I'm a Dad!

[chenisheng]

@Saluki congrats Saluki you'll do great! 

[Blake Hampton]

Congratulations.

 

One recommendation I would give is to open up a 529 and put all the first couple of year's gifts and money towards it. On the toy front, I think that you could give a baby a spoon to play with and they'll be happy. I also think friends and family would contribute more money to something like a 529. It is the baby's future after all.

 

The only other recommendation I would have is to be a good role model and teacher. Be a person that your kid can both depend on and look up to.

 

Being someone who's asking for advice on a board like this, I don't think you'll have many problems.

[Eldad]

Kids have no respect for hypocrites. If you don’t want them doing it you might as well cut it out of your life now. You have a few years haha. 

[Eldad]

Keep a journal of all the funny junk they say. 

Edited April 24 by Eldad

[nsx5200]

Ran across this timely article about new fatherhood:

https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20260417-fatherhood-how-the-male-brain-and-body-prepare-for-childcare

"[...]fatherhood changes men in ways that echo how motherhood transforms women."

"[...]oxytocin, the so-called love hormone[...]

Many studies around the world have found higher oxytocin in fathers, including those with kids aged one to two years old and those interacting with babies under six months – and that seems to correspond to the amount of time spent with our kids."

[Seoshin]

Congrats @Saluki!!! 

[Charlie]

In Germany with a baby you have parental leave. 

You get paid and have 1-2 years not to work.

I know some guys who travelled with their baby in Southern Europe with a VW bus.

That can be a fantastic time. 

[benchmark]

Congrats @Saluki. Enjoy the time you have with the kid, they grow up so fast!

[Lazarus]

Jesus Christ, 55 is old for a new dad! But congrats, this is your legacy.

 

My biggest advice for new fathers is to not let your wife set the agenda for everything. Get super involved and make sure you have an equal say in what happens. I sat back and let my wife take care of things for the first 4 months (she had read the books, after all...) but luckily she sucked at motherhood so she went back to work and I took over. Everything changed - we played out in the mud, went all over, did things. I became much more involved because of it and I have a great relationship with my kids to this day. 

 

The little kid years are awesome. 

[Saluki]

Thanks for all the great advice. I will definitely use it. 

 

Yesterday our son turned 7 weeks and we hit a milestone, he smiled! Before it was just random facial expressions and yelling between naps and feeding. But my better half figured out that tickling both cheeks at the same time gets him to laugh/smile repeatedly. It's definitely something that was appreciated