The Hospital...But I'm Not Even Sick!!

Unless you are going to be birthing at home (which is an option if you plan ahead and do your homework on the subject), the more traditional route is to go to the hospital around the time Baby is about to make his or her 

GRAND ENTRANCE

and then wait for Baby to arrive. Usually, Baby's arrival won't include the speeding taxi cab with mom (to-be) yelling and screaming for everyone to hurry up because that baby ain't waiting!!

As such, talk to your doctor as scheduled, and then call if you have any concerns. Find out when you need to be at the hospital, and also listen to their wisdom on the matter. They have done this 

WAY MORE

than you and me. They are the professional(s). If you can swing it, try to take a couple vacation days from your employer and plan on being there for the birth. Sometimes the birthing process can happen super fast. If you're like my friend, they were sent home a couple times because their little one just wasn't ready to come yet. 

You being in attendance for the birth will not only will you be a great morale boost for your partner, but you'll also get to share in all the wonders and joys of welcoming the little one into the world. Now I didn't do any research on the matter beyond what "The Expectant Father" provided, so when the time came, I was out of my element. 

Wisdom would say to attend classes with your partner to learn about what you'll experience during labor, and what the birthing event will be like. We kinda just went with the flow. My wife is a medical professional, so she had a little more background knowledge than I did. 

Maybe you're thinking you have the hospital visit scheduled, and you as a dad-to-be think you are all good to go. You'll show up at the scheduled time, the doctors will take your partner to the back, and in 5 minutes, they'll return with a beautiful sleeping child with a blue or pink outfit on...wishful thinking!

The moments leading up to birth can feel a lot like a battle, and that's why it's recommended that you be there. She'll need your support, even if it's just holding your hand (or trying to break your hand off!). I'll go into more details in a future post about what we chose to do and why, as well as some items you may want to bring with you to the hospital to make things a little more comfortable. 

Until next time,

-Another Dad

Before Baby Comes Home

If you were like me, you really didn't know what to expect when the baby decided it was time to enter the world. I figured the baby would come, I would pray momma and baby ended up being healthy, and I would stress about medical bills. 

I never considered my house might be 

A DEATH TRAP!!

Good thing when baby arrives, he or she cannot go anywhere. Typically that baby isn't going anywhere when you put them down (oh but just you wait...). After the baby does arrive, however, you will probably not be wanting to do a lot of work on the house. You'll have your hands full with a recent labor survivor mom (who will be needing your help), and a newborn baby that can do nothing for itself (who will be needing your help). Needless to say, if you find yourself in this position, 

Don't panic!

YOU WILL SURVIVE!

But if baby isn't here yet, let's get ahead of this. 

First,  you will be needing (to be able to leave the hospital) a baby car seat. That's right. I didn't even think of this with my first kiddo! (good thing I wasn't alone!...) You cannot leave the hospital with your newborn unless you have a safe, legal way to get baby home (and that's a good rule). 

Second, you should have a safe place to put the baby when you are not actively holding it. Whether that's a crib, ..., or ... is up to you, but don't just lay the baby on the floor! You can do better than that!

Third, will be having diapers for your new bundle of joy. Are you going to be doing cloth or disposable? (Definitely talk to this with your significant other.) My advice, even if you are going to be doing cloth, start with disposables. Those first couple of weeks the baby will be using the bathroom A LOT! Both you and momma will have your hands full, and worrying about spraying diapers and the additional laundry isn't worth the headache (in my opinion). Our goal is not just for you to survive day to day. I want you to be Thriving With Babies!

Forth, will be to have clothes for that little one. This is one area where you can spend as much or as little as you want! If you get to start early, lots of people are trying to get rid of baby clothes on Facebook and Craigslist, and sometimes you can get this for free! Other than that, friends from work and church may have some hand-me-downs they are trying to get rid of, and you can be there to take them off their hands!

And lastly, have some bottles available if momma isn't planning on nursing. She may decide to nurse, and pump. If and when she pumps, that milk will be used in bottles. Get ready dad...you're going to get to feed the baby!

This isn't an exhaustive list of all the things you may want, but I think this will be a solid start. If you have anything you would add to the list, I would love to hear your opinions!

Until next time,

~Another Dad

Where to Start (for an Expectant Father)

If I were you, I would start by doing exactly what you are doing! It's time to do some research! The way I see it, you have a couple options. You can either ask some friends and family ALL of your questions, you can search for blogs (Like this one! Thank you for that!), you can watch some YouTube videos, OR you could buy a book. 

I went with the last option, and it was EXTREMELY HELPFUL and that is what I'm going to recommend to you. There are a lot of great resources out there, but this is the book I started with, and it was great. My wife did some researching and found the top rated book for new dad's to be. What she found was:

"The Expectant Father The Ultimate Guide For Dad's To Be" by Armon A. Brott and Jennifer Ash. 

I really enjoyed how this book was put together. This book is really created for those first time dad's or dad's who want to do better the second time around. It has a lot of content in its pages, but I really liked how within each chapter it had little tips and tricks to help me prepare and be more successful as an expectant father. 

The book has 14 chapters, and 9 of them are designated to the 9 months of pregnancy. It's super clever. There are so many tips in there, but what I really enjoyed was it gave tips on how support my wife throughout the entire pregnancy. I mean, she's doing the heavy lifting in those buildup days. It helped me relate to what she was going through without poking or prodding her too much (and if she's a first time momma, she may not know what she's going through either). 

The book not only gives great tips on how you can stay involved as a dad to be, but it touches many aspects of life. It has special sections for those military dads. It has special tips for single dads. It discusses financial decisions, how to prep your house. It just touches so many areas of life that you probably haven't considered yet. 

My favorite part is that the book has subsections in each chapter discussing potentially things that are running through your head, as well as what is going on with your partner, and the various developmental stages your little one is going through. 

All and all, it was a great book to build my confidence as a new dad and prepare for an area of life I knew NOTHING about. I hope this post helps lead you in the right direction. You got this dad! You'll do great, and the first thing I would do (if I were you) is get a copy of this book and get to reading. It really did help me out. 

Until next time!

~Another Dad

Welcome to "Team Dad" (aka Parenthood)

So you have a kiddo in your life!!

Shoot! Maybe you have TWO!! Welcome to "Team Dad" and welcome to your new norm! Life will never be the same once your little one enters into your life. I know that's been true for me. What a blessing and a joy it has been to have my little one in my life.  There has been a lot of learning on my part, and I know that has just begun.

Since the little guy entered my life, I have been trying to keep up. Over a year later and he's still alive, and people love him, so I guess we are doing something right!

To save you some of the headaches and struggles that we dealt with, I'm creating this little blog. I want to help you navigate through the early years the best I can. It hasn't always been easy, but so far, it has totally been worth it. I wouldn't have it any other way. 

In this blog, I plan on sharing with you tips and tricks of the trade, as well as products and gear that may just make your life a little bit easier. You're not alone in this journey called parenthood, and I'm here to say, that I'm on your team. Let's do this!

See you in the next blog.

~Another Dad