Why it’s Okay to be a Stay-at-Home Dad

Are you expecting a little one and determining how life will change when your bundle of joy arrives? With the rising cost of childcare, more parents are deciding to have one partner stay home with the kids. Traditionally, this has been the woman’s role, but more men are opting to be stay-at-home dads while moms go to work. Only you and your partner can decide what’s best, but here are the reasons and benefits behind being a stay-at-home dad.

Why Do Some Men Become Stay-at-Home Dads?

Fathers may stay at home with the little ones for many different reasons. Here are some factors that may apply to you:

• You want to improve your family’s financial stability, and you know your partner has better income opportunities than you do.
• You want to care for your family and be closer to your kids.
• You have a chronic illness, disability, or criminal record that keeps you from getting a job.
• You recently lost your job, and becoming a stay-at-home dad is a natural career change for you.
• You’re in a same-sex relationship, so it’s a stay-at-home dad situation, whether you or your partner choose to stay home.

Benefits of Being a Stay-at-Home Dad

Just like any job, there are certainly challenges to staying home with the kids. Still, here are the benefits that await you if you make this decision:

1. Strengthen the bond with your kids: When you become the primary caregiver for your children, you can’t help but get to know them better. You’ll revel in the uniqueness of each child’s personality and be the first to know when their favorite color changes. This is a privilege most dads don’t get to enjoy.
2. Be a positive male role model: Children who grow up with an involved father are more likely to develop into healthy, well-balanced adults than kids raised in homes with a “deadbeat dad.”
3. Strengthen the relationship with your partner: A study of working moms and stay-at-home dads found that partners connected more when the man stayed home. This was especially true when their roles were reversed because each person gained a mutual understanding of the challenges of raising children.
4. Help your children see beyond stereotypes: Simply by being a stay-at-home dad, you flip the traditional gender roles upside-down. This helps your children perceive masculinity, caregiving, and fatherhood as one and the same.
5. Evaluate your career path: As your children reach school age, the opportunity to re-enter the workforce may become available. This might be your chance to go back to school, seek additional training, or start a new career in a higher-paying job.

At the Center for Vasectomy Reversal, we would be thrilled to help you and your partner become parents. Working under the direction of Dr. Joshua Green, our medical team performs state-of-the-art vasectomy reversals to restore male fertility. To schedule a free consultation with Dr. Green, please contact our clinic in Sarasota, FL, at 941-894-6428.

How to Spend More Time with Your Kids

Dr. Anthony P. Witham, president of the American Family Institute, coined the phrase, “Children spell love…T-I-M-E.” But if you’re like most parents, time is a resource you have very little to spare. You know spending quality time with your kids is vital for their health and happiness, but how can you possibly squeeze an extra hour or two out of your already jam-packed day? Just follow these tips.

1. Integrate together time into your daily routine: Children love to help, so bring them along to the grocery store, post office, or other errands you have to run. Then, let them help you prepare dinner, bake cookies, or do chores. You can even do yoga stretches or go running together, which benefits you and your child’s health alike.
2. Carve out 15 minutes in the morning: Can you get up 15 minutes early to give your child one-on-one attention before work? Maybe eat breakfast together or go for a quick walk around the block. 15 minutes might not sound like much, but it could make a world of difference to your child.
3. Make bedtime stories a must: If you can squeeze more time out of your mornings, you can probably find another 15 minutes at bedtime to read a short story or a chapter of a book together.
4. Schedule recurring dates: You might do weekly family movie nights, family game nights, or rotating one-on-one dates with each of your kids every Saturday. Whatever it is, put it on the calendar and schedule your busy life around it.
5. Camp in the backyard: You may not have a whole weekend to spare for a family camping trip, but how about one evening? Your kids will love setting up tents in the backyard or even sleeping in the living room. Just a slight change of pace is all you need to make lasting memories together.
6. Choose time with your child over time on your phone: You may think you have no free time, but track your phone usage, and you might discover you have more time to spare than you realized. Trade some of this “tech time” for one-on-one time with your kids.
7. Prioritize family meals: Make an effort to eat at least one meal with your children every day. When you’re short on time, look for meals and snacks requiring very little preparation. Then, chat while you eat.
8. Write notes: When together time just isn’t possible that day, write a message to your child and leave it in their lunch box, by their toothbrush, or on the fridge for them to find.

Do you need help reaching your goal of becoming a dad? Dr. Joshua Green of the Center for Vasectomy Reversal is here for you. We believe healthy families start with healthy pregnancies, and we’ll help you get there by performing a safe, effective vasectomy reversal. To discuss your surgical options, please contact our clinic in Sarasota, FL, at 941-894-6428 and schedule your free consultation today.

When Does a Baby Start Walking?

The average age for a baby to walk unassisted is about 12 months. Still, some babies take their first steps before nine months old, while others don’t reach this milestone until 18 months or older. So how can you tell when your baby is almost ready to walk? And can walking toys help your baby learn to walk at a younger age?

Signs Your Baby will Start Walking Soon

Babies must hit a few milestones before they’re ready to walk. These include:

• Pulling up into a standing position: In an attempt to change their vantage point, babies will grip furniture or hold onto someone to pull themselves up to standing. On average, babies learn this ability about four months before taking their first independent steps.
• Walking with support: At this stage, babies have the strength and coordination to shift their weight from one leg to another. They can walk while holding Mom or Dad’s hands and cruise along the edge of the sofa. Independent walking usually emerges about three months after babies start walking with support.
• Standing unassisted for several seconds: Many babies start walking within two to three months of standing on their own. But some will enthusiastically try and try again, taking their first surefooted steps within just a few days of learning to stand.
• What about crawling? Many parents are surprised to learn that crawling is not a required milestone for walking. In fact, some babies never crawl before they learn to walk.

Can Walking Toys Help Babies Walk Sooner?

Walking toys, also called locomotor toys, are designed to be pushed, pulled, or rolled along the ground. While these toys reward babies with fun sounds or motions as the toy moves, studies show that walking toys don’t motivate babies who aren’t yet walking to take their first steps. However, they do encourage babies who are already on the go to take a few more steps before coming to a halt.

So what about baby walkers? These rigid-framed devices on wheels with a seat suspended in the middle might sound like a shortcut for learning to walk. However, experts warn parents against them. Instead of being a helpful aid, walkers are a counterproductive crutch, encouraging infants to develop abnormal postures and gait patterns that may actually delay independent walking.

When to be Concerned About a Late Walker

A vast majority of children who still aren’t walking after their first birthday go on to develop normally. But if your baby still can’t walk independently by 18 months, it’s time to bring it up with your pediatrician.

Are you ready to welcome a baby into your home, who will eventually take their first wobbly steps with your help? If you had a vasectomy in your younger years, don’t fret—Dr. Joshua Green of the Center for Vasectomy Reversal can help you become a father through safe, effective vasectomy reversal. To learn more about your surgical options, please contact our clinic in Sarasota, FL, by calling 941-894-6428.

Did you and your partner just find out you’re expecting? Congratulations! Whether you choose to tell family and friends right away or wait a few weeks, consider breaking the news with one of these cute pregnancy announcement ideas.

In-Person Pregnancy Announcement Ideas

1. Something’s cooking: Host a dinner party and invite close friends and family you want to tell about the pregnancy before anyone else. Then, casually announce, “Something else is cooking in the oven.” Try not to smile too big as you wait and see how long it takes someone to figure out what you mean.
2. Cake lettering: Bake a cake or have one delivered from a local bakery with the words, “We’re having a baby!” written in icing. Then, celebrate with your loved ones while you enjoy the dessert.
3. Puzzle: Have a 25-piece puzzle personalized with the words, “We’re expecting!” or something similar. Bring it to a sibling’s home to work on with your niece or nephew. Once the puzzle is finished, it won’t take long for everyone to piece it together!

Photo/Social Media Pregnancy Announcement Ideas

4. Baby shoes: Do some early baby clothes shopping, and pick out an adorable pair of shoes. Then, take a photo of them lined up with you and your partners’ shoes to make the announcement.
5. Elegant sign: Write on a small chalkboard, arrange letters on a letter board, or frame a typed-up announcement. Then, have your photo taken as you and your partner pose while holding the sign.
6. Beach announcement: Write a message about expecting a baby in the sand and take a picture to send to family and friends.
7. Bump ahead: Take a photo of your pregnant partner posing by a street sign to playfully announce her impending baby bump.
8. Ice, ice, baby: Have your picture taken while holding two bags of ice as your partner points to her stomach. Looking at the photo, people should understand that you’re referencing the words to a Vanilla Ice song.
9. Sports announcement: If you and your partner are sports fans, have personalized jerseys made for both of you and your upcoming arrival. Then, pose for a photo holding the tiny jersey with the caption, “Adding a third player to the team on [your due date].”
10. Involving your fur baby: If your dog or cat is more than just a pet, plan a photo shoot for the animal to announce your pregnancy. Have them sit by a sign that reads, “Baby guard duty starts on [your due date],” or put them in a shirt that says, “Big brother” or “Big sister” while sitting next to an ultrasound picture.

Did you have a vasectomy in your younger years, but now you’ve decided you want to be a dad after all? If so, reach out to Dr. Joshua Green of the Center for Vasectomy Reversal. We are leaders in helping men become fathers through safe, effective vasectomy reversal. To learn more about your surgical options, please contact our clinic in Sarasota, FL, by calling 941-894-6428.