A New Dad's Guide to Being a New Dad

So, you're going to be a dad. Maybe you already are, and it's just been a while. What are you going to do? Babies need a lot of stuff, and you'll need a lot of stuff too. Here's what I've found helpful in my short time as a dad.

1. The Man Bag

Let's face it -- it's not easy to exude manliness while you're adjusting to Dadness. There's nothing worse than being out in public, carrying your wife's flowery Kate Spade bag when you need to change your baby or find a pacifier. Please guys, don't let this happen to you. My recommendation is a nice manly bag, that you can't even tell is a diaper bag. Personally, I chose the Diaper Dude. It's got plenty of room for a change of clothes, wipes, lots of diapers, bottled water... whatever you need. It even comes with a cell phone holder, so you are fumbling around your pockets while trying to hold the baby. This one would even make Joey Tribbiani proud.

2. Diaper disposal

If you are like I was, you will be utterly amazed (and horrified) at the number of diapers that 8 lbs, 13 ozs. can produce in a day. And it's also surprising at how bad something that little can smell. These things pile up, and you've got to come up with some sort of storage that you don't have to change all the time, but doesn't stink you out of your house. My personal recommendation is the Diaper Champ. The big benefit is that the Diaper Champ works with any size bag, meaning you can throw any old grocery or garbage bag in to collect Jr.'s mess. (Trust me... one scramble in the middle of the night when the thing is full will be all you need to know how big of a hassle this eliminates.) It's easy to use, virtually orderless, and relatively inexpensive.

3. Warm those wipes

Guess what you'll be using at least half the times you're changing those diapers Dad? That's right, baby wipes. And as ridiculous as it seems, those things out of the pack can be pretty cold, and very startling to your little one's behind in the middle of the night. The solution? A plug in warmer, such as the Munchkin Warm Glow Wipe Warmer. Just drop a whole pack of wipes in, add a little water, and voila! No more cold wipes on warm bottoms in the middle of the night. (Trust me... anything you can do to make this process less traumatic for your little one in the first few weeks goes a long way to your sanity).

4. Sleep easier

Aside from the drive away from the hospital with your new one in tow (What? You're sending me home? With this kid? I don't know what I'm doing!), nothing was scarier to me in the first week of having our newborn than wondering if he was OK any time we put him down to sleep. (Is he breathing? I can't tell. The blankets aren't moving... is he still alive?) I would end up touching or moving him a bit, just to get him to make a moving response. Luckily, some friends had previously used Bebe Sounds Movement Monitor with their kids. It's a hyper-sensitive movement monitor (it picks up the subtle movements from a baby's breathing), that sounds an alarm if there is no movement for 20 seconds. I'll be the first to admit, when I heard about this thing, I thought it was over the top. But after a few rounds of "Oh my gosh why isn't he breathing" scares, this thing has been worth the money simply for the piece of mind.

So there you have it. Four things that have helped me through my first few months of being Dad.

Check The World of Milt periodically for updates on other things that have helped me out.