Moms and dads pre-birth worries compared

Many resources for new parents treat moms and dads in the same way - they speak of a generic "parent" which is essentially dealing with the same challenges of adjusting to a new life style once the baby is hear. Reality is very different of course - depending on the particular family arrangement the pre and post birth world is experienced very differently for moms and dads. Here's a list of key concerns and worries as reported back by moms and dads we work with:

Pre-birth dad worries	Pre-birth mom worries
Family finance - how to pay for all the baby stuff	Giving birth - how to get that baby out of your body without too much pain or mess
Baby's looks and intelligence - will my son/daughter be the next Zuckerberg, Lady Gaga or end up on social benefits	Health of baby - will my baby be healthy and well after birth?
Change of lifestyle - how will the baby affect our life style? The house, the car, going out, traveling, etc.	Looking after the baby - what do I need to know to make sure my baby grows and develops into a healthy child and adult?
Baby gear and gadgets - what is all the baby stuff we actually need?	Change of lifestyle - how will the baby affect our life style? The house, the car, going out, traveling, etc.
Bonding with the baby - what if I can't relate to the baby ... don't know what to do with a baby	Back to work? - do I want to be a full time mom, return to work or ask my partner to stay at home with the baby?

And post birth:

What presents to give babies and young children (by age)

Non-parents or brand new parents sometimes struggle to find age appropriate gifts for babies and children. To make the present-finding process a bit easier, here's a table with suitable presents and gifts by age range.

Age range	Gift idea / suitable presents
Not born yet - 3 months	Resist the urge to give newborn baby clothes unless you know for a fact that the parents-to-be are not already drowning in baby clothes. If you can't resist at least buy clothes for older age ranges like 6months or 12months and up. Instead of clothes get any of the following as gifts (which you can never have enough): picture books, wall stickers / murals for the nursery, bath toys or nappies (if you want to be really practical).
3 - 6 months	Teething toys, bibs, floor mats (protective covers or to play on), picture books, baby gyms / activity sets or Lamaze toys
6 - 12 months	Soft balls, stacking blocks, cardboard books and flash cards, toy animals, dolls, shape sorters, bubble guns or bubble makers (shapes and bubble liquid)
12 - 24 months	Simple jigsaw puzzles (up to 20 pieces), play dough, crayons / chalk, doodle pads, simple musical instruments (e.g. maracas)
2 - 3 years	Story books, toy animals / action figures, jigsaw puzzles (up to 48 pieces), train sets, dolls and doll house, toy vehicles (trucks, cars), fancy dress costumes or accessories (like dinosaur tails or princess tiaras), large LEGO blocks (Duplo)
3 - 5 years	Children's kitchen sets, ball games, water color sets, kites, paper planes or toy planes, LEGO blocks, paddle pools, scooters and tricicles

With children 5 and up it's pretty much down to what they are in to at the moment. Find out what they really like - common themes include fairies, trains, princesses, Disney stories and characters, dinosaurs, animated movies and related characters.

Top child-friendly airlines in the world

Here's a list of top airlines and their child-friendliness (as rated by DIYFather dads). Send in comments or experiences about a particular airlines and we'll include it in the list.

Air New Zealand is the national carrier of New Zealand serving routes between Oceania, the US/Canada, Asia and Europe. The airline is part of the Star Alliance and cabin crew are generally quite kid friendly and accommodating. All AirNZ lounges have facilities or toy boxes for kids and you can use Star Alliance lounges (some of which have kids facilities) in airports where AirNZ doesn’t have a dedicated lounge. Air New Zealand hands out little game packs to children on board.

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China Airlines is the national carrier of the Republic of China. The airline serves destinations in China and routes to Europe, North America and Asia. The airline is part of the SkyTeam alliance so you can make use of SkyTeam lounges (some of which have facilities for kids).

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LAN Airlines is the national carrier of Chile serving routes between South America, North America, Oceania, Asia and Europe. The airline is part of the One World Alliance.

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LOT is the national carrier of Poland and the world oldest airline in operation serving European destination and long haul routes to the US/Canada, Asia and Africa. The airline is part of the Star Alliance so you can make use of Star Alliance lounges (some of which have facilities for kids).

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Swiss International Airlines is a Swiss airline (owned by Lufthansa) serving European destinations and routes to the Americas, Asia and Africa. The airline is part of the Star Alliance so you make use of Star Alliance lounges (some of which have facilities for kids). Staff are generally more kid friendly than staff at the parent company Lufthansa.

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Air Canada is the national carrier of Canada serving routes between the Americas, Asia and Europe. The airline is part of the Star Alliance so you can make use of Star Alliance lounges (some of which have facilities for kids).

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Emirates is the national carrier of the United Arab Emirates which operates an extensive network of routes around the planet. The airline is not part of any alliance but has codeshare agreements in place with Japan Airlines, Korean Air, South African Airways and Thai Airways International (among others).

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Qantas is the national carrier of Australia serving routes between Oceania, the Americas, Asia and Europe. The airline is part of the One World Alliance but also operates their own lounges in many key destinations. Qantas staff are generally very kids friendly and hand out ice creams and games to kids on the plane.

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Singapore Airlines is the national carrier of Singapore serving routes between Oceania, North America, Asia and Europe. The airline is part of the Star Alliance and operates its lounges in many key destinations around the globe. SIA staff are somewhat less kids friendly than other Asian airlines however the inflight entertainment is second to none so kids aged 3 years and up are easily entertained. The airline also hands out little game packs for kids.

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Royal Jordanian is the national carrier of Jordan serving routes between Africa, the Middle East, North America, Asia and Europe. The airline is part of the One World Alliance.

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American Airlines is a US based airline serving destinations in the Americas and intercontinental destinations to Asia, Europe, the Middle East and Oceania. AA is part of the One World Alliance so you can make use One World lounges (although not many of those have special facilities for kids).

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10 foods pregnant women should avoid

Every dad and dad-to-be should know the list of foods mums-to-be should avoid during pregnancy. Here's a quick summary cheat sheet*:

1. Cold deli meats or pâté
   
2. Ready-made salads
   
3. Soft cheeses like brie, ricotta and blue vein
   
4. Sprouted seeds and bean sprouts
   
5. Sushi and especially not raw fish
   
6. Unpasteurized milk
   
7. Raw egg and foods with raw egg like mayonnaise, aioli or tiramisu
   
8. Raw meats
   
9. Ice cream
   
10. Stuffing (chicken / poultry stuffing)

And in general any food that is not fresh and has been sitting on food counters for a while (e.g. pre-prepared sandwiches) or that has been in the fridge for longer than 12h. Also avoid fruit juices sold by the glass (as these are generally unpasteurized) and drinks with lots of stimulants (energy drinks, coffee, tea, etc) or alcohol.

The list has been compiled based on information from the US FDA and Australian (NSW) Food Authority.

By DIYFather.com

All you need to know about the umbilical cord

The following are the top 5 questions and answers dads have about umbilical cords:

1. What happens when the umbilical cord gets wrapped around the baby's neck during birth?
Having the umbilical cord wrapped around the baby's head, neck or limbs is not uncommon during pregnancy or birth. Sometimes these conditions are detected during regular check ups and your midwife or health care professional decides what to do about the situation. Drastic interventions are rare if the baby's vitals are fine - medical staff might suggest exercises to encourage the baby to shift position.

If this guy can become an involved and nurturing father, anyone can do it

One of our authors "Kelly Crull" has written a book about his experience of becoming a dad. Here's a little description about his book and an offer for a free download of the first few chapters - check it out!

Within weeks of getting pregnant, Kelly Crull's wife had a stack of parenting books waiting on his nightstand, complete with neat, hand-written bookmarks telling him which chapters he needed to read. In nine months, he had learned everything about his wife giving birth, becoming a mother, and how he could support her. What he actually wanted was a book by a normal guy telling him about becoming a dad. The last thing he needed was more expert advice, a ten-step plan or fancy pie charts. He just wanted someone to give it to him straight, “What was parenting going to be like for him?”. So he wrote a book on what it felt like to become a dad - it's called "Becoming Dad" and covers:

* visiting the gynecologist with your wife
* breaking a sweat in your wife's childbirth class

April Fools Day: practical jokes to play on your kids

OK it's time to get ready for April Fools Day so we thought let's put together a useful list of pranks you can play on your kids and partner.

Babies and Toddlers: well given that the irony of April Fools Day may be a bit lost on babies and toddlers you can just have a good old laugh with them. E.g. paint your face, user finger puppets or put a nappy on your head (a fresh one!!!)
Preschoolers: Find a piece of old / scrap cloth. Place your victim’s favourite toy or other item of interest on the floor and stay nearby. When the victim comes along and bends down to pick up the toy, rip the cloth ... yell out that your little one as just ripped their trousers.
Primary school children: Add a few drops of food coloring into a milk carton for a nice surprise at breakfast! If you have sleepy kids you can also get up a bit earlier and draw something on their face while they are still asleep.

If you are worried about how to pay for your new baby while maintaining your current life style you're not alone. Financing a family is the #1 worry of dads-to-be. During pregnancy moms are mostly worried about giving birth financial worries still rank highly. And those concerns are very real ... raising a child till age 18 can cost anywhere from $100,000 to over $500,000(!). A baby's first year alone can cost upwards of $10,000. So what can you do? Re-mortgage your house, get another loan, try and get a raise or ask for a promotion? Sounds kinda hard.

Ten things to do on Mothers Day

What can you do on Mother's Day to make it special for your partner (and your children)? Here's a list of treats for partners/mums and activities with babies/kids.

What you can do for your partner on Mother’s Day:

1. Let her sleep in (which typically means taking care of the baby and kids in the morning)
   
2. Give her a nice backrub / foot massage
   
3. Run a bath for her and put some nice aromatherapy oils/soap in it
   
4. Cook or bake something for your partner that you know she really likes
   
5. Make her a card with photos / drawings from your kids

And don’t forget your own mum – send her a card or give her a call to say thank you for bringing you into this world and looking after you all these years.

Best Apps Review

Our DIYFather app is making appearances in App Reviews around the world - great to see dressify delivering results for dads around the world. Here's the story on Nine MSN's Today show:

If you haven't downloaded dressify yet - check it out ... it's free.

DIYFather.com