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Written by Clay Nichols, Brad Powell, Troy Lanier, and Owen Egerton
The DadLabs Guide to Fatherhood is brought to you by the same quartet of dads that produce the excellent DadLabs – Taking Back Paternity video podcast, featuring such regular segments as Gear Daddy, Daditude, and Hot Dad Action. Now the four fathers of DadLabs – with nine children between them – have set their sights on sharing advice with other fathers on the joys and perils of pregnancy and year one of a baby's life.
They begin at the beginning, with trying to conceive a baby, including Old Wives' Top Hot Sex Tips for having a boy or a girl. Then they move on to A Guy's Guide to Gynecology and surviving the rollercoaster of pregnancy while preparing for the baby. Finally, it's time for the delivery and the best ways to support your wife, not to mention Taking Care of Dad. Next comes a game plan for the first 48 hours after birth, and negotiating your way through the postpartum period including how to start having sex again with your wife. Pregnancy and Year One ends with managing your way through colic, sleep deprivation, and your baby's first developmental milestones. The DadLabs dads seamlessly mix the expected practical advice (how to properly swaddle a baby) with unexpected practical advice (making nice with your wife's labor and delivery nurse) and totally obscure practical advice (“Babies love ceiling fans!”). All of it is delivered with the Dadlabs signature brand of dry humor, making it enjoyable to even read about such topics as how far a cervix has to dilate to pass the baby. The book addresses not only practical topics but also emotional issues, especially when it comes to a dad's relationship with his wife. It guides dads not only through the mechanics of being an expectant or new father, but also through the social requirements as well.
Throughout, the DadLab dads emphasize the great joys and significance of engaged fatherhood, even when the process of birth and raising an infant is at its most challenging:
Maybe guys just figured out that being shown the door when it comes to pregnancy, labor and delivery, and raising the kids was a bad deal. That men should have equal access to the experiences and relationships everyone knows are the most important in life. How much do you really like your boss? Is more time with him or her really that important?
The Guide to Fatherhood is a book by dads, for dads. Reading it feels like getting encouragement and advice from a trusted buddy and fellow father that you can turn to for advice. It's a great gift for any expectant father that will let him know he's not alone out there, and encourage him to be the best dad that he can be.
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