Congratulations! You’re going to be a new dad!
It’s a phrase that brings as much joy as it does fear. Becoming a good dad takes a lot of time and learning. I’ve never met a dad who said they automatically knew how to do everything, so it’s great that you’ve already taken the first step to become an amazing father just by reading this guide on the best books for new dads-to-be.
These books will help you navigate those first nine months of pregnancy, and some are even useful into the first few years. Consider them as your instruction manual for caring for your wife and baby for this exciting stage of your life.
What to look for when buying a ‘dad to be’ book?
Seeing the little blue line on the pregnancy test for the first time is like hearing the starting gun for an epic minefield of questions, like:
- Will you be a good birthing partner?
- What is a birthing partner?
- Will you be a good dad?
- What do dads even do?
- WHY HAVE WE DONE THIS!?
If you’re a dad-to-be, take comfort in the fact that we all thought like this once. And frankly, 11 years since the birth of my first child, I’m still not 100% sure on the ‘what dads do’ question. There’s new parenting advice to learn every day.
But the other stuff has fallen into place, and it will for you too. Whether it’s a question of ‘how many vests will we need?’ or ‘how do we announce the pregnancy?‘ You’ll work it out. But there are ways to make the process much easier and quicker.
With that in mind, we’ve created our rundown of the very best books for dads-to-be to prepare you for your baby’s arrival. Some are entirely practical, others more philosophical. Some are funny, while some tell it straight. They will help you through pregnancy, the early months of your child’s life, and beyond. For a little bonus, don’t forget our own bumper list of bitesize new dad tips.
The Best Books For New Dads
So without further ado, let’s get into the best books for expectant dads (from the male perspective of course). These baby books are listed in no particular order, and some are more theoretical while others are like a practical handbook. It’s up-to-you to know what learning method suits you best, and it might also make sense to order two or three books from the list.
1. You’re Going To Be A Dad! The New Dad’s Guide To Pregnancy and The First Year of Fatherhood, DaddiLife Books
“When I found out I was going to be a dad, I read everything I could get my hands on. Most of it was a waste of my time. And they all made it seem like I wasn’t an important part of what was happening. You’re Going to be a Dad! Is different in a few ways. First, it makes dads the focus.“
The moment you find out you’re going to be a dad is one of incredible joy, shock, and anxiousness – often all the same time! This detailed ultimate dad’s guide, is from us(!) and provides the reassurance and practical advice needed for first time fathers.
There’s a full profile of the book here, and the reason we wrote it was to address the real challenges that new dads and fathers to be go through, while also providing the answers at every step of the way – from conception and early scans, through to delivery and the full first year with your baby, including the important milestones at each stage with your new extended family.
You’ll learn about:
- How to be one team throughout with your partner
- A focus on the real issues dads go through
- Insights from multiple dad perspectives
This book is based on 5 years of research and understanding of what dads experience throughout pregnancy and beyong.
Great for those who:
- ✔ Want to learn from a whole community of dads
- ✔ Care about the science of mother and baby as well as issues under the surface for dads
- ✔ Want to know how dads have adapted during past and future restrictions
2. Pregnancy for Dads To Be, Adam Carpenter
“While most pregnancy books are aimed at women, Pregnancy for Dads-to-Be is purely focused on everything men need to know about pregnancy, and how to support their partner.”
Practical, accessible, and useful. Pregnancy for Dads-To-Be is about pregnancy and birth, and particularly what dads can do to support their partners through nine months of physical and hormonal eruption, while simultaneously preparing themselves for the biggest of ‘Big Days.’
You’ll learn about:
- The month by month development of your baby (or babies!).
- What you need to do before the nine months of calm are up and the storm arrives.
- How to support your partner, both during pregnancy, during labour and post birth.
More unusually, Pregnancy for Dads-To-Be gives tips on adjusting your lifestyle in advance, so the shock of a new baby isn’t quite the shock it might otherwise have been.
Great for those who:
- ✔ Dads-to-be who want to be fully involved from the off – not just from birth.
- ✔ Need insight into how your lifestyle will change and practical advice
- ✔ Want to know all the shocks in advance, and want to minimise any big surprises post birth.
3. Commando Dad, Neil Sinclair
It’s not a useless novelty book and it’s not a big, impractical, wordy book. Commando Dad provides clear and logical advice on all the practicalities of becoming a new father.
Neil Sinclair was a real-life commando, so there’s a good chance he faced some pretty tricky situations during the course of an average working week. And yet his most daunting moment was bringing his first baby home from the hospital! Now, what was he meant to do!? He craved a basic training manual of the kind he had been issued on his first day in the Army, so that’s what he wrote – a new dad’s survival guide There’s certainly a no-nonsense tone to much of the advice in Commando Dad, from:
- How to prepare ‘base camp’ and other baby gear with helpful illustrations
- To dealing with ‘minor combat injuries.’
- It’s certainly not just a gimmick.
It’s a simple, helpful manual of the kind you might get with a car. That sounds odd, but sometimes manual-like clarity is exactly what an expectant dad needs.
Great for those who:
- ✔ Dads who learn better through clear instruction.
- ✔ Want a reference book packed with the knowledge that they can dip in and out of.
4. Fatherhood – The Truth, Marcus Berkmann
It takes the dad-to-be on a white-knuckle ride from conception to the first birthday that also considers the emotional truths and selfish imperatives that fathers are usually asked to bury out of sight.
Fatherhood – The Truth was published in 2005 when there weren’t many parenting books for new dads around. As one of the first, it packed quite a punch and still does today. Fatherhood – The Truth doesn’t hide behind what it calls the ‘happy-clappy cliches’, instead of wading straight into:
- The ‘fiery hell’ of night feeds.
- The prepartion in case of projectile vomiting.
- Covering the crucial and dribble stained period between conception and that great back-slap of a parenting milestone – your child’s first birthday.
It’s funny, useful and tells dads-to-be how it is, not how they might want it to be.
Great for those who:
- ✔ Think it’s going to be easy. They’ll learn.
- ✔ Like to learn in a way that keeps the message ‘super real.’
5. The Expectant Dad’s Survival Guide, Rob Kemp
With tips from those who know, what-to-do explanations and fascinating facts, this survival guide will ensure you’re armed and ready for your role as a new father.
The Expectant Dad’s Survival Guide covers pregnancy and the first few weeks of fatherhood in a way that will resonate with many of us. Crucially, the book doesn’t skirt over the small stuff.
- It tells you all you need to know about everything from buying baby kit to that terrifying moment when a midwife asks you if you’d like to cut the cord.
- There’s expert advice in here – from midwives, doctors and even psychologists – and first hand accounts too.
We’ve been fortunate enough to work with Rob at DaddiLife too on pieces such as dads on the school run and also larger guides around the divorce process.
Great for those who:
- ✔ Want the detail. This is a guide that covers all bases.
- ✔ Like to learn from a range of expert views.
6. Babies And Toddlers For Men, Mark Woods
Written in an original and witty style providing practical advice for the first three years of a child’s life from newborn to toddlerdom – from crucial babycare to remaining sane in their role as dad.
Babies and Toddlers for Men covers birth to three years in a funny and practical way. In short, it’s an in-depth baby owner’s manual. Woods draws on his own experience to give tips and advice on:
- Looking after your child, from newborn through terrible twos to toddler-hood.
- Ofcourse, this means supporting the mother as well as caring for the kid, a subject the book doesn’t shy away from.
A companion volume, Babies and Toddlers for Men – 101 Tips, breaks a lot of this down into handy bitesize chunks.
Great for those who:
- ✔ Want puns with their puke.
- ✔ Like to learn about serious subjects, but in a humourous way!
7. The Life Of Dad, Anna Machin
The Life of Dad throws out the old stereotypes of fatherhood in an entertaining and informative journey through the role of dad – helping you decide what sort of father you want to be.
Now for one of the most unique & best father-to-be books: The Life of Dad is based on a decade-long study on new and expectant fathers, and aims to present the latest scientific research on fatherhood in a clear and lucid way. It’s a fascinating read for all new dads and dads-to-be, but:
- It’s no practical guide to nappy changing and nighttime feeds.
- Instead, it answers questions like ‘Will fatherhood change me?’ and ‘How can I help my child grow into a healthy, happy adult?’.
Most of all, it’s a book that shows just how important a contribution good dads make. For that reason, it’s a great book to delve into as you contemplate the new life to come.
Great for those who:
- ✔ Want to delve a bit deeper into their role, and the contribution they make.
- ✔ Need to understand the richer, more emotional changes that happen in fatherhood, and how to manage those.
8. Great Expectations; Becoming A Dad, John.C Carr
Men will find reassurance, as well as the insights and skills needed to manage work, family expectations, and their own needs as they adapt to their new role.
John Carr is certainly qualified to write this book. He’s a dad of three, a social worker and a psychotherapist who has studied the development of both children and men. And as a dad-to-be, develop you will. This guide to the first three years is full of all the practical advice you’d expect, but also aims to offer an insight into the emotional turmoil that first time fatherhood brings in its wake. It easily earns it’s place on our list as one of the best books for new dads.
Great for those who:
- ✔ Are particularly nervous at the prospect of fatherhood.
- ✔ Need the balance of both the emotional role of being a dad, alongside the practical milestones and tips.
9. How It Works: The Dad, Jason Hazeley
The large clear script, the careful choice of words, the frequent repetition and the thoughtful matching of text with pictures all enable grown-ups to think they have taught themselves to cope.
Possibly the most humorous title in the list, this Ladybirds for Grown-Ups book gets to the very core of being a dad. From bad dad jokes to the tight-fistedness that comes naturally to every man after the birth of his first child, this beautifully illustrated picture book gives the sort of insight into fatherhood that far weightier tomes simply fail to deliver.
Great for those who:
- Don’t take themselves too seriously.
- Are overthinking fatherhood already and need something more light hearted to put it all in perspective.
- ✔ Don’t take themselves too seriously.
- ✔ Are overthinking fatherhood already and need something more light hearted to put it all in perspective.
10. Especially Bad Dad Jokes, Spiffy McChappy
Hilarious joke book for any dad that likes telling bad dad jokes!!! And a great gift idea for the dad who has everything!! Purchased for Father’s Day and he’s still using the jokes inside on a regular basis.
OK, so this book won’t give you a month-by-month guide to child-rearing. However, it will help you keep a sense of humor. And let’s be honest a huge part of a dad’s responsibility is cracking dad jokes.
Great for those who:
- ✔ Who love to laugh
Expectant Father FAQs
When it comes to being an expectant father there are thousands of questions that will run through your mind. The books we have listed above will help you answer them, however, here are a few commonly asked questions.
Now Go Out and Be a Great Dad!
So that’s our rundown of the best books for new dads and dads-to-be. Feel free to add your own suggestions in the comments below. Welcome to the journey of life DAD, and happy reading!
