Following the great news about my girlfriend’s pregnancy and the great joy of sharing the great news with friends and relatives, was the realisation that things would dramatically change from now on for both of us.

It didn’t take more than a few weeks until I started witnessing those changes on my partner’s body, mood and behaviour and I thought to make a list of what is “normal behaviour” for women during pregnancy. I did a lot of research because I would like to make sure she wasn’t one out of a million cases, and after I talked to other guys who have already had gone through that experience, I was assured that everything was pretty normal.

Top 10 Tips

1. Be super patient! Don’t take anything personally as your partner has nothing against you, it’s just how the hormones affect her behaviour.
2. Don’t be surprised if she has no appetite and doesn’t want to share with you that great food you cooked for dinner.
3. Don’t get annoyed if she wakes you up at 2am, feeling very hungry, asking you to cook that very laborious and complicated meal as that is the only thing she could eat on that moment.
4. Don’t panic if she tells you that she feels down, depressed and is not sure about the idea of becoming a mum at that time. A few minutes later you may hear what a great dad you will be and what a happy family is on the make but again do not panic, it’s all normal!
5. Don’t expect much help at home and feel ready to do as much as you can when it comes to housekeeping, shopping, cooking, washing, paying the bills, rent etc.
6. Don’t laugh if in the middle of the night she starts shouting as she’s having the usual nightmare of someone chasing her and the baby to do some harm… And that someone usually is “YOU” so even a hug won’t make her calm down a bit.
7. Don’t think she’s nuts if she insists about how annoying a particular smell is, although you cannot notice anything at all. Just agree and do what she thinks is better to get rid of that, even if that includes washing up those brand new “smelly” curtains at 4am.
8. Be strong! Don’t think about yourself and your friends. All that can wait till another day, otherwise you won’t be participating nor be “sweet” enough. She doesn’t mean it, it’s because she really needs you there 24/7.
9. Be there! No matter what she needs try to provide it as long as it is realistic and doable. Satisfying her needs will ease things for both.
10. Don’t try to understand! We can’t have the slightest idea about what being pregnant means so there is no point trying to understand something that is out of men’s nature. So, instead of trying to understand, move on so you make life easier. It won’t last for more than 9 months!

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