Books for Dads-to-be?

MrsH_08 · April 2010

Whenever we get our good news, I plan to buy a book or 2 (ie- WTEWYE). I was wondering if there are any good ones geared toward the dads. My DH's knowledge of pregnancy, delivery, and newborns is mostly confined to what I've told him, and what's he's seen on shows like Duggars, J+K, an occasional Baby Story, etc. He'll read the traditional ones, too, but I thought it may be helpful if there was something written from the father's point of view. Maybe something giving him an idea what to expect. I don't want to scare him, though, either! :-)

I vaguely remember this being discussed here, at some point, and I think the reviews were mixed on the usefulness of dad books. WDYT? Do you have any you'd recommend, or any that you found weren't very good?

Thanks!

JRS72206 · April 2010

My DH read The Expectant Father and really enjoyed it. He said it was more "real" than anything else he read.

keri1013 · April 2010

I mostly read from what I was reading to DH, though he was very willing to read whatever as well. One of my coworkers gave me a good tip while I was pregnant, she said to read some parenting books and not just pregnancy books while you still have lots of time to read. Smile

So I would also have him and you read some books like Happiest Baby on the Block. You could also read up on the various sleep approaches out there, depending on your own feelings/interests and of course knowing that every baby is different. I liked Healthy Sleep Habits Happy Child, there's also the Ferber book and the No Cry Sleep Solution.

iHeartHimMore · April 2010

Personally, I think it's more important for the dad-to-be to read up on the fatherhood part than the pregnancy part. My husband loved the Be Prepared Guide to Fatherhood. It's funny and well-written and really informative. (Think boy scout guide for adults.) It doesn't get super in depth about anything, but it's a great overview that at least got him interested enough to want to find out more / ask me about things.

I have 3 FWIWs:

1. The best book I read myself was Pregnancy, Childbirth and the Newborn. I never even bothered with WTEWYE.

2. I wish I'd read the sleep books before Lila arrived. When you're already sleep deprived it's tough to focus long enough to really get what you need from them.

3. Even if you don't agree with his method, I would HIGHLY recommend reading Ferber's book because it offers a ton of great information on sleep in general. I learned so much!

cmcmillan · April 2010

When we got our bfp with M I gave H "My boys can swim", it's a mans sence of humor towards pregnancy. It was a quick read, but funny.

What we did was each week I would read outloud from "My Pregnancy week by week" which was my book of choice.

If he is an email guy (mine isn't) you could sign him up for the weekly updates.

iHeartHimMore · April 2010

cmcmillan:
What we did was each week I would read outloud from "My Pregnancy week by week" which was my book of choice.

This was one of my fave PG books.

MrsH_08 · April 2010

Thanks, ladies! Last night, I spent a while reading Amazon reviews on some of the father-to-be type books. A lot of the guys suggested that men just read whatever the mothers are reading.

Reading the parenting-type books, ahead of time, is a good idea. I hadn't considered parenting books, to be honest, but I keep hearing a few titles that are worth the read.

I'll look into your suggestions and pick up a few of them while we still have time to read. Thank you! :-)

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