Sleep deprivation is marriage enemy number one in our book. When sleep-deprived, everything can appear miserable and beyond redemption.

Adoption is a beautiful thing. But God’s first and best plan is the natural family. My wife and I are extremely pro-family. Who would we be to interfere if Squish’s birth parents wanted to get back together and keep Squish?

My wife and I are in the process of adopting a baby girl, known affectionately as ‘Squish’ here at the Daily Dad until her adoption is finalised. I am now writing a weekly column as we learn the ins and outs of parenting a newborn, and as we navigate the joys and challenges of adoption. Enjoy this week’s edition of ‘The Adventures of Squish’. The Most Important Meal of the Day ...

In recent weeks, I’ve shared a few anecdotes about our newly adopted baby. She’s known as ‘Squish’ here at the Daily Dad until her adoption is finalised. I am now writing a weekly column as my wife Angie and I learn the ins and outs of parenting a newborn, and as we navigate the joys and challenges of adoption. Here is this week’s edition of ‘The Adventures of Squish’. We Don’t See Miracles Every ...

One of our readers, Joelle from Colorado, shared a photo of her son Chase looking very upset.  The reason?  Joelle wouldn’t paint his nails purple. It all went wrong for me recently when my son Jono was unable to carry each of the seven cars he had carefully selected for the four-minute drive to pick up his big sisters from school. He wouldn’t let me carry any, and he wouldn’t leave ...

Last week, I told the origins story of our newly adopted baby. She’s known as ‘Squish’ here at the Daily Dad until her adoption is finalised. I plan to write a weekly column as my wife Angie and I learn the ins and outs of parenting a newborn, and as we navigate the joys and challenges of adoption. Here is this week’s edition of ‘The Adventures of Squish’. Nothing Prepared Me ...

As of two weeks ago, I’m a dad. It feels weird writing that, like it’s not quite true yet. But it is! My wife Angie and I have a brand new little human in our lives, a beautiful daughter whom we have affectionately nicknamed ‘Squish’. (Due to confidentialities around the adoption, I will refer to her as Squish henceforth. You’ll find out her real name eventually). Here’s how our story began. ...

By Bettina Arndt — The Sydney Morning Herald, April 28, 2014 A belief that children under three should not stay overnight with their separated or divorced father has underpinned our family law system for years. Has it all been a mistake? Bettina Arndt reports. Editor’s Note: Little has changed in the last ten years. Now, more than ever, changes are needed in Australia’s family law system. Across Australia, fathers are being ...

Fatigue can be fatal. Like grief, it hits every one of us in different ways. The best we can do is work the process by way of exercise, rest, and diet, in order to manage a way through it. While maintaining a healthy lifestyle adds another chore to the dad-list, being healthy-minded not only builds energy — it relieves stress, clears the head, and opens the door to more family activities. ...

Before we become fathers, we are free to live like children ourselves.  We work towards our own ends, we engage in relationships to satiate our own needs and desires, we enjoy leisure-some pursuits based entirely on what we enjoy. Fatherhood, by necessity, changes our focus and our lifestyle.  For myself, fatherhood was the precipitating factor in my finally and irrevocably, growing up.  I believe that most new fathers (and their partners!) ...

Language is a wonderful thing. Through the power of language, one person can translate the most complex and nebulous of ideas into terms that another can understand. Thus, not only the understanding but also the realisation of a new or different concept can be transposed from one mind to another. It’s really a miraculous process. Powerful and adaptable tool that it is, language is not the basis of communication, just a ...

Editor’s Note: This story is so lovely, we can’t help but run it again. Feel free to send in your own stories of those early days! ~~~ It’s hard to believe so much time has passed. My son, Seth, is now ten weeks old, and so intelligent he’s bound to make a future Prime Minister. (Not that I’m biased!) Recently, I reflected on my experiences during Seth’s birth. A heap has ...

It was 12:00am on Sunday, the 1st of September — Father’s Day, to be precise. There I was, frantically gathering clothes and bits ‘n’ pieces according to my wife’s somewhat disjointed instruction.  She was roaming about the house with a hot wheat sack across her rather overgrown abdomen. I couldn’t believe it. Had the moment finally arrived? After nine — closer to ten long months, was I finally going to be ...

During the first year of my daughter’s life, I found motherhood quite difficult. I felt swamped by my new role, and somewhere along the way, I lost myself. I felt I had been transformed into a breastfeeding, nappy-changing, baby-burping robot. I had put on about 30 kilos while pregnant and although I lost 15 kilos in the first 8 months post-birth, the other 15 didn’t look like it was ever going ...

When you analyse the social science about the importance of dads, it is unequivocal. Dads are vitally important to their children’s success in a myriad of ways. As George Herbert said, “One father is more than a hundred schoolmasters.” This is not speculation — it is reality. Joshua A Krisch puts the case well for this in an article titled “The Science of Dad and the ‘Father Effect’“. The subtitle says ...

Nappy changing is an acquired skill. Once you have mastered this fine art, you can look forward to all the following levels of fatherhood! When it comes to the art and skill of fathering, a lot has changed since the ‘wonder years’ of our father’s or grandfathers’ generation. Oh, the good old days — the prospective parent, relegated to the smoke-filled waiting room, hospital staff deeming it inappropriate for fathers to ...

Life with a baby turns regular activities into entirely new and wonderful experiences. It’s hard to believe so much time has passed. My son, Seth, is now ten weeks old, and so intelligent he’s bound to make a future Prime Minister. (Not that I’m biased!) Recently, I reflected on my experiences during Seth’s birth. A heap has happened since then. He’s grown, developed skills, changed appearance, and I’ve learned there is ...

Some parents worry that too much nurture can make children co-dependent. But the risk of too little is worse. You won’t believe what love and nurture does to your child’s brain. “I wish I hadn’t cuddled my babies so much,” said no mother, ever! It’s probably one piece of parenting advice I’m glad I didn’t take. Amongst the dozens and dozens of parenting books I read, some parenting ‘experts’ claimed that ...

The life of a mum is difficult, but, despite the chaos and hardship, the unglamorous mum is beautiful through it all. Although at times our kids drive us crazy, it is the little, precious moments that make it totally worth it in the end! The Unglamorous Mum Last Friday afternoon, I caught sight of myself in a mirror at Rockmans as I was heading to the change room to try on ...

Alright then, just sign here and you can take him home. Home? Taking him home? And not just him, but my wonderful and rather tired and sore wife. There’s a lot involved in taking your baby home from hospital. You’ve got to have somewhere for them to sit in the car, somewhere for them to sleep at home, and a decent supply of nappies, cloths, creams, and so forth. We had ...