100 episodes

Tune in to learn more about what it means to be a 21st century Good Dad. Laugh and learn as you listen to soon-to-be dads, brand new dads, over-the-road dads, dads with twins, single parent dads, divorced dads, and many other real-life dads. Don’t expect perfection. Do expect to learn something new and/or be reassured about what you’re already doing. It’s all here on the Good Dads Podcast.

Good Dads Podcast Good Dads

    • Kids & Family
    • 5.0 • 17 Ratings

Tune in to learn more about what it means to be a 21st century Good Dad. Laugh and learn as you listen to soon-to-be dads, brand new dads, over-the-road dads, dads with twins, single parent dads, divorced dads, and many other real-life dads. Don’t expect perfection. Do expect to learn something new and/or be reassured about what you’re already doing. It’s all here on the Good Dads Podcast.

    E525 Postpartum Depression, Baby Blues and Asking for Help | With Nurse Bre Tyger

    E525 Postpartum Depression, Baby Blues and Asking for Help | With Nurse Bre Tyger

    We welcome back Bre Tyger, Community Alignment Specialist from Family Connects, a program new to Springfield, MO. We cover the difference between "baby blues" and postpartum depression, and how it affects both Mom and Dad. A phenomenon of ongoing sadness in the days after your bundle of joy arrives is common and normal, but in general medical experts say the "baby blues" might begin to be classified as post-partum depression if the feelings persist beyond 2-3 weeks. Dads can get some form of post-partum depression, too, in as many as 10% of new dads.
     
    CORRECTION:  After the recording concluded, Bre asked us to tell our listeners that post-partum depression occurs somewhere between 1 in 5 OR 1 in 3 new moms; that's between 20% and 33%.
     
    Our Guest: Bre Tyger
    Bre Tyger is a Registered Nurse and serves as the Community Alignment Specialist for Springfield Greene County Health Department’s Family Connects program. Family Connects is a free universal nurse home visiting program with a goal of providing support for families of newborns. Bre has worked in community and public health and the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit most of her career and loves helping set families up for success. She has been married to her husband for 15 years and together they have two wonderful children.
     
    Show Notes 
    (2:21) One thing I have seen commonly (in post-partum women) is difficulty bonding with the baby and attachment. They were so excited to have their baby, so excited when they first had Baby and brought them home, but suddenly they're saying, "I don't feel connected to my baby." They're having a hard time taking care of Baby; maybe they're having a hard time getting out of bed ... or having a hard time getting any good sleep.

    (4:38) It can feel like your fault—or like you need to do something to make it better—but post-partum depression is really not your fault. And it's not something that women choose

    (9:31) It's a big load for the dad to carry. Dads can feel a pressure of providing for their family. They have the normal pressure of providing for their family but now you wife is struggling, and you have this baby that you don't know what to do with or how to care for. That can be a lot of stress for the dad to carry. Some dads tend to take care of others before themselves, so they can also become sleep deprived; they can also forget to eat meals and those basic things to do to take care of themselves.

    (18:14) (Post-partum depression) can occur at any time in the year after Baby is born. That may not always be recognized.  
    Resources
    Family Connects Website
    Sign up for the Good Dads Newsletter and never miss a podcast! 
    The Good Dads blog 
    gooddads.com
    To be put in touch with Bre regarding the Advisory Committee with Family Connects, reach out to us at info@gooddads.com.
     

    • 21 min
    E524 The Value of Home Visits for New Parents | With Nurse Bre Tyger

    E524 The Value of Home Visits for New Parents | With Nurse Bre Tyger

    This week on the podcast, we welcome to the studio Bre Tyger, a public health nurse and Community Alignment Specialist with Family Connects, an international program new to the area. Join us as Bre discusses how she helps new parents, observant youngsters, the Women, Infants and Children (WIC) nutritionist program, and encouraging new, first-time dads to be involved in the lives of their infants. 
     
    Our Guest: Bre Tyger
    Bre Tyger is a Registered Nurse and serves as the Community Alignment Specialist for Springfield Greene County Health Department’s Family Connects program. Family Connects is a free universal nurse home visiting program with a goal of providing support for families of newborns. Bre has worked in community and public health and the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit most of her career and loves helping set families up for success. She has been married to her husband for 15 years and together they have two wonderful children.
     
    Show Notes 
    (4:13) As a public health nurse with the health department, we get to see people where they are. We currently go into their homes. We can have real conversations with them ... and meet them where they're at. I think, sometimes in a hospital environment it's kind of hard to see what's going on ... or what you really need.

    (9:15) It's hard to connect with dads (during pre-natal and post-partum appointments, when Dad is often at work), and we do really like working with Mom and Dad because both of them are providing support for this family and this infant. Both are an important part in their lives. 

    (20:57) Nobody really knows how to be a parent before they're a parent. You can do all the preparation, you can take classes, you can see other people doing it. But every baby is different, and every scenario is different ... every experience is unique.  
    Resources
    Family Connects Website
    Sign up for the Good Dads Newsletter and never miss a podcast! 
    The Good Dads blog 
    gooddads.com
    To be put in touch with Bre regarding the Advisory Committee with Family Connects, reach out to us at info@gooddads.com.

    • 27 min
    E523 | From the Archive | Transitions Abound with Blended Families - with Dana and Christina Ford

    E523 | From the Archive | Transitions Abound with Blended Families - with Dana and Christina Ford

    Dana and Christina Ford have a full house with a teenager, elementary schoolers and preschoolers. Join us for a conversation originally recorded in 2021 with the Fords as the blended family navigates the important transitions inherent in father-son relationships as Dana entered his step-son's life when he was 8 years old. Dana and Christina give advice for step-parents and differentiate their approaches to parenting versus step-parenting. We also talk about the first-baby nerves, anticipating your partner's needs and raising un-selfish children.
     
    Our Guests: Husband and Wife Dana and Christina Ford
    Christina Ford is the president and founder of Rebound Foundation, a nonprofit whose mission is to end the cycle of abuse through safe transitional ​housing for women and children, and educating youth to prevent violence.
    Dana Ford has been the men's head baseketball coach at Missouri State University since 2018. He transitioned from Bachelor to Husband and to Father quickly.
    The Fords are parents to five, and one in Heaven.
     
    Show Notes 
    (8:09) I was the single parent for eight years, and I was very independent. I was Mom, and I went to school, and I worked. I was in a very independent role, and my idea of when we were going to come together was, you know, "Was I still going to be this independent force?" I was really keen into that. I was going to have my own thing, my own title ... I didn't have to ask someone else, "How should we do this?" or "What decision should be made?" It was always just me making the decision.

    (13:29) We do not parent all of our children the same. Just like I don't coach all my players the same. One of the most important things that you have to learn—is you have to learn your people. That means you have to learn your children individually, same way I do with my players. You have to spend time with them, communicate with them and observe them. 

    (14:44) If you listen, people will tell you who they are.

    (19:31) One of the biggest adjustments was the fact that, due to COVID, there was no support system of Mom, sister, right? I mean, I'm always used to mother-in-law and sister-in-law being there, and them doing the heavy lifting.

    (25:50) If you want to conquer something you have to stay united, but we (as parents) conquer by dividing sometimes.

    (27:42) So many (us) can get selfish, and be about "me, me, me." Hopefully because they see us and come from a larger family (our children grow to) understand that it's not always about you.  
    Resources
    Sign up for our newsletter to never miss a podcast!  The Good Dads Blog  gooddads.com The Rebound Foundation

    • 30 min
    E522 My Baby Contracted RSV – A Parent's Nightmare (with a Happy Ending) | With New Dad Tim Lewis

    E522 My Baby Contracted RSV – A Parent's Nightmare (with a Happy Ending) | With New Dad Tim Lewis

    This week we're happy to welcome Tim Lewis to the studio, a first-time dad to a four-month-old. Join us as Tim shares the scary story of when baby Ophelia got sick with RSV around the end of last year. After initially going to Mercy in Springfield, doctors later needed to airlift Ophelia to an ER in Kansas City. Tim also provides his wisdom for new parents and discusses the importance of being on the same page to work collaboratively with your partner. 


    Our Guest: Tim Lewis 
    Tim Lewis is a barber by occupation and is a new dad to Ophelia, who was born in September 2023. Tim, his wife, Chelsea, Ophelia and Boone the dog live in Rogersville, MO. For a long time, Tim and Chelsea never imagined wanting kids, but their attitudes changed in their early 40s.
     
    Show Notes
    (4:28) My advice to younger people is: If you're not sure, enjoy your youth a little bit. Your freedom is minimized once you have a child.

    (6:10) She developed a little bit of a cough, and we just kept an eye on it. And then it was, like, 'Nah, she needs to go do the doctor.' And they basically test kids just like they do for COVID. It's a pretty quick little swab.

    (9:33) I wasn't afraid for her life—I really felt she would be okay—but when the flight nurses came in and basically strapped my 13-pound child to a gurney-looking thing and took her away ... Which, my wife was with her, but, you know, it was just terrifying.

    (17:55) She's always a pretty happy kid. She really started all that at about three months. But she's also a very impatient, cranky child ... How do you go from grinning at me, and two seconds later you're squalling?!  
    Resources 
    Sign up for our newsletter and never miss a podcast! 
    The Good Dads Blog 
    gooddads.com
     

    • 21 min
    E521 | From the Archive | Sleep Habits, Dirty Diapers and Piles of Laundry | With Brian Mattson and Drew Dilisio

    E521 | From the Archive | Sleep Habits, Dirty Diapers and Piles of Laundry | With Brian Mattson and Drew Dilisio

    This week, we bring you a podcast episode from the Good Dads archive. Originally recorded in 2019, our guests, Brian and Drew, discuss the challenges and rewards of new parenthood. New dads will relate to big changes in sleep habits, working collaboratively with the mother of your child and more than a few dirty diaper horror stories. 
     
    Our Guest: Drew Dilisio, LPC 
    Drew Dilisio is the former director of counseling services at Good Dads.  He is a graduate of Evangel University’s Clinical Mental Health Counseling program, a husband and father. He is now a Behavioral Health Clinician at Jordan Valley Health Center in Springfield, MO.
     
    Our Guest: Brian Mattson
    Brian Mattson is the associate pastor at the Downtown Church in Springfield. A father of two now, Brian served on the Good Dads board until 2024. 
     
    Show Notes 
    (4:05) we do a nighttime routine ...  we really try to get in a peaceful mood. And my wife will put on some lavender soothing lotion on her while she's singing to her, and we've just stuck to a schedule.
    (5:06) every book seems like it's different, with the recommendations and the best practices, so we would do one for a month with no results ... (and we'd say) "let's tweak this little thing," and then we'd do that for three weeks. 
    (8:08) For someone who's only drinking milk, it's incredible what comes out the other side (in her diaper). I'd say that's pretty gross. 
    (10:11) As you're changing the dirty diaper, she smiles at you—in the eye, she locks eyes, smiles — and proceeds to have another ... "elimination" as you're hurriedly trying to put on a clean diaper.


     
    Resources 
    Sign up for our newsletter and never miss a podcast! 
    The Good Dads Blog 
    gooddads.com

    • 13 min
    E520 Child-Rearing as a Team Event | With Dr. Sarah Jean Baker

    E520 Child-Rearing as a Team Event | With Dr. Sarah Jean Baker

    This week on the podcast we welcome Dr. Sarah Jean Baker, Dr. Jennifer Baker's daughter-in-law, to speak on how children learn. We also talk about how babies can become attached to both Dad and Mom using the skin-to-skin contact technique, the importance of paternal leave, and the best ways to encourage your infant's learning. Join us as we fantasize about a future where both parents can rely on paid leave! 
     
    Our Guest: Dr Sarah Jean Baker  
    Sarah Jean Baker (PhD) is an Assistant Professor in the Early Childhood Program, in the School of Teaching, Learning, and Developmental Studies in the College of Education at Missouri State University. She earned her PhD in School Improvement from Texas State University. She has experience working in public schools as an early childhood teacher- teaching kindergarten and first grade, as well as leading schools as a school leader. Her research interests include teacher preparation and teacher development for social justice and culturally sustaining pedagogy, early childhood education, and women’s issues in schools. She is a proud mama to four children and often finds her greatest joys and struggles in her mama identity. 
     
    Show Notes: 
    (5:53) One of the things that dads can and should do is act as much like the primary caregiver as we often think about mothers being the primary caregiver—so, meaning you're changing diapers, you're doing feedings...

    (8:07) Minor and I, my husband, would encourage dads to do is to take time off of work when you have a baby. It was financially possible for us to do that when we had our twins, although I think we could have made it work. We did it with our youngest ... who is now eight, and we both think back on those 12 weeks with her as just some of the best times.

    (14:13) Just a reminder: You're not "babysitting" when it's your kid. 

    (14:55) Sometimes Minor does things differently than how I would do things, and I had to just let go of that a realize that it's okay. Like, he might put on a different outfit than I would want the kids in, or maybe even put the diaper on a little bit differently than I would want, but at the end of the day, the diaper still worked; they were still warm. I didn't need to micromanage. I had to let go of that and kind of let go of some of those expectations ... It's not about control.  
    Resources 
    Sign up for our newsletter and never miss a podcast! 
    The Good Dads Blog 
    gooddads.com
     

    • 21 min

Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5
17 Ratings

17 Ratings

amandaleemcphee ,

Great Podcast!

Thanks so much for creating an amazing podcast that provides applicable tips and actions Dads can apply to their lives!

Q Ball 102 ,

Great podcast for dad’s!!

Great to hear real dads talk about real issues other real dads deal with every day! A very fun and informative listen for your commute.

Chuck Berton ,

Awesome

Thank you for making this podcast. I love it and am trying to take it all in in

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