Nothing can prepare you for having a baby. At least your first. In fact you do a whole bunch of other stuff to keep yourself from thinking about it. You paint you clean. You Shop. Cribs, and strollers. Car seats and bottles. None of that can prepare you for who your child is.

Coffee

Don’t worry nobody is saying you won’t be able to have your 10 mins to make coffee and enjoy it. What people are saying is while your enjoying that cup of coffee your thoughts will be different. Not only the thoughts but why those thoughts are there. Your Kid. Perfection.

No your kid is not going to be perfect and neither are you, but we want to be as close as we can. We want to bring meaningful life skills that help our kids progress in life. Not just in the moment.

A friend of mine is having a baby soon. I have been thinking of things that made things easier.

First time father

Get a washer and dyer that can handle running 24/7 for 6 months. You have to be prepared for contant laundry. Not 2 loads a day but 4 or 5. Shopping for a washer and dyer and waiting for it to come, all while caring for a infant and a new mother. Not a good combo.
Get a dishwasher that can run 24/7 for 6 months. This falls into the same category as the cloths washer and dryer just its a separate appliance so I made different items. You will be doing a huge amount of dishes. some that need to be washed in very hot water.
Get a car seat that you can take your new infant into the house, or store without extracting the kid from the seat and placing him into another stroller, of crib at home. This means your kid can nap while you cruise around doing errands without waking him/her up. This is huge.
Remember to keep something the same. Pick something that you do everyday. Something simple. I'm not talking about the gym or going to a baseball game. No, I'm talking about showering times, making coffee. Reading a favorite columist or author. This will make you feel normal for those minutes. Trust me you are going to need it.
Don't forget about your wife. While its hard to forget about her, you will find that most things will start to have to do with the baby also, not just your wife. Find those things that you can keep up and make her feel special too. She is working her ass off, she deserves it.
Get a pair of head phones, and some kind of moblie audio player. I like the in-ear kind if you can stand it because I can just have one earbud in one ear and be listening to the room with the other. I found listening to to soft music, audio book or Podcast while helping a sleep deprived baby or folding laundry a great tool.
After about a week with the baby find sometime to sit down with your wife and figure out who is good at what. Meaning if you make a better faster breakfast, you make breakfast not your wife. This is not a time for wasted strokes. This is about getting the most done in a very little amount of time.
Have fun and laugh. My wife and I have had really good times, cleaning taking care of Kamden. Some extremely funny moments that only my wife and I have witnessed. That is he real magic.

I hope these help. If I think of others I will post them up as well.

Other fathers if you have more post them in the comments.

michael