Introduction 1 About This Book 2 Foolish Assumptions 4 Icons Used in This Book 5 Where to Go from Here 5 Part 1: From Here to Paternity: Getting Pregnant 7 Chapter 1: Everything You Ever Wanted to Know 9 Imaging the Dad You Want to Be 10 Dispelling Common Myths about Fatherhood 11 Knowing What Really to Expect 13 Understanding the dad experience 14 Considering the pros and cons of fatherhood 15 Trading in your lifestyle (but not the sports gear) 17 Only Fools Rush In 19 Introducing the New-Generation Dad 20 Dadhood: A good time to man up 20 Exploring care routine strategies 22 Highlighting the Seven Attributes of Successful Dads 23 Chapter 2: How to Make a Baby 27 Here Comes the Fun Part 28 Getting consent -- and getting sexy 28 Conceiving naturally 31 Improving the odds -- conception tips and tricks 32 Conception''s not happening 34 Understanding What Can Go Wrong 34 Working out why conception hasn''t happened 34 Exploring other ways to get pregnant 35 Wow! You''re Going to Be a Dad 37 Getting confirmation 38 Knowing what to do next 39 Things to do before morning sickness starts 40 Part 2: What to Expect When She''s Expecting 41 Chapter 3: The First Trimester 43 Eating Enough to Make a Baby 44 Dealing with Common Side Effects in the First Trimester 46 Morning sickness 46 Exhaustion 47 Heightened sense of smell 47 Tender breasts 48 Moodiness 48 Finding Out What Your Baby''s Up To 49 Getting the Right Gear 52 Clothes and shoes 52 Strollers, prams and buggies 56 Car seats 58 Toys 60 Other accessories 61 Chapter 4: The Second Trimester 63 Enjoying the Golden Trimester 63 Understanding Medical Stuff 65 Choosing a carer 65 Birth options 67 Dealing with Common Side Effects in the Second Trimester 69 Finding Out What Your Baby''s Up To Now 70 Making Room for the Baby 71 The nursery 72 Animals in the house 74 Chapter 5: The Third Trimester 77 Getting through the Third Trimester -- Are We There Yet? 77 The Birth Plan 79 Understanding More Medical Stuff 80 Dealing with Common Side Effects in the Third Trimester 81 Finding the Right Consumables 82 Nappies 83 Crème de la crèmes 84 Shopping for your baby''s health and first aid 85 Part 3: The Big Moment is Here: Birth 87 Chapter 6: Final Preparations 89 Making those final arrangements 90 Upskilling 90 Transport 90 Birthing equipment for home birth 91 The hospital bag(s) 92 Checklists 96 Discovering What You Need to Know about Labour 97 Understanding Your Role in Labour 101 Getting Ready -- Last-Minute Preparations 103 When You Think You''re in Labour 104 When You''re Really in Labour 105 Chapter 7: Lights, Camera, Action: Giving Birth 107 Helping Your Partner through Childbirth 107 Offering support during the latent phase 108 Ramping up into active phase and then second stage 109 Remembering it''s not about you 110 Giving Nature a Helping Hand 113 Ventouse 113 Forceps 113 Emergency caesarean 114 The Big Moment''s Arrived 114 Cutting the cord 115 When time stops -- meeting your baby 115 Keeping your cool 116 Welcoming Your Baby to the Real World 116 What happens immediately after birth 116 The first few hours 118 The first few days 118 Part 4: Life After Birth 121 Chapter 8: The First Few Days and Weeks 123 Dealing With the Aftershock 124 It''s life but not as you know it 124 At home with your newborn baby 126 Hierarchies at home 126 You''ve got the blues 128 Looking After a Newborn 129 Getting your hands dirty 130 Feeding 134 Sleeping -- you and the baby 138 Crying -- you, your partner and the baby 141 Daddy time 142 Juggling Your Other Priorities 143 Making time for yourself 143 Looking after your partner 144 We are family 145 Managing the work-life balance 146 Sex 146 Chapter 9: What Happens When 149 Avoiding Health Problems 150 A healthy start to life 150 Avoiding risks during pregnancy 150 Encouraging breastfeeding 153 Protecting against diseases 154 Providing a violence-free home 154 Keeping accidents at bay 155 Reducing the risk of SUDI and SIDS 157 Coping with Illness and Injury 158 Spotting injury 158 Diagnosing a serious illness 161 Help, My Child Has Additional Needs! 162 Adjusting your expectations 162 Finding help, assistance and resources 164 Chapter 10: Finding Support 165 Help, I''m a Dad! 165 Asking for directions 166 Finding trusted organisations and sources of information 166 Internet research 167 Turning to friends, colleagues and family 168 Starting a dad group 169 Male and Female Postnatal Depression 170 Do you feel like screaming? 172 Support organisations 173 Part 5: The Part of Tens 175 Chapter 11: Ten Ways to Improve Your Partner''s Pregnancy 177 Take Care of Your Lady 177 Get On the Wagon 178 Give Your Partner Some ''Me'' Time Every Now and Then 178 Be There for the Medical Stuff 179 Get With the Program 179 Go on a Babymoon 180 Be Excited about Becoming a Dad 180 Celebrate! 181 Record That Beautiful Belly 181 Tell Her You Love Her 182 Chapter 12: Ten Ways Dads Build Baby''s -- and Family''s -- Wellbeing 183 Get Skin to Skin 184 Work on Your Baby Talk 185 Sing 185 Play 185 Feed 186 Bathe 186 Sleep 186 Pray 186 Be Still 187 Love Your Baby''s Mum 187 Glossary 189 Index 199.