Need some advice from dads out there

I'm not even a month into this, so I probably can't help you much, but one thing that I've done that's helped is take the night shift when I get home, feed my daughter by bottle between 1:30-2:30 and sleep next to her until 5:30-6:30 when she wakes up so my wife can get five or six hours of uninterrupted sleep.

 

nine years later, i think i might have placed too much emphasis on being a good employee. i hope you don't ... i know i won't in the second nine years.

 

I'd rather be a good father, but still try to reach a happy medium.

And the Family Medial Leave Act is great, if you have enough mney sacked away to absorb the financial blow.

And I think it applies to businesses only with more than 50 employees. Could be wrong.

 

i'd rather be a good father, too, but, the god damned thing is, i've been the only source of income for my family for the past three years. that kinda puts your nuts in a sling when it comes time for the bottom line.

 

No kidding. My wife earns more than me, but she was smart enough to have short-term disability insurance for just such an occassion so she can take off for 11 weeks.

Really not looking forward to the daycare bills.

 

research, lots and lots of research on daycare, and don't be afraid to overpay.

 

Most of us in this business never use our sick days... This is when you use them... That's what I did to get two weeks off without having to take unpaid leave or vacation time... Check with your HR, I think there is some kind of law that allows you to do this...

 

Someone mentioned it earlier, but there is a law that allows you to use your sick leave to care for a sick family member.

 

Some companies allow you to use your "sick" time whenever, some don't.

Some allow you to use it when a family member is sick, some don't

Legally, you can still take time off when the baby is born -- doesn't mean you'll get paid for it, though.

 

Oh, they bend you over here with no vaseline when it comes to daycare costs. We have a friend who's a social worker and she and my wife both chose the same place for our kids (hers is due same time ours was).

They did lots of research and we got numbers from the state.

 

i put more stock in what my co-workers say than the state.

 

Three things to add...

• I'd rather change 20 straight maxed-out diapers than preside over one table-feeding.
• Sending baby to the one-woman day care, rather than having my wife stay home, is the smartest thing we've ever done (interaction, et al.)
• My father-in-law bears a scary resemblance to Romel Crennel if he looked into a mirror that made him black.