You have been given a due date, and this is your first time as an expectant Father. So how do you prepare for the final weeks of pregnancy?
Here I will guide you on preparing for life after 35 weeks until the birth.
If you are a first-time expectant Father, this is what you need to get ready for when you get the call!
35 Weeks Pregnant – Time To Ramp Up The Prep, Future Dad!
You need to ramp up the preparations from 35 weeks onwards. If your childbirth experience is like mine, you will still have 7 weeks, but you should still be on DEFCON 3 from 35 weeks.
Hang on, let’s check the DEFCON Levels of Pregnancy:
Expectant Father DEFCON Levels
DEFCON 5 – Your Partner Is Not Pregnant. Normal Peacetime.
DEFCON 4 – Your Partner Is Under 35 Weeks Pregnant*
DEFCON 3 – Prepare For Childbirth – From 35 Weeks.
DEFCON 2 – Childbirth Imminent. Immediate Threat To Peace.
DEFCON 1 – Waters Broken. Peace Time Over.
*An immediate jump from level 4 to 2 or 1 can still happen.
Here we are dealing with Defcon 3.
-
Bold Male Pride – Baseball Trucker Cap Celebrating Masculinity
£18.00 Select options This product has multiple variants. The options may be chosen on the product page -
Dad Bod Appreciation Gift Mug
£14.00 Add to cart -
Dad Bod, Bad Jokes Structured Baseball Cap
£22.00 Select options This product has multiple variants. The options may be chosen on the product page
So as an imminent Father, what do I do?
What Do I Prep As a First Time Expectant Father?
1. Fill Up The Tank
From 35 weeks, never run on empty! Always make sure you have at least half a tank of gas.
Pretend the ‘half a tank’ marker it now your ‘completely empty’ marker.
You need to get in your car and get to the hospital when you get the call.
No messing about trying to fill the car up!
2. Plan Your Route
I am sure you already know this! It is worth checking for planned road closures in that area.
You know the route to the hospital, so make sure it doesn’t need to change!
Have a few routes planned, and get used to a few shortcuts, just if you need to use them.
A few practice runs after 35 weeks is a great idea! You might be very familiar with the route, but it is worth passing by the hospital a few times to ensure no new signs indicate planned road closures.
3. Get The Hospital Bags Ready
Make sure you have your partner’s bag ready and your hospital survival kit ready.
There are two options here:
- Put them next to each other near the front door, ready to pick up and go when the time comes.
- Put them in the car, so you can just up and leave.
It depends on how confident you are that your car will be safe! You do not want your car broken into on the night before childbirth.
In the last few weeks of my wife’s pregnancy, I put us both in ‘essential travel only’ mode. That meant the stores and my work.
During those trips, the bags were in the car. I put them back in the spare bedroom when we were at home!
4. Practice Baby Changing Skills
Maybe you could start this before 35 weeks but now is also a perfect time.
If you are not used to changing a kid, get some practice. Have your friends got any kids? Get to their house and learn. When you are given your kid to change for the first time, wouldn’t it be impressive if you get it done like a pro?
Impress your partner and the midwife by changing your kid like a boss!
5. Learn The Birthing Lingo
Some of the words used during the run-up to childbirth might be new to you.
Learning some of the common words used will give you the upper hand and allow you to understand what is going on.
I gave you a few words with some explanations in my tips for childbirth preparation, but here are some that you may need to know for the last few weeks of pregnancy.
Engaged- Your baby’s head is in position, and they are ready to rock and roll.
Colostrum – This is the first stage in creating milk; it is everything a newborn needs to eat!
Breech – The baby is in a weird position (feet first), probably hurting more, Prepare yourself, and be strong for your partner!
Membrane Sweep – This is something a midwife may do to try and induce childbirth.
Contractions – You probably know this one. This is where your partner’s muscles are contracting to push the baby through the birth canal. They hurt.
Induce – If you go over 40 weeks, the medical folks might be talking about inducing your partner. They can achieve this in several ways, but they usually start with a membrane sweep (See above). Here is a warning, though, they induced my wife, and it still took 3 more days!
6. Arrange Your Work
Occasionally, my job takes me a couple of hundred miles away from my family. This happens at least four times per month.
Imagine being 200 miles away (in a meeting), and you get the call!
Preparation is essential here. Make sure you are close to home by arranging to host or join any meetings via the internet. There are loads of options out there! Telephone conferences video conferences use technology to keep you close to home.
If you do not have a job where you have to attend meetings regularly – lucky you!
7. Install Car Seat
When it is time to dash to the hospital, you do not want to be spending the first few minutes (or 20, if you haven’t read the instructions!) putting the car seat in the car.
Installing the car seat is an essential part of the preparations, and now is an excellent time to get it sorted!
Seriously though, take some time to read and follow the instructions before putting the car seat in, but they are not difficult to install!
8. Check Your Equipment
I have covered it in the hospital survival kit, but now is the time to check your equipment to ensure you are ready for birth.
Tablet
Keep it fully charged. Make sure you have lots of space on it for photographs/videos. For example, if your tablet can take a memory card, is it time to buy a spare!
Phone
Keep this fully charged and on all the time. Check your space and free some up if you need to for photographs and videos again.
Video Camera
You might choose to use a separate recording device for videos. Check your memory cards and keep them fully charged. If you need any more memory cards, now is the time to buy them.
Anything Else
There might be other equipment you plan to take with you to the hospital, such as a TENS machine or headphones. Make sure they are fully charged (If you have Bluetooth headphones) and you have spare batteries.
9. Messaging Groups At The Ready
Let’s go back 40 years. If a baby were born, there would tell loved ones via a phone call. Or maybe a carrier pigeon.
Nowadays, we have various tools at our disposal that we can use to convey the good news.
What would I do?
I would set up a group chat or a list of people you would like to update, like Grandparents and best friends.
I would set this up because you need to be enjoying the moment, and your new baby will need the reassurance and comfort of your voice after going through the turmoil of being born. Type one message, hit send, put your phone down.
If you are not careful, you will be responding to messages for the next hour!
If you must add it on social media (I wouldn’t), make sure you turn your phone on silent for the new Mother’s sanity and anyone else within earshot of your phone.
Now is one of those life moments where you may regret having your nose on your phone, responding to messages from people you haven’t heard from in years.
Conclusion
I hope this helps you prepare for the final few weeks as a first-time expectant father.
Use this time wisely to prep for the big day.
Unfortunately, while you are given an expected date, you can’t know when it will happen. The only thing you can do is make sure you are ready to go when the baby is!
Remember:
Failure to prepare is preparing to fail!
Please let me know if you are doing anything else to prepare for childbirth or if I have missed anything. Contact us, or leave a comment below.
