After those initial feelings of wonder subside and you leave the maternity ward with your newborn baby, the main question you’ll be left with is ‘WHY ON EARTH ARE THEY LETTING US LEAVE? I DON’T KNOW WHAT TO DO WITH ONE OF THESE!’. Fear not though, for we’ve got enough newborn advice for dads here to at least get you through the first couple of weeks. Whether this your first rodeo, or you’ve forgotten everything from the last one (lack of sleep can do that), here’s the essentials you need to know.
Newborn Advice for Dads
Heavy is the Head
Take a look at your new baby. That’s a cute little head, isn’t it. Now check out the size ratio of head to the rest of the body. That’s a HUGE head now, isn’t it!
A baby’s head is easily the heaviest part of their body. Some newborns can support their head a little, but many cannot. Don’t risk it, and make sure you always have your baby’s head supported while they’re still so young. Those horsey rides on laps that you see on TV are not for newborns, and any excessive head wobbling can cause injuries to the neck and spine.
Remember this when lifting your baby from a cot or changing mat, by always having a hand underneath the head. Lifting from the body only will cause your child’s head to lol down, putting stress on a developing neck.
When their necks get stronger, babies will eventually try to support their head on their own though, wobbling their noggin about like one of those dancing sunflowers from the 90s. Seriously, one of the cutest things you’re ever likely to see.
When you realise just how delicate your new addition is, you might want to invest in a premium car seat or stroller for your little one. Nuna manufacture baby accessories with high levels of safety in mind. Click here to read more about them.
They Sometimes Sleep With Their Eyes Open
They’re always watching. Creepy.
Babies Vomit Quite a Lot
This one takes some getting used to. It’s common sense to think somebody’s pretty ill if you’ve seen them vomit three times before lunch. Not so with babies, they don’t give a monkey’s!
They can be happily playing, then BLEURGH! Beautiful new clothes covered in second-hand milk.
Calmly being changed, then BLEURGH! Sick gets tucked away in skin folds that baby wipes will never reach.
Splashing around in the bath, then BLEURGH! Bathing in 1% bile.
All the while, your child hasn’t even blinked an eye. While it’s easy to be worried when seeing this, it’s normal for them to regurgitate their milk now and again, and will almost always do it when you’re ready to go out and have purposefully just put your baby’s best new clothes on.
Of course, if you think your baby is vomiting a lot more than usual, looks distressed, or isn’t passing urine you should seek medical advice immediately.
Those Korma-style Poos
Yes, they’re a particular shade of ‘Sunset Biscoff’, and yes you won’t see any solid ones. It’s because they’re only having milk, doofus!
If you’ve been expecting some dark brown nuggets to roll out, you’ll have to wait until your child is on Guinness and toast.
Soft in the Head
While some of this is advice is just common sense. This particular aspect of babyhood threw me for a loop when I first found out.
The skulls of babies don’t develop fully until they’re around 18 months old. This means that in the interim, they’re left with a gap at the top of their head between the front and back half of their skull. If this sounds freaky, then it’s nothing compared to watching the throbbing bit on the top of their head pulsate. Urgh. Just typing that made me feel sick. So freaky! If you’ve never noticed before though, take a look, but don’t say I didn’t warn you!
Now that you’ve noted where that soft spot is (and you’ve been suitably traumatised in the process), you should also be thinking ‘how do I make sure that freaky pulsating soft spot stays protected?
Well you’ll just have to be careful, I guess. Scary isn’t it? In practical terms, I would make sure that any children (or blokes*) that come into contact with your baby are aware of the soft spot, so they don’t start patting your child on the head or tousling their hair.
*Well I didn’t know about soft spots. I’m guessing most childless blokes don’t either.
That Manky Belly Button Thing
Try not to pull or snag it while it’s there, but it should come off within a fortnight. Thank God.
Once off, you may decide to keep hold of it as a memento of your birth, or do as any right-minded individual would and attach it to something heavy and throw it to the bottom of the lake never to offend your eyes again.
Eye Colour Changes
Received wisdom tells us that a baby’s eye colour must correlate to that of either their mother or father. So if a baby’s eyes are a different colour to both parents, then the ‘father’ isn’t necessarily the actual father!
This has since been proven false…or at least that’s what my wife told me. Hang on a minute…
…Yep, all okay, I just Googled it. You really shouldn’t get too hung up on eye colour during those early days anyway; their eye colour often changes whilst they’re very young. My blue-eyed baby is now my green-eyed 5 year old, and whilst my 5-month-old daughter’s eye colour hasn’t seemed to have changed, she’s quickly turning from a dark-haired little lady to a blonde instead.
Babies don’t shrink though. If you’re now looking at a baby with different colour eyes or hair, that also seems significantly smaller, then chances are that, yes, this is a different baby altogether. Worth asking some questions.
Child Care
Newborn Advice for Dads: Have I Missed Any?
I guess that’s about all the newborn advice for dads I can give. I’m sure to have missed a few out though. Hopefully this quick guide has been of some use to you, but if anything else surprised you with your newborn, and isn’t on this list, then drop my a line and I’ll get it added. In the meantime, enjoy your time with your newborn, they really don’t stay like this for long!
Not sleeping through? You might also need this guide for what to do with a baby waking every 2 hours.
Struggling to understand what your little one wants? Here’s how to read your baby’s mind.