New Daddy Survival Kit: All the “Tools” Your Man Needs!

I remember being so excited to announce that baby number three was due for her eviction (ahem… I mean induction)! It was thrilling and a little overwhelming, but we definitely couldn’t wait to meet our little stinker. 🙂 With a new baby on the way, I wanted to give my hubby something special for him to help us cope with the craziness while he’s on paternity leave for the next couple weeks following delivery. He does so many wonderful things to provide for us and he kicks butt all over being a “present” parent, but having a new baby around still means coping with some new stressors. I mean, come on… being a new parent is a rough gig at times. Am I right?? Even if it is baby number three, the sleepless nights, crazy schedules (especially with multiple kiddos) and internal expectations of perfection are enough to make a person go a little nuts… ya know?

Breaking it Down to the Basics

In the process of prepping for little sister’s arrival, my husband and I narrowed down the more realistic parenting “necessities” for those first couple weeks. We made an effort to stick to those and remove a few of the things that we didn’t really need. While compiling this list, I had the idea to come up with a little gift for my amazing husband and thus, the New Daddy Survival Kit was born (and yes, pun intended). 🙂

Mommies are always doted on as the new mom (and rightly so), but I wanted to make sure my guy knows he’s just as much of a part of this as I am. We are a team and let’s face it- this baby wasn’t made on its own! Even though this is baby number three, I still wanted my hubby to feel special too. Daddies are awesome and should get the credit they deserve! (Though, keep your eye out for the New Mommy Survival Kit – coming soon!)  I wanted this to be something fun and light-hearted, yet include things my husband would actually use and make our transition to life with three kiddos a little easier.

I created these fun printables for you guys, so you can create your new daddy kit and make your man feel special too! We’ve got everything covered from ear plugs to dinner, so let’s get started!

The New Daddy Survival Kit

Here’s a little list of things you’ll need to gather for your own kit:

• A handy pair of scissors or a paper cutter
• White cardstock (and a printed-out version of the printables)
• Jute, string, or a cute spool of ribbon
• All the fun items for your daddy survival kit
• Some sort of cute basket, box or bucket to put everything in

First we have a few things to help out with meals:

Trying to keep up with dishes and making meals when you’re completely sleep-deprived is kind of a joke. That’s why I included a giant stack of paper plates and a gift card to one of our go-to take out spots. Besides, who doesn’t love a pizza night WITHOUT having to do the dishes?

Next, we have some pick-me-up items just for dad:

• Smart Water
• Sweet Tarts
• Reese’s Pieces
• Granola/protein bars

After that, there’s a few baby items to help daddy with those sweet moments:

• Baby board book for bedtime stories.
• A little baby outfit to snuggle your newest addition. (Two tops included – just in case.)
• And some baby wash for baby’s first bath.

Since babies can be so messy, I included a few things to help my hubby out if those messes happen to get all over him too… And from our experience, the probability of high-impact, projectile-like contamination is pretty high! haha.

A few hygiene items for dad:

• Men’s body wash, shampoo for when things get particularly dirty.
• A package of wipes for those little messes on the go.
• Plus a bottle of Febreeze (or other air freshener) since some of those messes come with quite a stench!

Finally, we have a few “preparedness” tools to help daddy out in a bind:

• A little travel first aid kit. (We usually keep this in the diaper bag for any sudden boo-boos.)
• A couple packs of tissues so daddy is prepared to wipe any tears – happy or not!
• A pair of earplugs (one for mommy and one for daddy).
• And a bottle of Tylenol to conquer any headaches/pains.

Plus! There’s a little card to add to your basket of goodies so be sure to sign it with lots of x’s and o’s. 🙂

And there you have it!

One fully functional (and cute, I might add) New Daddy Survival Kit that is sure to prep your guy with the “tools” necessary to tackle any parenting situation.

Do you have a soon-to-be new daddy in your midst? We would love to see your recreations of this kit on Instagram with the hashtag #mommyconvos . So share with your friends and share with us! Let us know how your guy loves his new “tool box”. 🙂

Xoxo,

Tiffaynee