10 Things you need to know about dealing with a pregnant woman ~ Almost a dad

10 Things you need to know about dealing with a pregnant woman


1.
She probably has to pee, right this moment.

2. Her mood may change at any moment.
... and then change back. Then back once more.

3. Morning sickness does not just occur in the morning.
Some women experience morning sickness all day, or feel worse into the evening. Be sympathetic.

4. She looks at you differently now.
This can work both ways, if you actively engage in preparing for the baby, she may love you more deeply. If you don't, she may be weary of your suitability as a father.

5. It takes a fraction of the time for her to get upset that it previously did.
Probably about a quarter of the time it used to.

6. You will hear the female anatomy discussed with unparalleled candor.
It will make you uncomfortable. Very uncomfortable. You won't look at women the same way.

7. She will get freaked out.
Probably by some article she read, it is your job to find another article that says the first article is wrong.

8. If you don't sympathize with her, you will drop in her estimation.
Demonstrate some empathy for her aches, pains, nausea and fears or your relationship will be strained.

9. Don't expect her to maintain her pre-pregnancy activity levels.
She tires easily and won't be able to keep up with her normal activities, from her job to anything she might do around the house. You will have more to do.

10. She has to pee again.
Seriously.

35 comments:

So@24 said...

Although I'm nowhere close to becoming "almost a dad" your writing and highlights are informative and hilarious. I'll definitely be coming back to this... in the far, far future.

Stu said...

This post, on how to deal with pregnant women, was nominated by one of our readers at GNMParents - Congrats, and good luck in the voting!!

Anonymous said...

Bill, words cannot describe how your (or you and your team what-ever the case may be) site has become my own "Father-to-be" safe haven. Just when I think I'm about to lose it from the constant barrage that is the Pregnant woman; I log on to the site and read some of the other cases and quickly realize that I really don't have it all that bad lol. To all the Fathers to be out there, good luck (you're gonna need it) and please don't hesitate to recommend this site to any of your friends that are or may becoming a father. Many thanks, and keep up the good work!!

Phaticus (just about to clear the first Trimester YAY!!) haha

Bill, almost a dad said...

Hey Phaticus,

Thanks for the good words and glad to hear that it helps, that's exactly what I was hoping for!

Also, congrats on passing the first trimester! The second trimester does get a bit easier (usually).

If you have any suggestions for posts that you think would help others, feel free to let me know and I can flesh it out into a post. Many guys may like to hear about different things that I may not have touched on completely.

Hang in there and good luck to all expecting dads!

Bill

Anonymous said...

O.K... so now my girlfriend is 14 weeks and just beginning the second trimester... slight miscalculation there lol... and YAY I'm still alive!!

spade said...

Me and my girl friend have been together since last july and she is now 9 weeks pregnant. It was a pleasant surprize for me because I really do love her and am very excited that we are having a kid. Unfortunatly we were not prepared for it, I had been out of work for almost a month after a job offer I took up that did not work out. I have resently agreed to move with her in with her mom. I currently have a pretty desent job where I have been putting in alot of hours trying to get the money together for us to get our own place. We have been disagreeing alot this last week and last Sunday after work I went to the company Christmas party that I invited her to and she refused to go. I had a couple beers after workinh a 10 hour shift and decided to call her and let her know that I was gonna take a nap before driving home. She freaked out and drove down with her mom to pick me up and refused to talk to me till the next day when she told me that she did not love me any more and she was threw with me. I have heard that this might be kinda common, but I was hoping that you could give me a straight answer. I am really in love with her and really want to get everything worked out with her if I possibly can.

archigirl said...

I absolutely love your blog. It's not too often that you hear about pregnancy from a man's point of view. Not only are you funny, but you are clearly affectionate towards your wife and respectful (of her hormones at least). I can't wait until your next post. Now if you'll excuse me, I have to pee. :)

spade said...

Everything has really started to finally mellow out between us which I am gratful for. Now we just have to get out of her moms house and into our own house. I can't wait

Anonymous said...

Thanks for post, that all true. I am looking for some device which could be carried to do not pee all over in the city :)

Anonymous said...

The tough thing about being a first timer is that you make all the mistakes and are not even sure of what you are doing. You think she's just being a cow...heifer actually.

I have been fighting with a woman carrying my child and could not tell the difference and now I'm not sure if we are going to be together when she gives birth on friday.

Oscar said...

The tough thing about being a first timer is that you make all the mistakes and are not even sure of what you are doing. You think she's just being a cow...heifer actually.

I have been fighting with a woman carrying my child and could not tell the difference and now I'm not sure if we are going to be together when she gives birth on friday.

spade said...

Well that must really be hard for you, I know that would drive me crazy. I never know what it is that I am commin home to, here latly it's been nice she is either sleeping or has been very pleasent to be around. She denies it but I think that living with her and sister sometimes takes its toll on her. I don't denie it, it drives me crazy, but she knows that. I have a feeling that everything will get alot smoother once we move out which will hopefully be soon. I just can't wait

spade said...

Well that must really be hard for you, I know that would drive me crazy. I never know what it is that I am commin home to, here latly it's been nice she is either sleeping or has been very pleasent to be around. She denies it but I think that living with her and sister sometimes takes its toll on her. I don't denie it, it drives me crazy, but she knows that. I have a feeling that everything will get alot smoother once we move out which will hopefully be soon. I just can't wait you won't see me changing my mind or slacking at getting it done.

Ron said...

We just had a test and it's positive. It's totally mixed-emotion! We're happy to think there's our 3rd child coming but we're worried about finances , health conditions and the global issues.

Any advice?

Unknown said...

hey i just found out i was going to be a father like 1 month ago, 2 months ago she had been pregnant but didn't know. a week into two months ago she decided to break up for the moment because she didn't feel like having a relationship, with any guy at the moment. and now he we are today, she still says we aren't together, but i let her know that i'm still going to always be there for the child. what should i do? Is there anything i could do to bring her back to me?

Unknown said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Bill, almost a dad said...

Hi Edward,

Sorry to hear about your situation. My main advice would just be to be as patient as possible. Just be there, be available, and help without trying to bridge the gap between the two of you. Show her that you'll be there for the kids regardless of what happens between the two of you.

It could very well just be hormones, which is exactly why you shouldn't try and force anything. Just hang in there, and even if you don't get back together, be there for the kids. Good luck and I hope everything works out for you!

- Bill

Unknown said...

so then even when she starts saying, OH i like MEAN people, i miss Michael( which is this abusive guy she went out with for 4 years, literally abusive). are those all hormones? cause I've heard of pregnant women actually hating their husbands or boyfriends.

Anonymous said...

My wife is 5 months pregnant and i no longer know how to do anything without her getting pissed off. I can not stay at home, i can not leave, i can not eat because i chew too loud, i can not drink because i am too loud when i swallow. It is my fault if a bug gets in the house, it is my fault if anything goes wrong. This is very tough no one told me this. I can not handle this i never know what to expect, what mood she is going to be in. She is packing her bags right now because i don't know please this is incredible how does one survive this.

Anonymous said...

well thank you for that blog, me and my boyfriend are trying for a baby and i wounder how i am going to react and treat him wen i am awww poor him i am going to feel sorry for him again

Keith said...

Well im going to be dad soon an im nervous... so many changes these 10 things has really helped me...i will use it as the pregnancy goes

annie said...

i almost 2 months intell i have my baby boy in feb.i read about 10 things you need to know about a pregnant woman and i liked it beoues most of it fit me to a tee,like the peeing all the time but i olny had morning sicking about 5 times now but i pee all the time though.thank you for putting this on a computer for every body to read

Anonymous said...

that was great sweet and str8 to the point....i will be using this as my cheat sheet =)

Anonymous said...

My wife is 5 months pregnant and i no longer know how to do anything without her getting pissed off. I can not stay at home, i can not leave, i can not eat because i chew too loud, i can not drink because i am too loud when i swallow. It is my fault if a bug gets in the house, it is my fault if anything goes wrong. This is very tough no one told me this. I can not handle this i never know what to expect, what mood she is going to be in. She is packing her bags right now because i don't know please this is incredible how does one survive this.
-------------------------

You are not alone. I'm in the same situation. If guys knew this before getting into it they probably would not have kids. This will be my first (sidenote: she just complained about my laptop making too much light in the room as I am writing this) and I just hope I can make it to the end in one piece. 14 weeks of hell remaining...

Please tell me at least she will come back to her normal self once the baby is born.

la-parents said...

enlightening sharing...thanx a lot

HG Dad said...

This is brilliant! Going through the hormone stage at the moment, and this post is great! :)

Anonymous said...

This is a big help. Feel the same as most on here cant do right by doing wrong, im moving like 300miles to be with my girlfriend. Looking for work and struggling with it. It is really hard to stay happy and helpful when its a constant bombardment of how useless I am, how im not capable of looking after myself, let alone her and child.... Hard enough with the distance but DAMN I dont know if im going to be in the relationship from one day to the next... I tell myself "stay strong and tell her you love her" even though she doest tell me this anymore.

Anonymous said...

I have a question... What additional things can anyone tell me about dealing with a woman who isn't sure she's happy about being pregnant?
Without details, I messed up a few years back, and just told her about 5 months ago. Come to find out, that's about the time we conceived. We're slowly working things out, but now she's wary. Any suggestions?

Mary said...

Can I just say whoever wrote this page is my hero...I forwarded this to my husband because I'm now pregnant with my second baby. My first, no hormone craziness...well not much anyways, basically I couldn't watch Johnson and Johnson commercials with sleeping babies because they made me cry. With this baby, everything makes me cry, angry or eat a cookie. I love love love this blog! Weird to see a man or men who get this...unless it's a very smart pregnant woman writing it pretending to be a man...

Unknown said...

Thank God for this page because everything you say is true. I just found out I was going to be a father and I started seeing all the mood swings out of no where sometimes I don't know how to handle the situation when it hits. how could I handle this in the moment?
When my wife is mad and starts to think she pushes me away for a couple of minutes. Should I go and try to comfort her or just let her cool down on her own?

Anonymous said...

My wife is pregnant with the second baby. First one is 10 months old so he will be about 18 months when she's due. I thought it would be easier with the second baby as we had been through quite a lot and prepared second time round. NO WAY JOSE! She cries for every little thing. She can't stand the first baby now when he's grumpy. Shame the little guy loves her so much but she doesn't pay much attention. I help with nappies, feeding and playing as soon as I get home from work. She's at home the whole day so gets really frustrated. Part of the problem is that her family lives very far from us. We have domestic help but she just feels very isolated. I'm thinking of sending her home for a few weeks. Just afraid she may think I want to get rid of her. I love my wife and baby so much. These are tough times but Im sure it's worth it in the end. Good luck to all you guys out there. Look after your woman. Standby them and don't fight back. They just need a hug more often now. We don't suffer hormonal changes so well never understand. Take care. Ash from South Africa

Anonymous said...

Agreed all off these posts I can relate to bloody hormones get blamed all the time when its just her being a cow. overreactions, things being an issue when they shouldn't be, I don't feel like she is interested in me anymore, her moods are crazy. its all getting too much... stressedoutkiwi

Matthew said...

mine attributes her bad attitudes to me when i don't have a attitude. I'll say something to the kids and shell tell me i don't have to be rude when i wasnt all because she is mad about one thing or another.it's driving me crazy!!!!!

Anonymous said...

It is such a relief to find this webpage...

I found out my wife was pregnant a few weeks ago. This is our first child and I am very happy to be a dad. I love my wife dearly.

Having said that...

My wife is at 6 weeks and she is already freaking out. She takes things that I say and turns them into perceived, twisted, insults which she then hurls back at me with the accuracy of a major league pitcher!

Judging by what I've read in these posts, she could just be warming up. Thank you all for warning me and letting me know I should prepare.

DrumDad

Unknown said...

Thank you for the tips on dealing with "the spawn of lucifer" that is the pregnant woman! All I can really say is that I hope this 1st child of mine( ours) is not going to be a screw-up because it most certainly WILL BE THE LAST that I father!!! I'm only 27, & STRONGLY considering having a vasectomy! I don't mind kids @all but a pregnant woman must be man's punishment for Adam f'n up God's work!?! Still love & in love with my girlfriend, still have all intentions on marrying her, but more than positive that I want nothing else to do with her being pregnant EVER AGAIN!!! She's only 10weeks, but I swear to the good Lord Almighty that having another child is nowhere near worth all the hell, bs, hormonal rages, or plain out craziness that comes b4 the real struggle of rearing a child into a good, God-fearing adult!!!! Men, real men that actually are there for your lady through all her shear evilness, I applaud u, & will keep u in my prayers! All I ask for is the same!