Start before the baby comes home: the car seat and the sleep space take an evening, and you only have to get them right once. Then take the jobs nobody has to ask you to do. For the whole first 90 days on one sheet, print New Dad: The First 90 Days.
Set up a safe sleep space, then check it every night
Alone, on the back, in a bare crib, in your room but not your bed. Set it up once, then run a 5-minute check every night.
Install the infant car seat and check it like a pro
Rear-facing in the back seat, the 1-inch test, the pinch test, chest clip at the armpits. Then a free check by a certified tech, and register the seat.
Your crying-baby plan: check, soothe, step away
Check the basics and the fever rule, try the soothing moves, and if you're losing it, put the baby in the crib and step away. Never shake.
The first two weeks home: Dad's jobs
Split the nights, own meals, dishes and laundry, run the visitor list, book the first checkup, and know the warning signs after birth.
Tummy time with Dad
Three to five minutes on their tummy, two or three times a day, with your face right there. Awake and watched only. Back to sleep, always.
New dad mood check: two minutes a week
Five yes-or-no questions once a week: sleep, mood, temper, drinking, pulling away. Two yeses, or one that sticks for two weeks, means tell someone.
Worth knowing
- AAP says all infants should ride rear-facing, starting with the first ride home from the hospital, and a rear-facing seat must never sit in front of an active passenger airbag. Source: AAP, Car Safety Seats, checked Oct 15, 2026.
- AAP says to put babies on their back for every nap and every night, on a firm, flat surface with only a fitted sheet, and advises room sharing without bed sharing. Source: AAP, A Parent's Guide to Safe Sleep, checked Oct 15, 2026.
- AAP says healthy babies may cry 1 to 2 hours a day, and that it is never safe to shake a baby: if you feel anger rising, put the baby down safely and step away to calm down. Source: AAP, Abusive Head Trauma, checked Oct 15, 2026.
- The National Maternal Mental Health Hotline is free, confidential and open 24/7 at 1-833-TLC-MAMA (1-833-852-6262), and partners and family can contact it too. Source: HRSA, National Maternal Mental Health Hotline, checked Oct 15, 2026.
The Friday letter
Get one weekend plan every Friday
One printable plan for the weekend, one quick plan for a weeknight, and nothing else. Free. The first letter hasn't gone out yet. Sign up now and you'll get it. beehiiv, which sends the letter, will email you once to confirm your address.
One weekend plan every Friday. We never sell your address, and every letter has a one-click unsubscribe. See a sample issue · Privacy
Or start with a free printable: The Weekend Plan Pack.