Presuming that you've educated yourself and are supporting your partner as described above, you really ought to attend as many prenatal medical appointments as possible.Your doctor is the expert on how your pregnancy is progressing and can answer the questions you need or want to know.It is a good idea to get to know your partner's doctor since he or she will be the one in charge during delivery.

If you were one of those dads who checked out when you had a parenting partner in the house, now that you’re a single dad you have no choice but to check back in. Depending on your level of involvement in the parenting before you became single, this can either be a somewhat smooth transition, nightmarish task or somewhere in between.

Contrary to popular belief, pregnancy is not always an exciting, happy or glowing experience. Clinical depression affects 15-20% of pregnant women, sometimes hitting so hard that the moms-to-be attempt suicide. Mothers of multiples are at even higher risk with more than 25% suffering during pregnancy and postpartum.

Most guys tend to think that they will be able to handle parenthood without too much stress or aggravation. It's the wife that has to go through all of the discomfort of pregnancy and childbirth, right? But once the realities of being awakened every hour and a half by a crying baby, the endless visits from family and friends, the easy slippage into exhausted bickering with your partner, and the very real and very intense anxiety about not doing anything terribly wrong to your newborn all set in, your tune will change.

My wife had a clarifying phrase she began to use early on in her pregnancy when she was hit exceptionally hard with morning sickness: All bets are off. The phrase was shorthand for a more complicated sentiment she was beginning to feel at the time.

Car seats - essential, but pretty darn ugly. They get even worse when you transition from the infant car seat to the monstrous toddler seat. As if it wasn't bad enough that we had to lug a stroller, diaper bag, toys and baby around! You would think that car seat manufacturers would have put some more thought into aesthetics. Oh well. I guess I should just be grateful that the seat is safe and will protect my baby.