52: Dads: Are you READY to be a dad?

So you find out you have a baby on the way, when a question pops into your head - ‘Am I ready?’ Or even sometimes a statement- ‘I’m not ready!’ If you have experienced this, then you are not alone. At some point the majority of expectant dads have had this thought cross their mind, and yet still go on to be great fathers. These kinds of thoughts just mean that you are aware of the enormity of it all – and it could be argued, this awareness means you will make a fantastic dad! Having a baby is always a huge life change, and it is completely normal to have one of those ‘what have I done?!’ moments! This is just what your brain does before a major life event, and they don’t come much more major than this. While these feelings and thoughts are normal, it is also important to think about how you react to them, and gaining understanding of them so you can make choices about how you deal with them is crucial. There are many possible thoughts and fears which can cross the mind of a newly realised expectant dad and make him wonder if he is ready – so here are some of the key ones: