Congrats, man! You are going to nail this thing known as fatherhood!
Did you just hear the two little words that will change your life forever (”I’m pregnant”)… and you are freaking out just a tiny bit?
Are you worried that you won’t know how to be there for your partner and your unborn child during these crucial months?
Do you want to be the best partner and father possible, but you are afraid that you will do something dumb because, quite frankly, you have no idea what you’re doing?
If you answered “yes” to any of the above questions, don’t worry – there is hope.
New fatherhood is a stressful time. Your partner, who’s growing an entire new human, needs you now more than ever. There’s a lot to prepare before the little one arrives. And soon, you will have this entire new little person who will rely on you for literally everything.
But by being here, you are taking the first step to becoming the most supportive father and partner you can be. By learning all of the ins and outs of this wild ride to parenthood, you can be there holding your partner’s hand every step of the way.
In this definitive guide, you will
An examination of the different fears first-time fathers commonly face and how to squelch each and every oneEverything modern dads should know – from what your newborn will look like to how to prepare yourself mentally for caring for a baby, and moreWhat a birth plan is and all of the questions you and your partner should consider when creating oneHow to help your partner through all of the symptoms that come along with pregnancy, like crazy cravings and raging hormonesThe key to a happy relationship –how to keep on dating even with a baby, with tips on planning the perfect babymoonHow to get both of you through postpartum depression should it make an appearanceA guide to what you can expect during each trimester of pregnancy so you aren’t left scrambling for answers each time something new happensWhat you can expect at prenatal visits (yes, you should go), including what not to say during these appointmentsPractical new dad tips to make you look like a pregnancy pro right out of the gateAll of the steps to take to pick the perfect name that both you and your partner absolutely loveExhaustive, detailed lists of everything you need to pack for the big dayThe signs that it is almost your baby’s birthday and you should be getting your partner to the hospitalExactly what to expect during the birth of your child–spoiler it is the most amazing thing you will ever be a part of and no amount of planning can ever fully prepare you for what you are about to experienceThe “Swiss army knife” of baby supplies and why you should always have plenty on hand
And much more.
This book doesn’t just compare your growing baby to a fruit or vegetable while giving you ambiguous advice about what's happening inside your partner’s belly.
Telltale signs of AI generated text here - save yourself the $12 and just ask ChatGPT to summarize some advice for a young man with a pregnant partner. If you really want to punish yourself by replicating the content, add "and sprinkle in some corny jokes and irreverent phrasing to make it seem like we're just two pals, chatting over a beer" to the prompt.
The text appears to be written for 20 year olds of the 1950s, assuming the reader is incredibly immature and has never thought to make his partner comfortable. The 'author' also casually drops citations to papers for unnecessary sources (e.g. citing a turn of phrase on page 45), and code-switches between just-one-of-the-guys style advice (getting those brownie points; do X to increase your chances of having sex) and strangely academic, citing studies and referencing pregnancy archaea - for example, defining lanugo, vernix caseosa, etc. - seemingly for its own sake. (Learning new anatomy terms was the one inadvertent plus to reading as much of the book as I did.) The chatbot stink is strong.
There are also errors in pronoun use ("Help her in any way she can.", page 65) and punctuation (see the back cover). Formatting is also a mess: the eleven subheadings dedicated to choosing a baby name is followed by another subheading on choosing a guardian, with no transition text (page 79). Clearly no editor has seen this book.
I got the book as a gift, but if you're looking to gift a new dad a book, look anywhere else. Becoming a first-time father is too important to rely on LLM output, and profiteering off of new parents' uncertainty is gross behavior.
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I don't typically take the time to review books, but the intermission halfway through the book to request the reader scan a QR code and leave a positive review moved me.
I don’t typically write reviews for books, but I felt like I needed to for this one.
There was some useful information in here, but I think this is just a primer book (a starting point) because it is not very in-depth or detailed on the topics. It gives you a brief overview to familiarize yourself with everything, but I feel that this could be accomplished with other books out there that will also provide you with more information at the same time.
I agree with a lot of the common complaints I’m seeing in other reviews about the book. The formatting of the book itself is very strange and some of the comments he makes in the book just don’t hit the right way. Also I feel like there is a good bit of fluff and repetition in the book that is unnecessary.
Overall, it isn’t a terrible starting book, but at the same time I’m not completely sure if I would recommend it to other first time dads.
This book is a helpful guide for those who will start their fatherhood journey and are a little anxious about what they should do to be a supportive and capable partner. More than the effective fatherhood tips that the author shared, this book also gives adequate information about what is going on during pregnancy in the mother and baby’s body. All in all, this book prepares all dads out there to be fully ready once their little one arrives.
This book is if you need things explained in sports terms and have never actually talked to your partner before. Its condesending, basic, and poorly written with topics jumping all over the place. It literally walks you through how to not rape your spouse because 'shes already extremely uncomfortable', gives you mirror exercises so you don't accidently call her fat, and warns you that fatherhood may come with the sacrifice of a few brewskies. F this book and F Alex Grace.
My husband grew up in a mostly male household and attended an all male high school. He just didn’t get proper education on what to expect during pregnancy and the beginning stages of parenthood. This book gave him a great foundation on understanding what’s ahead, calmed his nerves and helped him be a better partner throughout the process.
I wish this book were around when I had kids. I would have loved the kids father to know all this. I will be buying it for my sons for sure. This book will help put some of those new dads at ease, if possible. The writing is very personable. A great gift for new dads, Highly recommend.
Is this our social media announcement that Nikki's pregnant? I suppose so.....
Anyways, the review:
There is plenty of obviously helpful information in here that I wouldn’t have known if not for this book. I appreciate Alex’s heart and he clearly cares a lot for this area and for new dads.
However, I have 2 major gripes with it, and why I won’t give a copy to new dads. Firstly, the ‘guy cliches’ he throws in here are so forced and could not be more stereotypical. Listen, I’m not like - radically sensitive about being stereotyped as a man; it is what it is. But there were far too many jokes that were so forced and did not land.. very cringe!
The second thing is that the book’s formatting is straight up bad. It feels like a Word document and has unclear labeling of sections, and also a ton of typos / formatting errors. Frankly, it was a little shocking how many errors went unnoticed.
All in all, it’s not inherently a bad book, i just wouldn’t recommend.
This book is an invaluable guide for those beginning their fatherhood journey and feeling a bit anxious about how to be a supportive and capable partner. In addition to sharing effective fatherhood tips, the author provides detailed information about the changes occurring in both the mother and baby's bodies during pregnancy. Overall, this book equips dads with the knowledge and confidence they need for when their little one arrives. I wish this book had been available when I had kids; I would have loved for their father to have known all this. I will definitely be buying it for my sons. This book will help ease some of the anxieties new dads might feel. The writing is very friendly, making it an easy read and a fantastic gift for new dads. Highly recommend.
I believe books like this are great tools for the soon to be parents. The writing made it very digestible and did truly feel like you were having a conversation with a friend that has gone through being a dad. A lot of what I read I already knew about as it was covered in my child development classes in high school over a decade again and I guess a lot of that really stuck with me through the years. There was also a lot of talk about stuff I already do to just genuinely be a good husband even before my wife got pregnant like helping with chores around the house, cleaning, cooking etc. I still recommend this book to anyone feeling anxious about what to expect and it was a relatively quick read.
I read this book alongside Tripper because I bought it for him for Father’s Day. He really liked it and I did too! I felt like it had great, practical advice that was presented in an easy to understand way. I knocked off some because I don’t think everything in the book was medically accurate (it’s often times a case-by-case scenario and provider dependent) and a lot of his sources were outdated or not reputable (Web MD). A quick and easy read that’s great for a first time dad! Get it for him early in the pregnancy haha
Got this as a gift and going by the reviews on here, I'd never have bought if I were to shop for such myself. But it did its job, it's cheesy but helpful. It can do with better proofreading and formatting but it served it's purpose in my life. It was a good foundation for my antenatal classes and midwife visits.
I really enjoyed this read! It included many tips for not only myself, but ways I can help my wife through the whole process. The book was very engaging through using jokes and switching topics often.
I’ve read a few books in the same genre and I really disliked this one. Felt like it was written for a caveman. Lots of stuff like “Be patient with your expecting partner and you might even get lucky “. Pretty lame, would not recommend.
Good starter book for pregnancy and first time fatherhood. Gives you all the points, without feeling overwhelming. It's not the most detailed, but it's an easy read. I read it on a single sit in about 3 hours, but it covers all the major points.