Steve’s Tips For Brand New Daddys (8-1-18)

Hi, I’m Steve and I’m a new Dad who has learned a lot of things over the last several months and I want to pass along some knowledge to you!

Each week I will be giving you some new tips for first-time parents and one spectacular Dad joke!  So let's get to the tips!

1. The first daddy tip has to do with baby drool.  Ever since Charlotte has been sitting up on her own, she is constantly drooling. For about a month, Britt and I would go through 3 or 4 different shirts each day because Charlotte would just soak them.  Ewwwwww, so slimy. We decided to add a protective layer and now she is wearing her bib pretty much every waking hour of the day. It has drastically reduced the number of shirts we go through a day, which helps because we all know that doing baby laundry sucks.
2. The next tip is more of just a fun little game you can play at home. Brittainy and I have instituted a daily Hot Mess Award.  Charlotte usually wins the award, which is pretty much the reason we instituted anyway. Instead of getting stressed out when Charlotte causes a huge mess by kicking a poopy diaper, or spitting up all over both herself and me, or just smearing sweet potato goop all over herself and her clothes we just laugh and award her the Hot Mess Award for the day. Plus it’s fun to occasionally award the Hot Mess award to each other. For instance, I won the Hot Mess Award on Monday when I stepped in a pile of poo on my way into work in the morning. You can even make a little sticker or sash that you can stick to the person that says “I Am A Hot Mess!”
3. The final daddy tip for the week is about utilizing the timeout. Not the timeout for Charlotte, but the timeout for us. Sometimes, Brittainy or I need a break and when we do we declare that we are out of commission for the night. That means that they are completely relieved of all baby duties, including but not limited to, baby doodies. The other person will usually shoot an evil eye over at the person who is out of commission, but rules are rules and they got the baby duties for the night. I like to go hide in the basement after I declare that I am out of commission and Britt prefers to just put in her headphones and pretend like nothing is happening. It’s important to take a break from time to time, but don’t overuse being out of commission because your partner won’t appreciate it.

And now it’s time for an awesome Dad Joke!

Q: Did you hear the rumor about butter?
A: No? Well, I’m not going to spread it!

Listen to the entire segment below: