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How can I get my significant other to
feel more of a part of my pregnancy?
This baby didn’t end up in your belly without a little
help from your baby-making partner, however
it can feel like this whole pregnancy thing is
a one person job. After all, it’s you making
important sacrifices every day (oh
sushi, how you are missed!) and the
one whose body is undergoing some
massive changes. If your partner is
feeling a little left out, talk to him
about it and make some effort to
get him more involved. Here are
some ideas that will make him
feel more like a daddy-to-be and
less like a bump bodyguard.
•
Write letters to your new baby.
You can each pen notes,
separately or together, to the new
little life you’re about to bring into
this world. You can be as mushy or
as silly as you want. It’s up to you if
you’re actually going to show these to
your child.
•
Let him feel your baby’s movements. Have
him put his hands on your belly during a time
when baby is having a dance party in there.
•
Enlist him to get healthy too. It might be too
much to ask for him to cut out his daily coffee
(we don’t want to torture the poor guy), but
having him cut down on alcohol and quit
smoking (a big no-no around babies
and pregnant mamas anyway) is a
very good thing.
•
This may seem obvious, but
bring your partner to all of your
doctor’s appointments. Hearing
the baby’s first heartbeat and
seeing the little bean on the
ultrasound screen is enough to
turn most dads-to-be into a pile
of mush. Bring the tissues!
•
Assign him to be your snack
craving finder. My husband took
great pride in seeking out my requests
for strange snack cravings, some of
them at odd hours of the night. I had a
craving for frozen yogurt one evening at
around 9pm. My husband got this wild look in
his eye, grabbed his coat and keys and yelled:
“Challenge accepted!” before bolting out the door.
About 20 minutes later he returned with a huge fro-yo
covered in all my favourite toppings.
RELATIONSHIPS
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