Quotes from Armin A. Brott

You get spread out. All the demands on your time and energy leave you feeling like there isn't enough of you left to be a good dad, friend, spouse, and employee at the same time.

You may really be looking forward to spending some time with your baby while your partner is recuperating. But you may be worried that you won't know how to do all the things that she usually does for the family. (If this last part is true, you'd better learn how to do the laundry and run the dishwasher in a hurry.)

yes, it's possible to get repetitive stress injuries from heavy computer or video game use. But they are also caused by musical instruments and by the repetitive motion of sports, according to Warren Buckleitner, editor of Children's Software Review.

American children spend an average of about four hours watching television every day, and for the most part, the fathers they see are incompetent, absent, uncaring, and unnecessary.

The New Father: A Dad's Guide to the First Year and Fathering Your Toddler: A Dad's Guide to the Second and Third Years.

Carry your baby more. The more you hold him (even when he's not crying), the less likely he is to cry. In one study, researchers found that a two-hour increase in carrying time per day resulted in a 42 percent decrease in crying

Here are a few things to keep in mind when you're getting ready to read: • Select a regular place for reading. • Set aside a regular time, when you will be able to devote your full attention to the baby and the book. Just before or just after a nap is usually good. • Try to read for at least fifteen minutes each day.

If someone hasn't bought them for you already, I'd recommend that you rush right out and get copies of The New Father: A Dad's Guide to the First Year and Fathering Your Toddler: A Dad's Guide to the Second and Third Years. These books pick up where this one leaves off and continue the process of giving you the skills, knowledge, confidence, and support you'll need to be the best possible dad. All of them are also available as e-books.

Being out of control is hard for anyone, but it's especially discombobulating for men, who are supposed to know everything and be in control all the time.

Perhaps the most bizarre couvade ritual I've come across is one that enabled dads-to-be to literally share the pain of childbirth. Apparently, the Huichol people of Mexico used to position the dad in a tree or on the roof above his laboring wife. Ropes were tied around his testicles and with each contraction she could yank on the ropes and give her husband a taste of what she was going through. Seems a little much to me, but I'm sure there are plenty of women who would disagree.

If you underdress your baby, he'll probably let you know about it; babies usually complain loudly when they're too cold. Babies who are too hot, though, tend not to complain, preferring instead to lie there listlessly.

morning sickness typically starts four to six weeks after conception and disappears by fourteen to fifteen weeks.

The produce section of your local grocery store is a great place for experimenting. Have her feel the difference between a kiwi or a peach and a coconut or a pineapple. Let

Canadian researcher Anne Storey found that new fathers' testosterone levels often drop by as much as a third right after the birth of their children. Since testosterone is involved in energy and mood, lower levels could explain why some men feel a little down.

realfoodbydad.com, cookingfordads.net, dadcooksdinner.com, and dadsthatcook.com.

Men who leave the workforce for family reasons can expect to earn 26.4 percent less later in their careers than they would have had they never left the workforce. Women face a 23.3 percent financial penalty.

In study after study, the overwhelming majority of men aged twenty to forty-five say that having a work schedule that lets them spend more time with their family is more important than doing challenging work or even earning a high salary.

One study had four doctors interpret fifty different tracings (the printouts generated by the monitor). The four concurred only 22 percent of the time.

When my wife got pregnant with our first child, I was the happiest I'd ever been. That pregnancy, labor, and the baby's birth was a time of incredible closeness, tenderness, and passion. Long before we'd married, my wife and I had made a commitment to participate equally in raising our children. And it seemed only natural that the process of shared parenting should begin during pregnancy.

Sixty-four percent say that being a father makes them a better employee, and, according to the Boston College Center for Work and Family, more dads say that having a flexible schedule that would allow them to spend more time with their family is of greater importance than career advancement or high income. In fact, according to monster.com, 82 percent of working dads searching for a job view companies more positively if they offer a flextime benefit.

FWAs boost productivity. Stanford University economist Nicholas Bloom found that employees who telecommute are 13.5 percent more productive than employees who go into the office.

FWAs increase retention/reduce turnover. The telecommuters in Bloom's study quit their jobs at about half the rate of their peers in the office.

FWAs improve recruitment. Companies find that offering FWAs helps attract top talent. •  FWAs improve employee morale and loyalty. When employees feel that their employer respects their need for flexibility, they're happier, don't take sick days when they're not sick, and are more committed to their employer's success.

Loyal, happy employees are engaged employees—and engaged employees are profitable employees