In almost two decades of conducting or visiting Boot Camp workshops, I have never failed to hear a new comment that I felt all new dads should hear. These are a few for rookie dads-to-be:
- Use Stethoscope To Hear Your Baby’s Heartbeat
“Something my boss suggested was buying a stethoscope and listening to the baby’s heartbeat. It’s cheaper than a doppler, and he said that it really helped him to bond with his baby. You can start hearing the heartbeat with a stethoscope at around 17 weeks.” You can find one for $30 on the web. - Get Your Back In Shape “After continually bending over to pick up and hold a ten pound baby for two weeks, my back gave out. And it’s not like I could say to my wife, who delivered that baby, ‘you’re on your own until I feel better.’ A heads-up to the new guys: get your back ready with some stretching or try carrying around a 10 lb. bag of flower.”
- Code Word For Saying Yes To Epidural “She wanted to go natural with no epidural, but didn’t know whether she could do it. I didn’t want her to be in pain, but agreed to encourage her and suggested she come up with a code word for her to use if she was absolutely sure she wanted the epidural.”
- Deal With Mom On Postpartum Depression “I was very concerned about her getting postpartum depression, so we agreed before the baby arrived that should I see her show any signs of it, there would be no discussion - I would just call her doctor and set up an appointment for her.”
What tips or comments do you have for other new dads?
Posted by Jon Bishop on 06/15 at 09:55 AM
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