Advice for New Dads

This is a guest post by Halit Bozdogan.

A few things to prepare first time Dads.

I think there are many things in life which are game changers. Your first step gives you the freedom you so badly desire. Now you can walk, you can go anywhere. Well, within the boundaries of the living room anyhow. Your first kiss gave you a glimpse into that mysterious world we call ‘girls’. Sure, they smell nice and look nice. But that kiss really makes the difference doesn’t it.

Well, I’m about to have another life altering experience. I’m going to be a first time father. That’s pretty big as far as life changing events go. So what do I do? Well, I’m still not sure. I’m not even sure if I’ll ever be sure. But from talking to various friends, work colleagues and the like, I think I’ve got some advice that may prove useful to first time dads....

Sleep:

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Or rather, the complete lack of it. My friend has just had a baby which has prepared me for the fact that I’ll be tired. A lot. The constant nightly feeds may not be new information but I tested the waters as it were, by se

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tting my alarm to go off every two hours during the night. Of course, I had to sleep in the spare room to do this so I didn’t wake my pregnant (and therefore highly grumpy) partner.  I did this for two nights on the run and I tell you, I did not enjoy it.  But I knew I wouldn’t enjoy it. The test was to see if I could do it. And I did. Barely. I recommend trying it because if you think that this is bad, then at least you have some idea of what it’s going to be like when the baby arrives.

Nappies:

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Or ‘diapers’ to our American cousins. A necessity of the baby-rearing world. We have enough nappies to fill a stadium. This isn’t overkill, it’s just common sense as I was told you will go through approximately 10-15 nappies in a single day. Those babies are just unrelenting poop machines. I found that it was good practice to get your parents (if so inclined), to buy you one pack of nappies a week. Surely no huge dent on the budget.  Then you get your partner to ask their parents to donate one pack towards the baby fund. Then you start doing the same. After a few months, you’ll have a lot of nappies. Simple and quite forward thinking in my book.

Car seats:

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Pretty much the first baby related piece of equipment you’ll be using (when coming home from the hospital). My advice for anyone saving for a baby is to get what you can for a little as you can. Because that baby is going to be a huge drain on your finances.

Except for your car seat.

This should absolutely be the one thing that you are prepared to pay serious money for. Because you can’t go cheap on this. It’s something that could possible save your child’s life. Even I realise this and I am a renowned bargain hunter. But every time you step into that car with your baby, you are increasing the odds of harm coming to him or her. So you need to get the best that you possibly can. Maybe this means paying a little more but seriously, why would you want get something cheap that was made in Taiwan for the same price as a McDonald’s Happy Meal? Don’t do it.

Anyway, these are only a few things that I’ve been thinking about whilst waiting for the wee babby. I hope you find it as useful when your time comes!

By day mild-mannered Halit Bozdogan writes about fridges and ovens at Appliances Online. By night he likes to watch Mad Men, listen to Fleetwood Mac and combat crime on the rooftops of Gotham. One of these is a complete lie. You can also follow him on Twitter @TheBozDog