Being an Involved Dad

Being a dad is the greatest honor in the world. There's no better feeling in the world than coming home from work and seeing your baby's face light up when she sees you walk in the door. It's a feeling that can't really be understood until you're a dad yourself.

I take a great of pride in being a dad and I want to be involved in every part of my baby's life. But it's not always easy. Working long hours to pay the bills and keep food on the table doesn't leave me with much time or energy. But I do my best to find the time to give my little ones the love and attention they need.

Here are some tips you can use to stay involved in your baby's life:

Read to her. It doesn't matter if she's only a few weeks old. She'll enjoy the soothing sound of your voice and cuddling close to you. And it doesn't have to be a kids book. She won't mind listening to you read the sports page. It's the time together that matters.

Help out mommy. Okay, so changing dirty diapers is not the most glamorous job in the world, but it's gotta be done. Give mommy a break and change your fair share of diapers. It will give you an appreciation of what she deals with all day and she will certainly be grateful. You can also pitch in and help in burping and bathing the little one.

Play rough. While you can't exactly throw her around like a football, you can still have fun with a little horseplay. Dads play with their children differently than mothers do, and researchers believe that a little rough-play with dad is the perfect compliment to the gentle caresses from mom.

Cuddle Time. While playing rough is a lot of fun, sometimes it's nice to just sit and cuddle.

Volunteer for the 2 AM feeding. You and your wife are both exhausted and want nothing more than a good night's sleep. But you went and had a baby so sleep is now nothing but a faded memory. So suck it up and take over for those middle-of-the-night feedings. Let your wife get some rest while you get some quality time with the little one.

The memories I have of those late night feedings will stay with me forever. Sitting on the couch giving my little girl her bottle and talking to her as she fell asleep with old re-runs of "The Odd Couple" and "The Honeymooners" in the background. It was like we were the only two people in the world.