*AD – the item in this review was gifted to our household for this post. All opinions, as always, are our own.
If you know me then I’m sure that you’ve probably already figured out that I am already a father, but recently the opportunity came up to have a look at the latest Daddilife Books title, You’re Going to Be a Dad!, and I jumped at it. I think it’s great that people have come together to create a resource like this, especially considering that there just aren’t that many resources out there for people at the moment.
In case you haven’t realised it yet, You’re Going to Be a Dad! is a book specifically designed with soon-to-be, and father’s to be, in mind. That said, it’s much more than a guide for a pregnancy partner. it covers the different stages of pregnancy regarding the development of the baby, the normal tasks associated with that period of pregnancy and it also covers terms, jargon and more, that might not be understood by those who aren’t carrying the baby themselves. It’s also specifically designed to take different cultures and religions in mind – it is clearly designed to be as accessible and approachable as it could be.
Approachability was clearly one of the core things in mind when it came to the book. It’s really well laid out, with clear chapters and various sections and repeating elements – like task lists as well as expert and community quotes and glossaries – which keep the whole thing easy to navigate. Author Han-Son Lee has also made no assumptions about the readership; Other books of the sort might jokingly assume that all dads are lager-louts, or that everybody reading the book will be completely level-headed and up to speed with certain bits of the terminology. You’re Going to Be a Dad! is refreshingly free of this.
Despite coming in at just over 400 words, there’s a lot of empty space due to the size and frequency of chapter pages and headings. That said, it is specifically designed as a resource rather than a novel, so the actual length of the book isn’t as critical as with other forms. In fact, it even remarks in the earliest pages that you’ll probably find yourself flicking through it out of order, zipping forward to find out future milestones, or looking back earlier to read up on terminology. It also goes beyond the pregnancy and covers the first year of life after birth. Of course, as any parent knows, children work at their own pace, but it’s still a very interesting read and covers a lot of the checks and tasks that come with having a young child.
The real standout element of the book comes from how it’s clearly designed with the wisdom of people who have been through it before. That’s incredibly obvious from the pull-outs and quotes from the Daddilife community that I mentioned earlier. But, it’s handled in a great way and a lot of care has clearly been put into selecting the variety of voices that you hear in those sections. They’ve clearly picked people who were in very different situations, which is fantastic as varied advice is one of the most useful resources out there when you’re a parent or parent-to-be. While every pregnancy is different, if not just because of the three(or more) parties involved, being able to relate to other people and milestones in the book, are invaluable and can help stop you from feeling overwhelmed and alone.
You’re Going to Be a Dad! is a great resource; it’s incredibly well laid out (broken down into week-by-week sections), it doesn’t pander to a certain type of partner, and its recent launch means that it also covers Covid, lockdown and isolation too. You can find it on Amazon.
I can imagine how useful this would have been for my husband the first time round. It is always great to read accounts from other first-time dads
It is such a nice take on parenthood.