Tips From A Stay-At-Home-Dad

Taking care of the newborn has long been perceived as the job of The Mummy while The Daddy goes out to work. But in this information age, both the couple now have an equal share in earning their keep and as well as taking care of the newborn. Today, we received an article written by a Stay-At-Home-Dad on taking his experiences on taking car of his son. Enjoy this piece.

Do share and comment if you have anything to say. Cheers!

— Article From A Stay-At-Home-Dad —

There was probably no one more inexperienced with babies than me before we had our son. You could have written what I knew about looking after a kid on the back of a postage stamp. I have written this to try and tell you guys who are a little worried about being a dad, especially those who are going to be the ones staying at home. That if I can do it then really anyone in the world can do it.

It was decided pretty much as soon as my other half was regnant that I was going to be the one who would stay at home with the baby. We both worked in a school, but her job paid a million times better than what mine did. So it made sense for this to happen. There was just one little stumbling block, and that was that I knew nothing about babies!!!!!

After my son was born it was quite a surreal experience. I was hands on right away, and any other potential stay at home dads I encourage you to be right from the start as well. My partner was on maternity leave so I must admit I was tempted to kind of take a back seat to her, but I knew I was going to be on my own soon. It was nowhere near as scary or difficult as I imagined. Sure some days were harder than others but for the most part I am not sure what I was worried about. One thing I will warn you about is this. There is no getting away from the fact that at some point you will be peed on, you might as well make piece with this now. Also if you are lucky it will be only pee.

For the few weeks we were both at home it was great. We were like this parenting tag team. Every time I went into the kitchen I could not help but notice the calendar. And it was getting closer and closer to just me and my son Logan at home. And there it was 7.55am my partner left for work and it was just us alone.

It really was not as hard as I imagined. If I can give one main piece of advice to potential stay at home dads it is this: STAY CALM. There will be those days when all your baby will do is cry. If you need to take five seconds to gather your thoughts then do it. Getting all stressed out will do you and the baby no good. And it will make it no fun, what is the point in having kids if you can’t have fun with them?

Its not all fun there is a lot of work involved in being a stay at home dad, and if you think you will spend your day watching TV while your baby just sits there then you are really in for a shock. One thing I feel I must tell you about is just how being a stay at home dad can make you feel very isolated and alone at times. Make sure that you get out of the house at least once a day for a walk. Even if its raining get yourself some rain covers for your push chair. Staying in the house all day will drive you crazy. There are a ton of “mother” and baby groups around, but trust me on this one that you will probably be one of the only if not the only dad there. I am naturally a very shy person, but I still gave one of these groups a try once a week, and it was great. You really still need to keep at least a little contact with the outside world.

Some days you will find it really tough and be pulling your hair out. But never forget just how lucky you are to be the one staying at home. Once you get your own little routine working you will be amazed at how you get into a nice little groove and being a parent just flows. There are some tiring times, but for the most part I love being a stay at home dad. make sure you enjoy this time as you will never get it back.

Being a dad is awesome, and trust me when I say if I can do it anyone can.