So, a new dad to be is chatting with some guys who are already dads, some newer dads and some older dads when he brings up the idea of a baby monitor with built-in intercom instead of a high-quality video baby monitor. As he sees it, he can talk to the baby and provide some reassurance from another part of the house, thus making the baby feel better, and maybe even fall back asleep.

The conversation goes from the older dads saying that they never had anything like that when their kids were infants, to newer dads saying debating whether or not they could or would use such a thing.

Finally, I brought up a point that I think was getting overlooked.

“Do you think that your child is more or less likely to get escalated and insist on seeing you and being held when he hears your voice but can’t find you?”

The conversation turned around quickly with all the dads concluding that a baby that hears your voice will insist on seeing you and the intercom thing might actually scare an infant who doesn’t understand how Mom or Dad can be there, without being there.

The dad to be wasn’t so sure. In his mind a soothing, albeit electronic sounding, lullaby from afar might be just the thing to soothe an infant back to sleep or relaxation.

As any dad will tell you, the key to keeping a baby by themselves, whether in a crib or just playing in a room is to keep them from seeing you, because as soon as they notice you, they will notice you leaving or notice that you are not holding them or otherwise being with them. This goes true for hearing you as well.

Before you buy an intercom baby monitor, test out the concept. Say a few words to your baby from outside the room and see if your toddler calms down or insists on an appearance. Then, save yourself the money and by a one-way baby monitor with a video screen instead.

Baby Intercom Good Idea? originally published at Undefeated Daddy

Here is one of the top tips for new dads, and it is a quick one too.  Just two words, Cargo Shorts.

As a Dad, you are going to need to carry around stuff, no matter where you go, or for how short of a time.  But, lugging around a bag just to hold a few things is no fun, no matter how manly they try and make Dad Diaper Bags or other man-style baby backpacks or diaper bags.

Imagine a morning walk while carrying your new son or daughter.  You probably don’t need an extra diaper, or an extra change of clothes, but you probably do need to bring along a drink, and maybe a stuffed friend as well.  Add your mug of coffee and you have hands that are too full to carry your baby.

Sure, you could carry around a backpack, diaper bag, or even a fanny pack but why bother for so little gear?

Instead, throw on a pair of cargo shorts or cargo pants.  Get them so that they fit in the waist, but are loose fitting in the legs (you want the pockets to be as big as possible, and form fitting shorts or slacks will make the pockets smaller.)  Get the kind with at least one extra "cargo" pocket on each leg.  That gives you 2 spots for things like sippy cups and other little things (the leg pockets even help the cups stay up right) and two pockets for your regular stuff like wallet, keys, and cellphone.

Don’t bother getting high-end or expensive new shorts.  These are your go-to carrying item when it’s your turn to take car of having all of baby’s stuff.  They’ll get dirty, and they don’t look stylish when the pockets are full anyway.

Now, you and your baby can stroll the neighborhood without any bag at all, not even a man style messenger baby bag.

Enjoy the sun.

Best New Dad Tip of the Day originally published at Undefeated Daddy

I have an article on saving money when it comes to shopping for a new baby, or even for a toddler for Dads and Moms on its way.  But,in the meantime, I came across this on sale at Amazon.com

One of the first steps in saving money while shopping for the things you buy like groceries, baby supplies, and household items, is to know what they cost “normally” around town.  Basically, this involves making notes of the prices of items you buy most often or that are the biggest hit on your monthly family budget.

There are a million ways to do it, ranging from a little notebook, to taking pictures with your cellphone, to using a Palm Pilot or other PDA device.

But, if you are a big gadget freak, then here is a tool made especially for the purpose and it happens to be on sale.  So, if you’ll be the guy wanting the tailor made gadget, you could do worse and pay more than for this one.

Quickie Save Money Shopping Tip originally published at Undefeated Daddy

Every man has that do it yourself instinct.  The only thing that differs from man to man is which things he feels compelled to do himself, and which he figures he should just pay someone else to do for him.  For many Dad’s, when it comes to their children, most things are do it yourself, especially if those things involve some sort of cool technology, like digital photography.

Once the Undefeated Dad has mastered the art of taking great digital photographs of his kids, he will need to print those photos.  At first, a few 4x6s will satisfy the need, but soon, other sizes and shapes will become necessary.  When that happens, there are two options.  You can buy every size paper there is, or you can print multiple photos on bigger photo paper.  When it comes to wallet-size photos, this is pretty much the only option.

There are many challenges to printing great photographs, and we’ll cover some of those soon, but today, we conquer one of the easier challenges.  Well, it would be easy, except as a real man who is a real father, you might not know the tool exists.

Cutting Digital Photo Printouts Straight

You’ve tried scissors, and you can do a pretty good job, but it isn’t good enough.  A real man wants perfection in the things he cares about, and this is one of those things.  You’ve seen paper cutters before.  They have a big wood block with a cutting arm attached that you pull down and it cuts a thousand pages all at once with nice straight edges.  Of course, that seems like a bit much for your little photos.

What you may not have seen before is a similar tool that is used for crafts (Crafts?  Oh, so that is why you haven’t seen it.)  Find yourself a Michael’s or Hobby Lobby or whatever they have in your area.  If you have to ask someone for directions (deduct 2 Man Points) you’ll want to ask for a straight edge paper cutter.  If you want to find it yourself, it will be in the “scrapbooking” area.  You’ll know it because it is filled with single sheets of colored paper that cost over a buck a piece.

You don’t need an expensive one.  A small plastic one is just fine for your photos.  A 8 1/2” size means you’ll be able to cut up to an 8 1/2” x 11” piece of paper, but only the short way.  However, your need for 4 1/4” x 11” sizes should be limited.

With this little device you can chop up wallets, 4×6, 5×7, 6×9, and so on all day long.

If you don’t want to go into a craft store at all, you can get them online of course.  I have a Fiskars one and it works great, but it is the only one I’ve ever had, so I can’t compare it to others.  Here’s a couple of links to get you started.  Mine is most like that third one, but it might not be available anymore.  You might as well get the 12 inch one if it costs less money.

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Best Great Dad Tools – Top Project Tools originally published at Undefeated Daddy