Two beds in separate rooms. No sense in both of you losing sleep. One of you needs to sleep well each night. Decide and conquer. Take shifts if you need to.

Learn lower back massage. Helps a lot with sciatica during pregnancy and monthly period. If you can follow the nerve down the leg she will love you forever.

Meal prep meal prep meal prep. Have a month’s with of means ready to go before the baby gets here

Sleep as much as you can now because after the baby arrives you won’t get to choose when and how long to sleep.

Start saving for daycare (assuming you’ll use it) now. It is surprisingly expensive.

Don’t try to leave your house in complete silence to avoid waking the baby. Make normal noise and train the baby to be able to sleep through that.

Also, never give in to a tantrum (note that this one you’re a few years away from, since I’m not talking about baby crying). Even if you realize partway through that you’re wrong. Talk it out after they’ve calmed down. You can even tell them that you realized you were wrong but that you’ll never give in to a tantrum like that because that’s not how you handle not liking something. Once they learn tantrums are only a path to defeat, they’ll adjust their methods.

Musical instruments, not toys that play random sounds, but actual music. My brother love them and my mother is a music teacher for children (and she’s usually the favourite teacher). And you don’t have to buy many, you can test with one and then buy more if you think they’d like it

Your partner went through all of the gestation and labor herself; the least you can do is be the person who changes the diapers.

Men don’t always immediately bond with their newborn progeny. It’s ok, don’t feel guilty if you’re not head-over-heels in love with your baby for the first year or two.

If you’re ever feeling frustrated caring for your newborn, take a break. They will be fine if you leave them crying in their crib so that you can take a walk or do whatever you need to decompress and compose yourself.

Most pacifiers have bottle nipple mates. If your baby prefers one specific bottle or pacifier, buy the mate.

Most importantly, sleep deprivation and stress can cause significant mental health issues, specifically anxiety and depression. Your feelings are valid. If you’re having a hard time, ask for help.

You will probably overbuy baby stuff. Just make sure you can return it or pass it on.

You will probably need something you don’t have for the baby. Yes, babies have the same base needs, but individual babies may have different needs. For instance, they may not tolerate the bibs you have for them. You didn’t mess up if you missed something, that’s just life.

Get ready to do lots of laundry. Babies produce so, so much laundry. Spitting up on things. Blowout diapers. Other mystery substances. Get all of your fussy, non machine washable clothes and set them aside for a few months.

Make sure you can feed yourselves with little friction for the first few months. Your exhausted, sleep deprived self will thank you. Freeze some meals. Make meal plans ahead of time. Convenience food.

If you are having a biological child, and you are not the carrying parent, this next part is important. Have you ever had surgery, especially major surgery? Remember how much rest and sleep you needed to recover? Giving birth is pretty much exactly like that. (Yes, both C-section and vaginal birth.) But, after the procedure, you don’t get to sleep or rest. You have a small creature that depends on you for ALL of its needs, and it will communicate in such a way that it may not be apparent what the problem is. Breastfeeding too? Then you must either feed the child yourself or pump ahead of time so someone else can. There may be a 10 pound weight limit on how much you can carry. Guess what weighs about 10 pounds and keeps getting bigger? And did you know if you carry it with its car seat, it likely weighs MORE than 10 pounds?

If you’re not the carrying parent, make sure they can rest as much as you possibly can make it. Recruit help from trusted friends and family. It could even be for the dishes, laundry, cleaning, or cooking. It doesn’t even have to be baby care if they aren’t comfortable with babies but still want help.

If you are, don’t be afraid to assert yourself with your partner if they are slacking with the division of labor.

Use a blow dryer to warm the baby while you are changing and dry their butt to avoid diaper rash. Also a great way to make them cozy for sleep. Be careful and use a low setting!

Ibprofin will get you through teething. The kid doesn’t have to suffer.

Buy an exercise ball and a foam roller.

If you have multiple floors in your house set up somewhere to have diapers and change the baby on both floors. Especially for the first few months.

Start sleep training and establishing a schedule early, in the second or third week. It will help immensely as the schedule solidifies. Also make sure you let your baby go to sleep by themselves at least occasionally.

The overlap between training pets and babies is significant. The same is true with toys for kids and pets. I’m not saying buy dog toys for your kid, but be prepared that any laying around may become the most interesting thing in the world.

You won’t smell of milk all the time, so it is easier for you to put the baby to sleep. Try memorizing like 10 songs that you like and will be able to sing over and over again. The baby will figure out, that it is time to sleep when you sing these.

Learn how to exercise/strach baby. You don’t want to do this with a newborn. But there won’t be a lot of time after birth to look this up. Be gentile. It’s good for the baby and makes them fart and shit, easing stomach pain.

Look up baby first aid videos just in case. It is very different than adult first aid.

Not for immediate use but front/backpack carriers. Make sure they’re cleared to do it and front carrier for the youngest.

This helped both my sanity and my wife’s the most - throw them in the front/backpack and take them for a walk. Get you out of the house, get your wife a break, get the kid some air and some daddy bonding time. Depending on kid, the walk can also calm them

And don’t be afraid to sing. Even in front of people. Make up new lyrics to your favorite song. Mine was “Godzilla”: I refined the lyrics as we walked around the neighborhood and now that my first is in college that’s one of my fondest memories

Don’t make rules that punish you. Example, the parents and kid aren’t leaving the table until the kid eats their veggies.