The Best Dad Skills Needed for New Fathers

Baby AbbyFirst off I must welcome you to the club. Any new father is welcomed but it is completely up to you on how long you stay. So to help keep you here I put together a list of the best dad skills needed for new fathers. Nothing too serious but very helpful when it comes down to caring for your new clone.

The first thing to always remember when taking your kid out into the world is to always bring extra everything. Extra baby clothes, extra food, extra binky, extra blanket, extra diapers and whatever else the kid needs. But it doesn’t stop there. Also, be sure to bring an extra shirt for yourself. You never know when your new distance spitter will go for the gold. Having all of the extras will help keep you prepared for the worst. Sure it’s a lot to bring but it all can be managed into a diaper bag or backpack. It’s easy enough that will keep you from regretting on going out in the first place.

Next on the list is as equally as important as the first and that is knowing how to change a dirty diaper. This includes a #1 dirty diaper and a #2 dirty diaper and a #6 dirty diaper. What’s a #6 you ask? Well it’s basically 3 #2’s and is on everything, including you (hence my first suggestion). Changing a diaper in general isn’t hard to do. It’s the cleanup and managing another human being that can move independently. Legs will kick and booties will scoot, so be prepared to handle these situations. Impress your significant other by volunteering to change the diaper. It’s good practice and also helps train your nose for my next skill.

Control your gag reflex. Babies are cute and adorable. They have their own smell that I like to equate to “new car smell” but they also produce some of the most vile stentches known to Earth. It’s amazing how something so little can cause so much damage but it happens and it happens frequently. I am not proud but I am willing to admit that my first few diaper changes were met with lots of gags. If you can’t control yourself, keep a bucket near by, or a mask. Something that can help the smell. If a #2 happens in the bathtub (it will) be prepared to deal with that too and always remember to wash your hands. Just use plenty of soap.

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As your new child gets a little older and has gotten into a routine of eating and going potty you will start to notice that they may develop a favorite movie or cartoon. As a dad that has lived through the popularity of Disney’s Frozen one of my greatest pieces of advice is to only allow your child to watch movies or cartoons that you yourself are willing to watch repeatedly for the next few days, weeks, months, and possibly years…

I cannot tell you how many times I have seen the movie Frozen. It’s not a bad movie at all but watching Anna and Elsa on screen for the last few years has been damaging to my brain. When I was a youngster I remember hounding my mom and grandma to watch Dumbo all the time. That and Star Wars were my go to movies. I still love those movies but I can imagine my parents are probably tired of hearing about them thirty something years later.

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The last skill that I suggest every dad learn is one that I like to call “the other pocket”. Time after time while I am holding the baby (or groceries, or practically anything) it never fails that when I go to unlock the car or door or whatever my keys are always in the other pocket and I am left trying to switch arms and balance everything so I can get my keys out to unlock whatever it is that needs unlocked. It is important as a dad to learn how to maneuver about while in odd situations. Practice before hand holding various items while attempting to retrieve keys from various pockets. It’s not easy but it can be done with a lot of practice. Before you know it you will be balancing three kids on one hip and a bowl of salsa in the other hand all while unlocking your front door. It’s a monumental task but I know you can do it!

So that’s all I got for now. I will keep thinking of some more skills new and old dads may need to be the best fathers they can be to their children. Let that imagination go wild and show those kiddos what it takes to be the best dad in the world.

Back with Illumibowl

IMG_7143Illumibowl is back at it again after there recent appearance on Shark Tank and with their awesome Illumibowl motion-activated toilet night light. I have been using the Illumibowl since I previously wrote about it back in February. It still holds up great and has been fantastic for those late night bathroom trips for everyone in my family. Well Illumibowl just completed a successful Kickstarter and sent over the Illumibowl 2 for me to try out.

What I really like about the Illumibowl 2 is that the product is just great. The product just seems so down to Earth and doesn’t claim to be anything other than what it is. The new version is a great example of how you can still improve a good thing without going overboard. The Illumibowl 2 easily attaches to my toilet and is ready whenever needed. The device easily attaches and stays secure without a problem. Changing the light colors is just as easy as pushing a button. Be sure to check out the Illumibowl online or at local retailers Bed Bath & Beyond as well as Wal-Mart!

From the two clips below you can see that the guys from Illumibowl are just as cool as their product and seeing how motivated they are to get their idea out there can inspire many others to think big.

A tested and true to it’s name product, I’m happy to make sure all of the toilet bowls in my house are set with an Illumibowl.

 

Illumibowl provided St. Louis Dad with this product as compensation in exchange for an honest review. Please visit Illumibowl.com for more awesome products that can help make your life better!

Why Should Mom Have All The Fun?

IMG_4711This has been the tagline of St. Louis Dad since I created this website almost two years ago. What does it even mean; Why should mom have all the fun? I will tell you exactly what it means.

Over time mothers have typically been the primary caregiver for children. They have done an amazing job raising the kids. Children over the existence of mankind have grown up and have done great things thanks to having a positive motherly influence in their life.

There is absolutely no doubt that the majority of mothers know what is best for their children. There is a lot of truth to the saying, “mother knows best”, “choosy mom’s choose Jif”, “kid tested, mother approved”, etc, etc…

Times however are changing and fathers are now becoming more involved than ever in their children’s lives. Even more fathers are now staying at home with the kids while mom does the 9 to 5. It is changing the landscape of parenting and it is time for many to recognize this.

IMG_4580The stereotype used to be that dads are always mucking everything up. There is no way for them to be able to handle all of the same responsibilities as a mother. While this may be true for some dads at home, and most dads on sitcom T.V., the number of dads who do actually have their shit together has increased substantially. I don’t have any data to back up my claims but look around. You will see changing tables in more men’s restrooms, more dads at the park, store, you name it. This is because us dads want to be a part of kids lives and they’re not just babysitting! They are parenting!

Many of us dads spend all day at work stressing over whatever it is we do to help pay the bills. Then we get home and get to hear about all the fun stuff mom and the kids got to do. I know moms do not have it easy being at home all day. It’s a beautiful mess managing kids. But they do get to have some fun. They get to enjoy a good portion of the sunshine. Toys and games and dance parties… And here I am monitoring firewall logs, auditing user accounts, and hard drive usage… important but boring. I’d rather help make a mess at home with some play-doh or slime. Granted a mom’s life isn’t all fun and games. I know all about it from my own wife’s gripe sessions. But ya gotta admit there is some fun to be had!

So why should mom have all the fun? It shouldn’t be an exclusive club. All should be welcomed. Dads are awesome too and many of us are doing what needs to be done to get involved with our kids. If you’re a dad and you’re not having fun with your kids then it’s time to get started. Don’t miss out on getting into your child’s world. It’s a big imaginative play place and you’re totally invited!

Getting That Majestic Beard

IMG_6941As a dad and a husband I usually get a lot of flack about my beard. It hurts, it tickles, it’s gross, it’s tangled, it’s itchy, etc, etc… I have heard all of the complaints from my wife and kids as well as received some stranger than usual looks my way while rocking out my un-managed facial masterpiece. One night my daughter would not give me a bed time kiss and while she was smiling and giggling about it I asked her why doesn’t dad get a kiss and she pointed at my beard as if it were a monster. My heart broke. It was at that point that I knew I needed to do something. I felt like I only had two options, cut it all off or start actively managing this mess. I chose the latter.

Luckily for me LovelyBeards.com reached out recently wanting to send me some organic beard oil and balm to get my dad-ish opinion. I have never used any sort of oils or balm on my beard before so I wasn’t exactly sure of the best way to approach this nest so I did a little research on YouTube and reached out to a few buddies that have some magnificent beards and asked what would be the best way of going about this.

Lovely Beards sent over some incredibly nice smelling vanilla sandalwood oil and balm. Holy smokes these both smell amazing. I had always though my Old Spice was nice but this scent is just spectacular. I can’t stop taking in the lovely aroma. But enough of that, how does the actual product stack up against my birds nest beard?

IMG_6940It stacks up very nicely I must say. The oil and balm are easy to get into the beard and almost immediately you can notice a difference in feel. I would like to imagine that with continued use of these two products my beard will eventually be as free flowing as Fabio’s long hair. This is definitely some of the best beard facial balm that I have ever tried!

LovelyBeards.com is filled with several different scents of all natural beard care products of oils and balms. I’d definitely recommend checking them out the next time you are looking to smooth up your facial hair with a scented beard balm and/or oil. Also, because you are a St. Louis Dad reader I have a special discount code for you! Use the code  Lovely10 to get 10% off!

LovelyBeards.com provided St. Louis Dad with oil and balm product in exchange for an honest review. Check out LovelyBeards.com for more information about all of their beard care products!