Discover some of the most important things an expectant father must do before his baby is born!
I’m quite fond of telling my readers how clueless I was before becoming a dad, maybe because it amuses me how naïve I was, but mostly because it’s important for you to understand I didn’t just magically become a good father overnight.
When new dads ask me what fatherhood is really like, the comparison I always use is that new fathers grow much like their babies do!
Once our children are born, we start out as newborn fathers, with very little understanding of how this whole dad thing really works.
Fortunately, the best dads among us keep maturing right along with our children.
As each phase of your child’s life passes, you will keep evolving to meet your child’s needs. It is a slow process that helps age good fathers like fine wine!
When you become a father for the first time, there truly is no substitute for experience.
Essentially what I am saying is that you will have to “fake it until you make it” through your journey into fatherhood.
However, keep in mind that most of the veteran dads you now envy and wish to emulate, all started out just as scared and lost as you likely feel right now.
That fear and constant anxiety about messing up and being a shitty dad, is perfectly natural my friend.
However, you shouldn’t feel any shame about having those emotions. In fact, I want you to embrace these feelings and use it as motivation to become a great dad.
It means you care, and that is the biggest piece of the puzzle to fatherhood!
When a new dad cares, it means he becomes proactive about taking care of his child, and this can be done even when you are still an expectant father.
As an expectant dad there is much to learn before your baby comes along, but the tips I discuss below are some of the most important things you can do before officially becoming a dad.
You must become an expert in car seats
This topic opens some old wounds for me, even though I have been deep in the trenches of fatherhood for many years now.
Please allow me to explain.
Before my daughter was born, I foolishly took garbage advice from a couple of veteran dads about installing our infant seat.
It turns out, they had ZERO clue what the hell they were talking about!
When a new dad cares, it means he becomes proactive about taking care of his child, and this can be done even when you are still an expectant father.
Like a complete tool, I was driving my newborn around in an improperly installed car seat, and her chances of dying would have shot up dramatically if I had gotten into an accident.
That would have been on me… for the rest of my life.
Here comes my big confession, ready for it?
I was a dumb ass!
There it is my dirty secret!
Fortunately, one of my wife’s friends told me about car seat safety inspection stations, and that’s when I learned how poorly installed our daughter’s car seat was.
I was horrified that we had been driving our baby around for six months like this, but you don’t have to make the same potentially fatal mistake I did.
Start your education on car seats by visiting the NHTSA (National Highway Traffic Safety Administration) resource page by clicking here.
Once you have properly educated yourself and found a good car seat, please visit this page to find an inspection station near you that will install it for free.
I highly recommend you have the car seat bought and installed at least a month before your baby is due!
Take a CPR Class
Unfortunately, there isn’t enough awareness out there on the importance of infant CPR classes.
In my opinion, these classes are an absolute must for new parents.
I can tell you from first-hand experience, my son might not be here today if I didn’t learn CPR before both of my kids were born!
When he was around 18 months old, my son started choking on a grape, and I was able to perform the Heimlich maneuver on him, preventing a life-altering disaster for my family.
My wife and I were ultra-cautious about how we cut up the food for our babies, and we even cut the grapes lengthwise like experts recommended for smaller throats, and my son still almost choked to death.
This is why I would urge you to take a CPR class before your child is born and hope that you never need to use your new found lifesaving skills as I did.
Many local hospitals and American Red Cross locations will offer infant CPR classes near you.
If you prefer to learn at home, The American Heart Association offers the Infant Anytime CPR Training Kit, which you can purchase by clicking here.
Familiarize yourself with Danny’s Law
As an expectant father, you will no doubt spend an ungodly amount of time buying baby products and wishing you could do something less painful, like sticking needles in your eyeballs!
Not only do these products kill your wallet, but they could also be deadly for your child as well.
Unfortunately, many new parents are never properly educated on The Danny Keysar Child Product Notification Act, better known as Danny’s Law.
This law was named after Danny Keysar, who died when his crib collapsed on him, suffocating this poor baby to death!
His passing in 1998, fundamentally changed the way the baby product industry was regulated.
Danny’s law created much stronger regulations for cribs, play yards, bassinets, strollers, highchairs, swings and many other baby products.
However, one of the most important pieces of this legislation, was the development of a mandatory notification system using both online and card registration of these products, to warn parents and caregivers when there is a recall on a particular baby product.
Why is it so important that you know about this law?
Because you need to register all the baby products you buy.
Taking a few moments to register these items could very well save the life of your child one day!
Schedule a visit at the maternity ward
One of the best ways to help reduce major anxiety on the day your child is born, is by scheduling a tour of the maternity ward at the hospital where you plan to have your baby.
This is one of the easiest things any expectant father can do, and it’s a great way to impress your partner and show her that you are taking some initiative.
Imagine telling your wife or girlfriend that you… YA YOU!… decided to be proactive and scheduled a visit to tour the maternity ward.
You will be her hero, dude!
Ok, maybe not, but she will still be dazzled by your thoughtfulness, trust me.
Most importantly, you will get the layout of the hospital and learn where you can park during off hours, what entrances to use, and familiarize yourself with the maternity staff.
This will help breed a sense of confidence when the big day arrives, and you won’t have to go into the hospital completely blind.
Best of all, the tours are free.
FREE!
The power of being proactive
While the tips I offer above are important steps you must take before your baby is born, most of this stuff isn’t terribly difficult to do.
You won’t exactly be splitting atoms here, right?
In fact, three out of the four tips I discussed, have the potential to save your baby’s life!
That alone should be more than enough motivation for you to get off your ass and start being a proactive dad today.
Like right now, go get started!
