Babycakes
and Ice Cream
A quick-start guide for new dads
Written by Catharine Lo Griffin
Illustrated by Drew Toonz
Let’s go, Super Dad!
Congratulations! Your baby is on the way, and soon fatherhood will be your permanent status. Get ready for a wild ride! Before you know it, you’ll give your child a nickname (I called mine Babycakes), and you’ll be singing lullabies and nursery rhymes. The key to surviving the first month? A little help for your partner will go a very long way. Even a simple task can make a big difference, because it’s one less thing Mom has to do. Behind every happy mom is a helpful dad (and maybe some ice cream, too). You got this!
Set up a nursing station.
Dads have their caves. Moms need their own retreat, too. Make sure burp cloths, magazines, books, notepads, pens, remote controls, digital tablet, and whatever Mom needs are within reach. She may spend upwards of 1,200 hours here in the next six months, so make it comfortable!
Take a sunset stroll together.
Fresh air stimulates the senses. Help Mom get her blood flowing with an easy walk around the block or the park to reconnect with the outside world.
Let Mom enjoy a leisurely shower or bath.
Nothing will make Mom feel like a human again more than an unhurried, uninterrupted shower or bath. She will appreciate the opportunity to shave, cut her nails, or just to soak her sore body. You bought her favorite conditioner and a bath bomb? Bonus!
One month down.
Baby is four weeks old, but before you know it, you’ll be counting age in months, then years, then decades. Enjoy this special time of life, and find your groove in the family. There’s only one person on the planet your baby knows as Dad, and that’s you. Embrace that role—only fathers know the feeling!
Sneak peek only
27 more tips live inside the booklet.
Swaddling, snack packs, sanity-saving solo missions, notes pages, and a birthday cupcake finale — plus every illustration by Drew Toonz.
Behind every happy mom
is a helpful dad.
Babycakes
and Ice Cream
30 tips for new dads
