A good book about pregnancy for men?

[pushmepullme]

Anyone able to recommend a book for a bloke about pregnancy?

ta

[MrsMopple]

There is one called 'The Bloke's Guide to pregnancy' which I bought for dh when I was pregnant. I read it, he didn't!

There's also a Haynes baby manual for blokes, but I'm not sure if it includes pregnancy.

[MrsMopple]

Trying to do links...

here
and here

HTH

[ilovemydogandMrObama]

Not for pregnancy, but later, The Baby Owner's Manual -- Operating Instructions, Trouble Shooting Tips is quite good, and written for blokes. Lots of bullet points and diagrams.

[BelfastBloke]

From Here to Paternity was my favourite.

[bruxeur]

The first one linked by MrsMopple was one of the worst books I have ever read. It made me want to kill puppies, punch a nun and track down the feckless incompetent who wiped his arse on 180 pages and called it a book, and feed it to him.

Just fyi.

[MrsMopple]

Ouch! I didn't think it was that bad, and thought that something written by a man for men to read would have a better tone than something written by a woman pretending to know what a man might want to know. Obviously wrong, then! (That's assuming you're male bruxeur?)

[bruxeur]

Correct assumption.

Whiny, blokey tone and loads of references to bloody football. Only idiots like football.

Propagating the stereotype that men have no idea about anything but beer, cars and FUCKING FOOTBALL. Hahaha aren't we rubbish, lol better not say anything silly to the wife like "haven't you got fat". So the baby, like, grows inside her indoors' tummy then? Wow! Better pretend we're interested! Women like that, you know. nods wisely

Man's an arse. Gender traitor.

[pushmepullme]

he he I flicked through that today. My bloke doesn't do football. I suppose I could get him to read the ones I might get? Which is a whole different question - what do I buy! if anything.

[MrsMopple]

My bloke doesn't do football either (so not an idiot, then, phew), or reading of books as it turns out!

I just liked the cover splash that it was written from a bloke's perspective. But, no harm done, dh didn't read it anyway. So bruxeur, as a MAN, what would you recommend for the OP?

[ChocFridgeCake]

I found that although sterotypical, the Blokes Guide to pregnancy is funny and well written, like your mate chatting over a pint in the pub which "a lot" of men will find more reassuring than something too clinical and PC.

The Dad's Guide to Babycare is really good for basics such as bathing and putting on nappies and sleepsuits, doing top to toe washes etc, Dad's role during birth/fielding visitors etc. Has illustrations and instructions for the practical tasks. V useful.

[ChocFridgeCake]

here

[beardydad]

There were 2 in the house when DW had her bump, the Bloke's Guide to Pregnancy and Babies For Dummies. Both were o.k. The main point crux of each book, aside form endless football comments, was 'Don't be a knob to your wife when she is pregnant' which is quite correct.
I don't care for football either!
I think if you need a book to remind you to be nice to her no matter what she says, farts or shouts at you, you're a bit of a dork.

[bruxeur]

As beardydad says - either you have half a brain, in which case the books will irritate and patronise you, or you don't, in which case you won't read them anyway. And if you do, they probably won't inform your behaviour or knowledge much either.

If any man is serious about learning about pregancy, childbirth and babyhood, the same books as M2B is reading will give you much more information.

If a man really can't bear to be seen reading a book with a pregnant woman on the front - rather than a teddy and a bloody football (q.v.) - then there is really no hope for them.

[ChocFridgeCake]

Bruxeur, I still found a Dad's Guide to Babycare useful for the practical stuff, being a first-time mum who'd never changed a nappy before.

And I do have half a brain (or at least I did pre-baby, pre-sleep-starved state - now I'm not so sure)

[bruxeur]

Fair enough, I only flicked through that one.

It's mainly the tone and the assumptions I objected to in that genre, though.

[DadInsteadofMum]

Bizarrely I managed to get through all three pregnancies without a handbook, and yet still managed not to get slaughtered for making inappropriate comments.

The new parenting classes were useful for number one (local hospital did excellent classes though most people I know not in that are did the NCT one); but after that we jsut sort of winged it.

[Longtalljosie]

Me and my husband both really like Fatherhood: The Truth

[BelfastBloke]

Fatherhood: The Truth comes across as quite negative, blokeish and depressing if you're reading it during a first pregnancy.

Having read it again since the birth, it is funnier once you've been through some of those things.

But it is not a book I would recommend to a first-time potential father, as the wry negativity comes across way too strong.

[Longtalljosie]

Well, we're both first timers, and we didn't take it that way at all! Oh well, I suppose it depends on your perception. As for blokeish... I got the impression the author both liked and admired women - not blokey at all. But then again, if you thought so it's obviously not a unanimous view

[bruxeur]

What a bizarre assumption. Does "girly" mean hates and disparages men, then?

[DadInsteadofMum]

hates - no; disparages - frequently

[tallwivglasses]

I've just ordered The Expectant Dad's Survival guide for a close relative who...er, needs it I think.

It's got good reviews. Humour but not too many football analogies from what I can gather. Dad-to-be is more of a computer games fan