The Irish Envy Dad Thread

CTIDANDREW

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About to be a first timer here, first child coming as of August 2023.
This site has a lot of great people who I've enjoyed reading over the years, so I thought I'd throw this out there.

Anybody have any advice on what to add to the baby registry from a first time fathers perspective that will make my life easier?
The wife and mother / mother in law are asking, and honestly I'm a little lost.

Thanks in advance for anybody who takes out the time an responds.
 

NDdomer2

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Congratulations. Get a high quality diaper genie, more diapers and wipes than you think. Sound machine or anything that you/wife think will assist in sleeping. Anything that you think seems pointless or extra and unneeded likely is. Focus on basic necessities. Also, ask your wife what makes her life easier. Your life will be easier if hers is.
About to be a first timer here, first child coming as of August 2023.
This site has a lot of great people who I've enjoyed reading over the years, so I thought I'd throw this out there.

Anybody have any advice on what to add to the baby registry from a first time fathers perspective that will make my life easier?
The wife and mother / mother in law are asking, and honestly I'm a little lost.

Thanks in advance for anybody who takes out the time an responds.
 
Last edited:

Fbolt

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Being a father=the best in life.

Mine are 20, 18, 16.
 

Wild Bill

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About to be a first timer here, first child coming as of August 2023.
This site has a lot of great people who I've enjoyed reading over the years, so I thought I'd throw this out there.

Anybody have any advice on what to add to the baby registry from a first time fathers perspective that will make my life easier?
The wife and mother / mother in law are asking, and honestly I'm a little lost.

Thanks in advance for anybody who takes out the time an responds.
The expensive stuff - crib, monitor, breast pump and and combo stroller/car seat. Only thing you should overspend on is the stroller and car seats. You want something that will transfer from stroller to cars with ease. I got a brand called Luna but there are several others out there. Buy the single to double stroller just in case 😉.

Clothes and the bassinets are a waste of money imo. All our kids preferred this thing called a dockatot over a bassinet. You transfer the baby from your bed to crib in it and it worked well.

Get a crib music player for the baby too. That thing is worth it's weight in gold.

Congrats. Being a father is the best. Mine are 5, 3, 1 and another on the way this summer.
 

dublinirish

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yeah some sort of noise machine for the room or if you dont wanna do that download a free app for your phone called Rain Rain which is great for white noise to help the baby sleep.

With our first we used to travel alot so we had this bag that doubles as a sleeper:


very handy when we wanted to have her rest in an airport or somewhere where sleeping was difficult. Having them in a bucket seat or the ergo all day isnt so nice for them
 

Bishop2b5

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About to be a first timer here, first child coming as of August 2023.
This site has a lot of great people who I've enjoyed reading over the years, so I thought I'd throw this out there.

Anybody have any advice on what to add to the baby registry from a first time fathers perspective that will make my life easier?
The wife and mother / mother in law are asking, and honestly I'm a little lost.

Thanks in advance for anybody who takes out the time an responds.
Congratulations! Being a dad is the best job ever.

As for things to get, a noise machine is worth its weight in gold. My kids and now my grandchildren all loved those small portable bassinets that run on batteries or you wind up, and it rocks them. Anything that helps the baby sleep will be a good investment.

If I may offer a piece of advice. No matter what, short of having a full-time nanny, you're going to think you're dying from the lack of sleep during the first six months. Take all the help you can get from friends & family, and you & your wife work in shifts to give the other a few uninterrupted hours to sleep. If you don't, you will think you're dying. Seriously. The lack of sleep and utter exhaustion are staggering.
 

Irish#1

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About to be a first timer here, first child coming as of August 2023.
This site has a lot of great people who I've enjoyed reading over the years, so I thought I'd throw this out there.

Anybody have any advice on what to add to the baby registry from a first time fathers perspective that will make my life easier?
The wife and mother / mother in law are asking, and honestly I'm a little lost.

Thanks in advance for anybody who takes out the time a responds.
As a father of five, it’s without a question Diapers, diapers and diapers. When you think you’ve bought too many, buy some more.

Congrats!
 

IrishLion

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About to be a first timer here, first child coming as of August 2023.
This site has a lot of great people who I've enjoyed reading over the years, so I thought I'd throw this out there.

Anybody have any advice on what to add to the baby registry from a first time fathers perspective that will make my life easier?
The wife and mother / mother in law are asking, and honestly I'm a little lost.

Thanks in advance for anybody who takes out the time an responds.

Get sleepers with zippers. Request sleepers with zippers. Only put the baby in sleepers with zippers. Doing tiny metal buttons at 3:30am with no light and a baby that may or may not be agitated is no fun. Zippers!

Also, whether you do the “swaddle” thing or not, get some sleep sacks. They go over the sleeper, zip up, and keep the baby cozy like a blanket, but without the suffocation risk of a blanket. My kids all slept pretty good through the night thankfully, and I credit most of that to the sleep sacks. If the swaddle fails or your baby doesn’t like it, try the sleep sack.

Ditto what @Irish#1 said on the diapers. If you get loaded up via baby shower/diaper party, the stockpile still won’t last nearly as long as you think it will. Buy your own whenever you see sales or have coupons… worst case scenario, you can exchange them down the road for different sizes.
 

ulukinatme

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We never used our diaper changing station, always ended up changing on the floor wherever we were. That, and our kids had a tendency to try and roll off of high places, which is why we just changed them on the floor.

My kids got a lot of miles out of those baby walkers that you sit them in. They could eat/snack in there, they couldn't get out which is nice if you have to run and take a leak quick. Less chances to get into trouble.

If your wife decides to breast feed it can be a great thing for saving you both sleep in the early months. Takes a minute for some kids to get into the groove, but for my wife if the kids ever woke up in the middle of the night and wanting to feed she would just stick them on a boob and go back to sleep in our bed with the kid there. No making formula or heating anything up at 3AM, just pop 'em on and fall back asleep while they nurse. Probably doesn't work if you're the kind that tosses a lot in your sleep, could be dangerous, but it wasn't an issue for us. Only downside...kids spent more time in our bed than their cribs in the early years, and years later I'm still kicking kids out of my bed when I go to sleep at night lol.

I agree on the "diapers, diapers, and more diapers" mantra. Just keep in mind that they won't be newborns forever, and if you have big babies like our family they may never fit newborn diapers, so you may want to spread it out with the next size up too.

Establishing a bedtime routine can be helpful too. I used to always sing or play "Puff the Magic Dragon" for my daughter to help her fall asleep. Used to do it every night, and after awhile she would be out by the 2nd playthrough as I rocked her in a rocking chair. My dad did the same for me when I was young, and years later my daughter would still fall asleep fast when I'd play it.

Big congrats!
 

CTIDANDREW

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Thanks to all for taking the time out to respond.
I'm going to absorb all this wonderful advice, and start to add some items to the registry.

Wife and I are looking at local Daycare centers all this week.
Amazing the amount of work that goes into bringing a life into this world.
Very excited for the journey!
 

ulukinatme

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Get sleepers with zippers. Request sleepers with zippers. Only put the baby in sleepers with zippers. Doing tiny metal buttons at 3:30am with no light and a baby that may or may not be agitated is no fun. Zippers!

@CTIDANDREW FWIW I posed the same question you did to my wife this evening. She brought up the zippered onesies without hesitation. I completely forgot that we used to have buttoned ones for a bit, but we got rid of all of them for zippered ones and didn't look back. The buttons really are the worst when you're tired and it's dark...and heaven forbid if you skip a button and mismatch them so you have to start all over again. Listen to @IrishLion here lol.
 

irishff1014

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@CTIDANDREW FWIW I posed the same question you did to my wife this evening. She brought up the zippered onesies without hesitation. I completely forgot that we used to have buttoned ones for a bit, but we got rid of all of them for zippered ones and didn't look back. The buttons really are the worst when you're tired and it's dark...and heaven forbid if you skip a button and mismatch them so you have to start all over again. Listen to @IrishLion here lol.

You have a motion and a second. All in favor I. Lol they are awesome.


I know with our two is was way different. My daughter slept like a champ and my son sleep like a champ after me and him came down to the recliner. But once the get a few months have a schedule man it makes life easy.

We have friends of ours and they keep they poor kid out and about all the time and then wonder why he doesn’t sleep good at night.
 

dublinirish

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Also one word of advice once the baby comes try try try to hold them as much as possible instead of having them lying on their back or in one of those terrible motorized rocker things. You dont want them to end up having a flat head and then have to get fitted for a correction helmet. A lot of new parents make this mistake because they just dont know the consequences
 

goldandblue

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Diaper Genie was nice. plenty of diapers and wipes. My biggest recommendation would be this.... Do not forget your life is changing especially when it comes to your wife. You've received the majority of her attention since you've been together. This is going to change abruptly. She's going to be tired and she's going to have a more important and new role in her life of being a mother. Sex will change. You may think that she doesn't "treat" you the way she did before or gives you more excuses to not have sex. This isn't because she doesn't love you the same or even more after bringing a child into the world. It takes so much out of a woman who wants to be a good mother. Don't take it personal and the easier you can make her life, the better yours together will be.
 

Wild Bill

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Diaper Genie was nice. plenty of diapers and wipes. My biggest recommendation would be this.... Do not forget your life is changing especially when it comes to your wife. You've received the majority of her attention since you've been together. This is going to change abruptly. She's going to be tired and she's going to have a more important and new role in her life of being a mother. Sex will change. You may think that she doesn't "treat" you the way she did before or gives you more excuses to not have sex. This isn't because she doesn't love you the same or even more after bringing a child into the world. It takes so much out of a woman who wants to be a good mother. Don't take it personal and the easier you can make her life, the better yours together will be.
Mods, kindly ban Mrs wild bill's account.
 

ulukinatme

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Diaper Genie was nice. plenty of diapers and wipes. My biggest recommendation would be this.... Do not forget your life is changing especially when it comes to your wife. You've received the majority of her attention since you've been together. This is going to change abruptly. She's going to be tired and she's going to have a more important and new role in her life of being a mother. Sex will change. You may think that she doesn't "treat" you the way she did before or gives you more excuses to not have sex. This isn't because she doesn't love you the same or even more after bringing a child into the world. It takes so much out of a woman who wants to be a good mother. Don't take it personal and the easier you can make her life, the better yours together will be.

Wait...are you telling me some of you are still having sex after kids?!
 

Bishop2b5

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Wait...are you telling me some of you are still having sex after kids?!
Not to brag or anything, but within a few months after my youngest daughter was born, my wife and I started having sex almost every month. Heck, we once had sex TWICE in a month during that first year. I don't know why some men claim their wives are too tired and don't want to anymore after the baby is born. I'd change diapers, get up during the night to make bottles and help out a bunch, and I was getting it on the regular every 4 or 5 weeks.
 

dublinirish

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lol thoughts on this? Tweeter is a pro baseball player for the Bluejays
 
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