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
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.
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.
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!
