enough sleep. Here is what you can do:
- Start sleeping in the shifts and take naps whenever you get a chance. Divide and take care of all the tasks and responsibilities that should get done so the other person can also get a chance to rest.
Remember, whatever you do just make sure that every single person in the house getting an opportunity to sleep.
8. Acknowledge The fact That you Will Get Less Personal Time
See, taking care of a child requires lots of work and it won’t be a short process. When you will be taking care of someone else, you will get very little time to fully take care of yourself. If you used to spend your free time reading books or watching any movie, most probably it will get replaced with changing diapers.
9. Learn Cooking
You and your partner may be love to go out for eating but when the baby arrives, it won’t be that relaxing for you. Because the baby will constantly annoy the patrons of the restaurant.
You will most likely choose to stay at home and cook the meals once the baby has arrived at your home. Learning to cook would be a great thing that will surely benefit you in the future. It will also help you in saving a lot of money.
10. Have a Sense Of Humor
Parenting can be a very messy, exhausting, and complicated task but on the other hand, it can also be exciting, fun, and rewarding too. When you will be able to laugh, you can easily go through all the good and bad moments.
11. Visit The Appointments As Much As you Can
If you want to get excited about pregnancy then prenatal appointments are such a great way for that. And yes of course there you will get to see the baby on the ultra-sound but also some other routine check-ups will also help you to get more associated with pregnancy and discover more on what to expect.
Here you also get an amazing chance for asking your questions, explore more about your partner’s experience and learn about the development of your baby.
12. Get In Touch With The Fellow Dads
While preparing for fatherhood, it would be a great thing if you find and get in touch with some other fathers. When you will have someone around you who is also facing the same challenges of parenthood will give you an appropriate place to ask a question regarding the experience of becoming a father.
You can easily find some church groups, online groups and you can also find some groups with the help of the hospital and doctor.
13. Attend Parenting Classes
Going to parenting classes is one of the most important things that you must do when preparing for fatherhood. You can easily find the classes that are specifically created for the men who are about to become a dad. You can get such valuable advice that would be very helpful for you. Fantabulous hacks, tips, and support will be offered by these classes.
14. Spend Some Quality Time With Your Partner
Once the baby is born, the mother and father will barely get any time to spend together. And this is the thing that most people ignore. So, remember that you must spend some quality time together when the baby is not born.
15. Try Your Best To Involve In The Pregnancy
The more you will involve in the pregnancy, the easier it will be for you to adjust when the newborn baby will be in the house. This will also help you in getting prepared for holding the baby and waking up early in the morning for making a bottle for the baby.
According to babycentre.co.uk, a man should involve in the pregnancy by telling his partner that how much how he loves her new body. It will be very helpful with her own struggles with the image of the body.
You can also offer her a gentle back massage whenever she feels pain in her back or just tries to make her feel that you are always there for her. This kind of support will be very beneficial.
16. Show Your Support To Your Partner
Your partner will definitely require love and care during the time of her pregnancy. So, that is your responsibility to be available whenever she needs you. Assist her in the daily chores, help her in getting done with the household responsibilities, take care of her diet, and if you notice any changes happening in her body then make sure to talk about it with your doctor. Give her moral support by saying that everything will go fine.
17. Be Ready For All Those Night Shifts
When the baby is born, you should stay awake with your partner throughout the night. Be the helping hand in changing the nappies and feeding the baby. Make sure that you are mentally prepared for all these circumstances because taking care of the baby is your responsibility too.
18. Try to Stay Around The Baby
You will have to stay around your partner in the first few weeks when the baby is born. If any non-emergency appointments can interrupt you, try to cancel them and just be assured to be there whenever your partner needs you.
Your free time should be for your child, so keep in mind that you will have to plan for your work accordingly. For a certain time, you will have to eliminate all those activities that you used to do in the free time. Organize the wardrobe of your baby, keep check of all the medication and stock them. Make a list of all the items that are necessary for the baby and buy them.
Remember, you must be patient with the new baby. Sometimes, your baby can be unpredictable. Don’t panic when the baby is crying. Build a good connection with your baby, play with him/her, and make the infant sleep. This could be very helpful for building a much stronger connection with your baby.
Final Words
The experience of being a new dad is not going to be that much easy. Sometimes you may also find yourself weakened but make sure you don’t give up. And remember you are doing all these things for the better future of your family, so make sure to give your best.
Believe in yourself, you are going to be the best dad.
Good Luck Future Dad!
