My wife just told me she is pregnant!!!

A Redditor shares the incredible news that he’s about to become a dad for the first time. Overwhelmed with joy and excitement, he’s now turning to the community for advice on being the best husband and partner during this amazing journey. Read his heartfelt post below.

‘ My wife just told me she is pregnant!!!’

IM GOING TO BE A FOOKIN DAD OMG WTF! I can’t even describe how ecstatic I am. This is the happiest moment of my life, but now that the initial shock has settled in…what do I do next? For all the dads and moms out there, I’m turning to you—how can I be the best husband and support system for my wife?

She’s only five weeks along, and I know she’ll be going through a rollercoaster of emotions: excitement, fear, happiness, anxiety, and everything in between. What can I do, starting now, to make this journey as stress-free and joyful as possible for her? I want to step up and be everything she needs, from now until the baby is here (and beyond).

EDIT: Holy crap. I literally posted this and then spent the afternoon watching Game of Thrones and randomly crying with my wife because we’re so happy…and omfg, 2.4k upvotes?! GOLD AND SILVER? AMAZING COMMENTS? Reddit, I love you. Thank you all.

EDIT 2: PLATINUM?! Seriously, WTF. Relationships are something you work on and grow with, and the fact that this positive news is getting such an overwhelming response is incredible. I’m beyond grateful for all the love and advice. You’re all amazing!

Check out how the community responded:

blob_the_eternal −  D**p h… Wait finally something positive on here? It’s a miracle! Congrats man! EDIT: woo! thanks for the gold! So shiny!

[Reddit User] −  She will be tired for the first few months and probably nauseous as well – almost like a low grade flu. Be understanding, try to pick up the slack house-cleaning wise if you can. That usually goes away in the 2nd trimester and she will feel much better, but for some women they’ll feel sick throughout.

Do you have a cat? If you do, you should appoint yourself in charge of the litter box till after the baby is born because of possible toxoplasmosis. Edit: thank you for the gold, mysterious benefactor!

majestic_mama −  Feed her when she’s hungry, hug her when she’s sad. Pick her up when she’s too big or in pain to do it herself. Make sure she gets as much sleep as possible. Feed her something else when the first thing ends up making her vomit .<

Tell her how amazing she is and how good of a mother she’s going to be. And in general, just put her first. It’s going to be a long 9 months of anxiously waiting and the best thing you can do is eat, rest and have fun before life changes. But most of all…CONGRATULATIONS!!! It’s going to be amazing! Best of luck!

blanktarget −  My son is seven months old now, so I feel like I can give some advice. Hold your tongue as much as possible during pregnancy. My wife had some crazy mood swings, which she can see now in retrospect, but at the time some little things seemed like the biggest deal in the world. Do your best to just be supportive.

If you have family who can help, ask. My mother in law stayed with us the first two weeks after birth and I think if she hadn’t my wife and I wouldn’t have showered or ate for that whole time. We were exhausted. Anyway, it gets better and now we have a good sleep schedule and lots of fun play time.

hastdubutthurt −  Mainly be prepared to put your needs down the list of priorities for quite a while and just be patient. She’s going to be sick to her stomach, food she normally loves is going to repulse her,

other food she simply won’t be allowed to eat, her boobs are going to hurt, her feet are going to hurt, her back is going to hurt she’s not going to sleep as well, she’s going to be exhausted, her hormones are going to be going f**king nuts… it’s a long, long list of s**t she has to put up with to grow a human.

And it doesn’t stop when the baby is out – assuming she’s nursing, her boobs are still going to hurt, she’s going to have to pump multiple times per day, she’s still going to have to watch what she eats, and she’s going to try to simultaneously try to lose baby weight while also keeping her calories up high enough to support milk production.

Step up, ask her what will help, take on more chores, understand that “baby brain” is a real thing give her lots of leeway, listen and empathize like you never have before, buy her a snoogle, buy yourselves 12 hours sleep at 12 weeks old and prepare to be blown away by the first ultrasound.

Per my wife (mother of 6 month old): “While he can’t do some of the baby stuff try to do more to help take off the load. Pamper your wife. Ask her what helps her the most. Let her nap or go out with friends on occasion.

Plan a date night. Send her for a massage. Hire help as you can to help with time constraints. Get a meal delivery service. Make sure she gets in a little time for her hobbies. Take care of yourself too so you can be a great support- take time to help in whatever way you need to to be your best”

Prowling_throwaway −  Things I wish he had done: Not be grossed out by my pregnant body. I couldn’t help any of it…how incredible it would have been if he hadn’t avoided touching me, but instead had run his hands over my rapidly changing form and said, “Good god, you look amazing! I love everything about you…you are —literally — a sexy mama! Ooh, does this mean I get my own MILF??”

NOT been the “birthing coach.” What an idiotic idea…he has NO idea what to expect, same as you. If she wants a birthing coach, be willing to front the cash for a doula. THAT will be miles more useful. You work instead at being a supportive partner and lover.

Help her build a support network NOW. She should look for new mom group and attend those meetings. Childbirth classes and nice, but not as handy as a group to have around after the birth. Planning on breastfeeding? Get that lined up now, prepare for it to take some practice. (I didn’t, and in retrospect I was an i**ot because of it. I needed a doula and La Leche League.

Instead I got a 3rd degree episiotomy and a Doctor telling me (erroneously, btw) that I was starving my baby and potentially giving him brain damage by my desire to nurse him. A**hole. Ended up successfully nursing two kids. Doc was full of s**t. Still makes me angry.)

Go to some of her doctors appointments. My husband never came to a single one, was never there for ultrasounds or anything else. I didn’t think it bothered me…and then I read about a women whose husband showed up to doctors appointments with a bouquet of flowers, and I get tearful.

When baby arrives, you are the new gopher. Be on call to get her whatever she needs. Bottle of water, nursing pillow, baby blanket, iPad…you can also sweep the baby away for a diaper change and hand back a shiny, clean baby. Major points.

FFS, give the woman a break. Hold and entertain that baby while she takes a damn shower. She may not be ready to leave the baby behind for hours-long date nights, and that’s ok. But let her shower and shave her legs every now and then without banging on the bathroom door after 5 minutes and declaring that the kid “needs her.”

As tempting as it is, don’t leave her alone with the baby and go play video games cause you suddenly have “free time.” She’s still on duty with the baby, that’s doesn’t mean you AREN’T. Be present for and with both of them.

Learn baby tricks with her. No, not jumping through baby hoops…learn how to swaddle. Learn how to run a blanket through the dryer for a few mins and then wrap up a cold baby in a winter morning. (Also great for towels after baths.) Read some child development books. They’re like vague instruction manuals for the new kid.

Get the fire department to install the car seat. Go do that yourself. They won’t let you bring the baby home without one already installed. Learn to enter a room quietly. Don’t bang open the door and sing-song “Hiiiiiii, hon!” You just woke up the baby, and she will want to remove your spleen with her bare hands. Housework will be a thing of the past. If she’s fastidious, hiring a maid service will be a godsend.

Finally, you need to be her shield. If either grandma (or cousins or whatever) is critical of your parenting choices, you need to step in and defend them. “Cloth diapers will cause a rash!/Disposables will destroy the planet!”, “Not sleeping through the night YET??

Haven’t you added cereal to the bottle?!” “Wait, you have to baptize that baby NOW!” “You’re holding him too much!” “You’re spoiling the baby!” You’re doing it wrong, wrong, wrong, wrong…put whiskey on the baby’s gums, make him cry it out,

she can’t nurse and have a glass of wine or a cup of coffee/eat cheese, broccoli, milk, etc…. STOP!!! Nothing they say is gospel. Don’t allow them to pester the new mother to death. If they want to be useful, that’s great, they can throw a load of laundry in and make dinner. Otherwise, this is YOUR baby and they can f**k right off.. Yeah. I think that’s it for now.

ItxPuppet −  Holy f**k, something good on this subreddit. Congratulations

mummaof3 −  When she wakes you at 2 am needing ice cream your only response is what flavor? Other than that, just be there for her and get your house prepared for another human.

AthenaSholen −  Get her a full U-body pillow!!!!!!!!!!

shartlicker555 −  I’m currently 4.5 months preggo with my first. I did not expect how tired I would be in the first trimester. No joke there were days I came home from work and couldn’t get off the couch. It surprised me. My husband ended up doing most of the chores around the house until my energy came (mostly) back around 13 weeks. Even now, I still need his help more than I thought I would.

Tell her how beautiful she is with her body change. That’s another area that’s hard for me and it really helps when my husband tells me how beautiful I’m becoming. I know when my stomach is covered in stretch marks he will still find me attractive and it takes away some of my body image issues.. Best of luck.

This dad-to-be’s enthusiasm is contagious and a reminder of how special these moments are. What are your best tips for navigating pregnancy and early parenthood? Share your wisdom and encouragement in the comments!