Celebrating Fatherhood: Rituals and Traditions for New Dads
Discover the rich traditions and modern rituals that celebrate new dads, from wetting the baby's head to Dadchelor parties and thoughtful support presents. Explore ways to honour fatherhood and create lasting memories as you welcome your little one into the world
How to Involve Your Partner in the Pregnancy Journey: Tips for a Stronger Bond
Pregnancy is an exciting time, and it’s important for both partners to feel connected and involved in the journey. From attending doctor’s appointments to helping with preparations for baby’s arrival, there are plenty of ways to include your partner every step of the way. This article offers simple and fun ideas to help your partner engage, bond with the baby, and support you during this special time. After all, teamwork makes the dream work!
Embracing Fatherhood: The Realities of Becoming a Dad
Becoming a dad is a life-changing journey filled with joy, challenges, and growth. From late-night diaper changes to being your child's hero, fatherhood is as rewarding as it is demanding. Embrace the ups and downs, find your stride, and remember—it's okay not to have all the answers right away. This is your chance to shape a bond that lasts a lifetime, one loving moment at a time.
Why Dads Should Jump in the Bath with Their Baby: The Benefits of Bonding Time
Bath time is a wonderful opportunity for dads to bond with their baby in a relaxed and intimate way. Jumping in the bath with your little one not only fosters a strong emotional connection but also creates a playful and calming environment for both of you. It’s a perfect time to relax, have fun, and nurture your relationship, while also sharing in those precious moments that build trust and love. In this post, we’ll explore the many benefits of dads jumping into the bath with their baby, from strengthening the father-child bond to creating lasting memories.
How can you, as her partner, be the support she needs?
We all know what Mum's job is during labour and birth, but by offering your support, you play a crucial role as well. Besides providing encouragement during labor and birth, you’ll be the point person for all sorts of duties — from distractor-in-chief to cord-cutter!!
So, how can you prepare for what’s bound to be a physically exhausting day for her and an emotional one for both of you? Check out these tips so you can proceed with patience and confidence during one of the most important days of your life.
Single Dad Life: Navigating parenthood.
Becoming or being a single dad is by far the biggest challenge you may have faced to date. However your journey started as a father, finding yourself as a single parent can be devastating, during which it’s easy to become overwhelmed by emotions - heartache, pain, confusion, panic, fear, feeling like a failure, and more. Many newly single dads struggle to know where to start. What should be first on your list, and how do you even begin to get your head around the rest?
It’s important to stay focused on what’s important, the bigger picture, putting your kids first and keeping things amicable with your ex-partner.
When Fatherhood Feels Heavy: Understanding Anxiety and Depression in New Dads
Becoming a new dad is a life-changing event. Even when change is positive, it can still be challenging. Having mixed and complex emotions as an expectant or new dad is completely normal, but these can be confronting emotions to manage. Along with feelings of joy, excitement and pride, the experience of pregnancy and birth can be accompanied by feelings of apprehension, anxiety and exhaustion. Keep reading….
Hands-On Fatherhood: The Benefits of Baby Massage for Dads
There are lots of ways that dads can enhance bonding with their babies - from nappy changing, feeding, babywearing and bathing them but, baby massage is something that bit extra special. Continue reading here..
But, what kind of father do you want to be?
Some men have a good sense of what a good dad should be by watching their fathers. Other men are trying to break a pattern of bad fathering, whether it be an addiction, anger, or complete absence. Studies have shown that a father’s (or father figure's) involvement in the child’s upbringing can influence their overall development. Indeed, a dad who is more involved in their children’s day-to-day activities helps bring positive changes that shape their child’s life.
Breastfeeding - how your partner can support you.
For many women, their partner is their main source of support with breastfeeding. Many breastfeeding women give up sooner than they want to. You can be integral in keeping breastfeeding going. The more supportive you are, the longer your partner is likely to breastfeed and the more confident she’ll feel.
While breastfeeding is a natural process, it is also a learned skill. Breastfeeding isn’t always easy at first and can take a few weeks for both mum and baby to get used to. Some breastfeeding mums go through a rough patch, but good support and encouragement from you can help them get through it.
What’s it like for Dad’s during birth?
Labour is a huge experience for mums of course, but the role of the birth partner – whether that’s the dad, partner, close friend or relative – is often downplayed.
Dads go through their own huge physiological and psychological changes in the birth room, so don’t underestimate the emotional and physical impact of being a birth partner. It is a massive emotional rollercoaster where your feelings can change from excitement to fear, exhaustion to elation in a few seconds.
OK, so mums are obviously doing a lot of work but the role of dads or other birth partners is essential. Supporting a woman in labour is an incredibly exciting and important role. (Plus, research shows that women who have support during childbirth are more likely to have positive outcomes, including shorter labour times and decreased medical intervention). So dads and other birth partners really matter! Yay!
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