contraceptives in the nightstand drawer. The next morning, which he hoped would be followed by many romantic evenings and passionate nights, his wife announced that she was pregnant. And this is the first time! As it turned out soon, she was not mistaken. True, with a wink at us, the man admitted that, after hesitating for several days, he and his wife safely continued to put their original plan into action.

The first unmistakable sign that you are pregnant is, of course, the absence of your next period. If earlier, when the “holidays” did not come on time, you nervously counted the days, now you begin to catch yourself that you just as strongly wish that they did not come at all.

If your wife's period is a week or more late, it means it's time to play doctor: you run to buy a pregnancy test to test your assumptions with morning urine. Then comes a moment of agonizing uncertainty. Will two lines appear on the indicator? Will its color change, will a plus sign appear on it? Maybe you are in too much of a hurry? Maybe something is wrong with the test? Or have you somehow managed to mix up your urine and hers? The anticipation gets on your nerves.

You will have a serious pregnancy test in a few days, when you go with your wife to an appointment with a gynecologist. Yes, you should go there too. We encourage you to go to pregnancy-related check-ups together. This is one of the ways to show love and care for your "half", through which you will let her know that you care about her and that she can count on your support.

Some husbands are surprised to find that during their first visits to the gynecologist, their wives begin to deny their pregnancy. We have heard of one woman who insisted that she was not pregnant, even after testing positive. She assured those around her again and again that it was "just gases." Her caring husband, who probably knew that they were pregnant, patiently cherished and cherished her for all nine months, agreeing with everything she said and insisting on the need to visit a doctor, allegedly solely for the sake of her health. He later said that his wife continued to deny everything. until the very moment of the birth of the child - and only then timidly admitted: "Apparently, it was not gases after all." Well, daddy, you may need a remarkable capacity for affectionate persuasion and an excess of patience.

Dealing with morning sickness

Another unmistakable sign of pregnancy is a condition called misnomer, that is, "morning sickness." If your spouse spends a large part of the day worshiping porcelain gods in the bathroom or water closet, there is a reason for that. This condition is caused by an excess of hormones you already know, so the tobacco chicken, crab sticks and stuffed fish that your wife ate last night have nothing to do with it. Morning sickness is a sure sign that hormones are doing their job. Only now, few of the women subject to her attacks are able to express delight about pregnancy.

What morning sickness is, I happened to experience to the fullest (when we speak in the first person, we mean Ron - unless we are talking about his father, Sam). I have always been involved in cooking in our house. My wife's culinary talents are limited to being able to heat up something in the microwave, chop vegetables for a salad, and prepare a light breakfast. Lucky for both of us, I love to cook. Judge for yourself how many times a week two people who love each other could eat the same breakfast and still be happy in marriage?

I remember that every morning during our pregnancy, when I woke up, I moved closer to my radiant wife, stroked her stomach and cheerfully asked: “What would you like to eat for breakfast today, dear?” I was saved by the fact that my wife has a great sense of humor. But nothing saved her ... Breakfast, as a rule, consisted of two courses. The first - ordered - was usually sacrificed to the gods. The second - oh, happiness! - remained in the stomach, but now I had to cook it based not on the desires of my beauty, but on the capabilities of her body. On days when she couldn't eat anything at all, her sense of humor was almost non-existent. Then I stroked her back, kissed her on the forehead and generally supported her in every possible way. I must say that the words of love and consolation helped. Ready to fulfill her every whim, I asked if she would like something "sort of." If required products was not in the refrigerator, but they could be obtained, I made an attempt to go in search. Already on the threshold, she stopped me to tell me that she had changed her mind and now wants a completely different one, but my very offer to fulfill any of her desires significantly improved her well-being.

We have spoken to several men who have themselves experienced morning sickness. There is even a medical term, Couvade Syndrome, for this condition. Psychologists regard it as a "male defense mechanism in action." Simply put, in order to compensate for the suffering of his wife, the husband tries on all her ailments: nausea, cravings for exotic food, and some men even manage to put on weight.

The struggle for a bathroom and closet in such families is not for life, but for death. We've been through it. I was sick for the first couple of weeks of our pregnancy - exactly until my wife began to vomit. It was then that my malaise vanished. My wife still believes that it made her sick out of solidarity with me. In general, future fathers also sometimes need to be groomed and cherished (and wives, as a rule, do this). But do not forget: if you two feel bad at the same time, your "half" always has an advantage over you.

How should you behave when the body of your beloved makes fantastic somersaults? Our advice to you: refrain from giving advice. Whatever good goals you pursue, the most valuable recommendations will not find proper understanding now. The smartest thing on your part would be to let your wife be alone for a while. Our surveys have shown that women prefer to spend these rather unpleasant moments of pregnancy in seclusion. In the meantime, you can shout a few comforting words through the door or, for example, prepare a cold compress for her. This is perhaps the most reasonable way to behave in such a situation. Fortunately, in most cases morning sickness miraculously disappears at the beginning of the second trimester. But while they are still in full swing, your sincere words: “Sun, I sympathize terribly with you” will be the only correct reaction.

Will life return to its former course?

After so many dramatic changes have taken place in your life, you must have begun to wonder if it will ever return to its previous course. Don't wish for too much everything, of course, cannot remain as before. With the birth of a child, you will be part of one of the most wonderful and exciting mysteries on earth. And there's nothing you can do about it - in order to become good parents, you and your spouse will have to reconsider many priorities.

Instead of being upset about the fact that you will be forced to give up something, it is better to look at this fact from a philosophical point of view - because soon your life will become more diverse and in some sense fuller. At first, of course, only your spouse will gain weight (by the way, keep in mind: if your wife gains weight during pregnancy, this is good, but there is no excuse for your extra pounds gained during this period). But in less than nine months, your baby will be born, and then a truly new world will open before you.

Stop for a moment. Take a deep breath. If everything related to pregnancy scares you, remember: you are not alone. Prenatal panic covers almost all first-time "pregnant" fathers. And your loved one is definitely experiencing the same fears as you. Therefore, right now is the time for both of you to take special care of each other. A gentle, attentive touch is always soothing; both of you can be cheered up by a dinner in a cozy restaurant or a joint trip to nature, where you will feel your connection with all life on earth. And don’t be surprised if you notice that your spouse is looking at you with some new sparkle in her eyes, as if she sees her handsome prince: after all, you presented each other with one of the most treasured gifts on earth - the gift of life. So indulge her fantasies. It's nice to be adored, isn't it? Reciprocate with your wife. Remember: if something is pleasant to you, then it will most likely be pleasant to her.

You may have asked yourself a hundred times, “Am I really ready to be a father?” This question is asked by most "pregnant" husbands. Is there ever a man quite ready for fatherhood? Most likely no. But if you began to wait for the right moment, then, probably, you would never have decided to have children. It's rare for two people to be perfectly "ripe" for upcoming fatherhood and motherhood, and that's one of the reasons pregnancies last so long. So that