Wife 36 and a half weeks.

Car seat installed.

Next to me crib assembled.

Nursery painted.

Hospital bag pretty much packed (other than last minute stuff to throw in there like Chargers)

Baby clothes, nappies, wipes all bought.

Batch cooked some stuff - need to do a bit more for the freezer.

House is getting there - we moved in only 3 months ago so still got work to do but that's a long term problem.

Anything I've missed? How would you advise I spend these last few weeks!?

Don’t be an idiot like me; make sure you sign the card from your child as well not just your name. Seems obvious now that the card is opened.

If any of you predads or dads are thinking about reusable diapers, I highly recommend the AlvaBaby brand you can find on Amazon. I was a bit worried whether we could stick to them, but honestly it's been really easy and these diapers are great. I also bought the spray pal kit with the spray shield and hose that hooks up directly to the toilet. I bought a small trash can and just keep the hosed diapers in there until enough are ready for a wash.

We got a few boxes of newborn diapers at our baby shower so we eased into the reusables, but I use the reusables about 90% of the time now. Only time we don't is when we go out, easier to just have disposables for those occasions. In the first three weeks we've already saved at least 1/2 to 3/4 a box of disposable diapers. It's a bit of an initial investment, and more time consuming in needing to clean and stuff them, but I can already see this will save us a ton of money over the long run and be way less waste! If you're thinking about it, trust me it's doable and likely an easier process than you may imagine. At least it was for me.

Hey guys just wanted to share an update with you, therapy is working, not only for our marriage but for my anxiety. I had to get a separate anxiety therapist but im the best Ive ever been now. Today was my birthday and i just turned 21 and i have to say for the first time ever i felt stress free and happy. Thank you guys for all the wisdom you have given me and all the support please if you are praying men keep my wife and i in your prayers and pray for our beautiful daughter jaziriah! God bless you all!

Yes, even when she's pregnant, she's a mother!(I say this like I knew all along and didn't last minute shop😂)

Happy first mother's day celebration to all the pre dads! TWO WEEKS TO GO FOR ME! Surreal to think this is first of many mothers day!!

We just got home two days ago. If you are fortunate enough to deliver at a hospital that has a nursery you can use between feedings. Dear god use it.

We were there for three days. If you’re on this subreddit, there is a chance that—like me—you are here because you have anxiety about being a new dad. You have possibly internalized the double standards new moms and dads are held to, and have vowed to not self aggrandize simply for doing what you should as a new parent.

If that applies to you, and you find yourself at the hospital after your wife went through 20 hours of labor… accept the help the nurses are offering!

They want to help! I felt like taking that help meant I wasn’t being a supportive enough partner, and I also read some study that said it did not have a positive impact on parents sleep. We finally said yes the last night we were there. It allowed us to both be better parents, make better decisions, and ask better questions.

Don’t be stubborn, use the hospital nursery!

i have a cinemax XD movie theater in my area me and my bf went to watch ghost busters it wasnt too crazy just the suspense and jump scares were loud i felt her wiggling and kicking more then what she does he felt her moving as well i had to show him i did try looking up the info but im reading that baby is safe and fine and im reading pregnant women should avoid movies am i fine or should i switch to standard when dead pool and wolverine comes out

Hello All,

My wife is 6 months pregnant and the reality that I’m going to be a dad hits harder each day. I’ve dealt with anxiety my whole life but I feel like it’s been at a 10/10 lately. I can’t help but think we made a mistake or that something is going to go wrong. I feel so guilty because I’m supposed to be supporting my wife right now but I can’t get out of my own head.

On the outside, everything looks great. We’re financially successful, have a house, and my wife will be able to stay home with the baby. And yet I can’t shake the extreme worry/nervousness. Everyone assures me that this is normal even thought it feels anything but. I understand everyone is going to be a nervous about being a dad for the first time but did any of you feel like you were worried excessively? Did it get better once your baby was born?

My wife and I are about 3 months out from our baby girl's due date and I'm afraid it still hasn't really dawned on me that I'm about to have a child. Is this normal, or am I lacking in something?

About to find out the gender. I’m feeling it now, predaddits!

I was dating this girl for 6 months, and then she accidentally got pregnant. We decided to keep it, as I've always wanted kids, she also seemed pretty excited about it, and our overall relationship was going really well.

The past few weeks, though (she's week 12 now), things have started getting worse. She's had a lot of trauma, and abusive relationships in the past, and what seems to be the main issue is her body dysmorphia. She gets these episodes of intense self-hatred for her body and feels ashamed to even take her clothes off, and while she has gained a bit of weight, it's nothing drastic, but to her, it seems like the end of the world. I try to soothe her, and tell her how beautiful she is, but I feel more often than not it has the opposite effect.

Another issue is that she feels sick constantly and throws up, which makes her pretty immobile, and I feel that adds up to her depressive states. We also don't live together yet, but I'm spending at least 4 nights a week with her, and doing my best to sort out the living situation, on top of cooking for her, catering to all her needs, being there when she needs me, but it seems like the harder that I try, the worse it gets.

She's been doing therapy for a long time, and has now found a new therapist, whom she'll be seeing next week because she was feeling judged by her old one regarding her body image issues.

On a more positive side, she does seem appreciative of my efforts, and at the times when she stops being sick, she does apologise to me for being an asshole and tells me how much she values me, but then a few days later we get back into the same pattern, and it feels like my soul is being crushed at times.

I really do hope the therapy will have some positive impact on her, because I do feel pretty lost at times, and I don't know how I/she can handle 6 months of that.

Not sure if there is any viable advice I can get, I guess I just wanted to have a little rant here, but if anyone has been in a similar situation, I'll appreciate hearing how it went for you.

I've been inundated with car seat options, and I'm having decision paralysis. Can anyone suggest a good car seat for under $250? Ideally one that could be used until they are in school, but that's not as important as the price range. (Don't worry, we already have a car seat, but my dad is wanting to buy us another one)

Also, completely unrelated - does the hospital provide babies with their little hats?!

Sorry, we are due in about 2 weeks and it's all just becoming a little real.

Hi all, I've come from daddit to warn you about the surge of whooping cough in the UK. You may have heard it in the news.

Whooping cough (pertussis) is a bacterial infection of the lungs and breathing tubes. It spreads very easily and can sometimes cause serious problems.

In the UK last year, 5 babies died due to whooping cough.

40% of pregnant women in the UK did not receive the whooping cough injection, meaning, they were susceptible to passing it onto their child.

In practical terms, here is what it's like...

Experiencing my baby's whooping cough was one of the most harrowing times of my life. 6 to 8 weeks they said. Felt like forever. Every coughing fit was a test. Her tiny body struggling for air, her face turning red, sometimes even going silent for 5 or 10 seconds, left me feeling powerless. Nights were the worst, hearing her cough echo through the house, disrupting her sleep and ours. The constant worry about her oxygen levels. It was not just the physical care but the emotional strain, too, watching my little one suffer and feeling so useless.

Remember, adults can get it too. They call it the 100 day cough because the coughing just goes on and on and on. Symptoms can include broken ribs and hernias. I am 5 weeks into it and, although the threat is much lower as an adult, the symptoms are the same.

Dad's, please check to make sure the mother's of your children have been vaccinated against whooping cough.

All the best

Hey all, my wife and I are trying to conceive again after a break. We were able to get pregnant within 2 months of trying last year but unfortunately experienced a pretty early miscarriage. We decided to take a break afterwards for emotional healing and decided to try again earlier this year. There’s probably only been 1 or 2 cycles where we really stuck to the normal structure when trying to conceive. One of them was last month but no success.

We are planning to keep it going and keep trying. We scheduled a fertility visit for July but since we are both in our early to mid 30’s, I just want to be prepared and not waste anytime. So I was wondering if it would make sense to take a at home sperm analysis test at this point and if so, what are the best kinds and appropriate at this stage.

If it matters, my habits haven’t changed too much since we successfully conceived last year. Thanks for the help and suggestions!

Induction started 7pm Tuesday (UK). Waters broke at 5am today with contractions coming thick and fast! I’m about to become a dad!

Will update when all is over! Wish us luck!

We were in the fortunate position where someone gave us an old car seat that we could turn in to Target for the 20% discount. It expires in a couple days and we're just looking for what you all might suggest. Our first child will be coming at the end of June and I feel like we have the major stuff already (Doona, crib, MamaRoo, high chair, toddler rocker, smart sock baby monitor, video baby monitor, found a great deal on a used Snoo). Obviously we could use the discount on a thing that costs less, but can any of you think of something that you may not have bought unless you had a discount?

Hey ya’ll, I was wondering if anyone could maybe clarify the process of making sure insurance is set up by the time baby is here. I called my insurance company yesterday about it and the person on the line sounded like they had never been confronted with this question and pretty much told me to just call the moment the baby is born? But I’m wondering how to go about getting a pediatrician set up and everything else. Any information at all will be helpful

Hi everyone! My partner and I are eager to start our journey towards parenthood and I want to contribute as best as I can. I'm looking for advice from other dads on what you did to improve your fertility and increase the chances of a successful conception.

Did you make any specific lifestyle changes, undergo particular health screenings, or try any supplements?

Any tips or experiences you can share would be hugely helpful!

According to this research, most baby monitors / baby cameras advertised as secure … are not that secure. What are your thoughts on this?

https://cujo.com/blog/how-do-you-choose-a-secure-baby-monitor-camera/

My wife and I are expecting our first baby this fall. I've always had issues with hypochondria, but in the past they've just been in regards to my health issues.

But recently I've been getting anxious and afraid at the idea of losing my wife sueing childbirth. I know the chances of this happening are extremely low, especially since the doctors havent noted any issues so far. Regardless, the fear is just really getting to me recently and I wanted to reach out if any dad's on here experienced something similar and how they kept their feelings in check.

Greetings,

So today was our 20 week anatomy scan... Well it was actually 23 weeks but whose counting... anyway I kept telling myself and everyone else I don't care what it is as long as it's healthy...and I honestly believed that statement. I thought having a girl would be nice but I didn't want to have to mess with a girls teenage years so I thought a boy would be good because it avoided that particular powder keg...

Well as it turns out everything is normal...doctor said everything was proceeding at a predicted pace no problems detected. That was good news that set my anxiety at ease. It had begun to run rampant when the ultrasound techs took a thousand pictures of the brain and started whispering to each other. I'm sure it was just training advice since one was a student but my fears went into overdrive...

Anyway they said it was a boy...and I know I was supposed to be excited we finally knew our it was a he but I couldn't help sitting their disappointed. I guess I really wanted a girl more than I thought. I can't help but think of the things I'll never get to do. Father daughter dances are out...walking her down the isle out...normally those would be replaced by most guys with I can throw a ball or teach my kid sports, but I was a nerd growing up never played sports. I read books and played games...both things I could have done with either gender....anyway I'm sure a boy will be fantastic and I can't wait until he arrives but my heart is sad I'll never get to have my little Kestra....

By the way we are both up there in age. The wife wasn't sure she even wanted one kid. There is no way she will spring for ever having a second. She says we are one and done.

Sitting in the hospital after my wife has been through 20 hours so far. Started out being induced so really more like 11 hours balloon and 9 hours of labor so far.

Baby is just too comfy and won’t come out yet!

This is both the best and worst time. We’re so excited and mama is doing great, but the lack of really noteworthy forward movement and my inability to really be helpful is rough.

As someone who loves taking care of my partner and kids, It’s really humbling to be so unable to do any of the hard work here. Makes me appreciate my wife so much more and also really wish we could come up with some sort of seahorse type situation where we could share some of the load.

Just ranting to pass time! Hoping to graduate here in the next few hours.

My wife and I are at about 4 1/2 weeks, and we have our first doctor’s appointment on 5/30. While we are keeping our excitement as controlled as possible until then (we’ve taken 4 tests, I think it’s sure but you never know!), my wife and I are understandably nervous about all the new changes. My question is…I want to be as supportive as I can be, so have any of you had luck helping your partner refrain from googling things (last night was “pregnancy cramps vs miscarriage cramps”, I swear google is more of a bad thing than a good one!). I just want to be a good partner and supportive! Thanks!

I'm quite a worrier and pregnancy has tested my anxiety as it's one of the biggest unknowns.

Before each scan I've been nervous (more so the 12 and 20 week ones than the growth scans at 30 and 34 weeks) but mostly been excited all the way through.

But as we near the actual birth ( Wife is 36 weeks this week) how do you stop the intrusive thoughts that it's all going to go wrong?

I feel like all I read is about difficult births and emergency C sections.

I don't care how the baby gets here as long as they are healthy and my wife is healthy.

Any tips to stop catastrophising?

So my wife is 36 weeks and a day and everyone, both personally and medically, thinks that she is set to give birth to our daughter within the next couple of weeks. She's been told that she looks ready to pop and was even told at her appointment today that the baby was not waiting 40 weeks haha. Just out of curiosity, is anyone else expecting an early debut for their child?

Tomorrow she’s getting induced!!! Did anybody cry the night before? This has been an exciting beautiful ride man. I wasn’t scared until 5 mins ago that I’ll be the daddy to beautiful baby girl in the morning. See you guys on the other side!

After 36+ hours of induction and an hour of active labor, wife delivered a baby boy on Tuesday. We’re blessed. It was a long journey to get here but today it’s not about that. Thank you all for your support. Wife has difficulty producing milk which we didn’t realize for two days. Got discharged and came home with a very fussy baby. Understandably so. Tried Similac ready to feed formula what we got from hospital. It’s awful. Made my kid gassy and fussy. He was miserable. We switched to Enfamil gentle ease which seems to work, will know tomorrow after he’s had at least ten feeds. Here is for all you soon to be dads. Keep formula handy coz you never know. Keep the gentle ease (or similar version) as a backup in case your partner has difficulty breast feeding. We thought we were prepared with every detail aspect of bringing a little one home. Guess, we were naive :) I’m overjoyed (and exhausted). Will hang out here for a bit to answer questions or provide words of encouragement. Grateful for all the kindness everyone has shown on this subreddit.