The New Dad Playbook(launching soon)
From the delivery room through the first 3 months
There are a Hundred Classes about What's Happening to Her. There Are None About What You're Supposed to Do.
You've been to the tour. You've seen the birth plan. You've nodded through the breathing exercises and you still have no idea what your actual job is in that room.
That's not your fault. Nobody teaches it. Every book, every class, every appointment is built around her — as it should be. But it leaves you standing there holding her hand, saying "you're doing great," which is true and also useless.
Then the baby comes home, and it gets harder, not easier. And by week three, when the adrenaline drops and the leave runs out, nobody has asked how you're doing since the hospital.
This is built for that whole stretch. Fourteen days to get ready. A wristband for the day itself. And three months of check-ins for the part nobody warned you about.
What's Inside the New Dad Playbook
The 14 days before
Two weeks of short daily videos — two to three minutes each — with one thing to actually do that day. Not reading. Not homework. One action.
Day 4 is writing down the three questions you'd be most afraid to ask, then saying them out loud until they stop sounding like accusations. Day 9 is the conversation with your wife you've been avoiding. Day 14 is the delivery room itself.
Start it at 28 weeks or at 38. It's built to fit either way.
The Delivery Room Wristband
It's the same wristband a quarterback wears. Flip-up play sheets, strapped to your arm, so the call is right there when you need it.
Three sheets:
1. How to keep her calm. What actually helps before and during labor — what to say, what to do with your hands, how to steady the room when it tightens up.
2. What to ask the medical team. Assertive questions that get you real answers without putting anyone on the defensive. Written out, word for word, so you're not composing them under pressure.
3. Her birth plan. Her preferences for labor, for pushing, and for after — on your wrist instead of in a folder somebody set down two hours ago. This sheet is writable. You fill it in yourself. It can also be printed.
The whole point is that your phone stays in your pocket. You built a plan. It's on your arm. You get to actually be in the room.
The First Three Months
When the baby arrives, you click one link and a new set of check-ins begins — timed to parental leave and ending the week she goes back to work.
Twice a week at first, when you have no capacity for anything longer. Weekly through the stretch where most men quietly crash. Then every other week as you come up for air.
-
The invisible mental load, and how to take a whole category instead of waiting to be asked
-
What postpartum depression and anxiety actually look like — in her, and in you
-
Visitors, family, and being the one who says no
-
Why your marriage feels different, and what to do before it calcifies
-
The friends you've already started losing
-
Her first day back at work, and the renegotiation most couples never say out loud
A Therapist Who Was Standing Where You'll Be Standing
Justin McClain, LCSW, has spent fourteen years working with men — individually and in groups. Then he stood in that room with his own wife and every bit of that training felt very far away.
He made something to hold onto. This is that thing, made properly, so you don't have to invent it at 3am.
Who This Is For?
This is built for the man who:
-
Has a due date on the calendar and a knot in his stomach about it
-
Wants to be useful in that room, not just present
-
Doesn't know how to ask a question without sounding like he's picking a fight
-
Knows the months after are coming and has no idea what they'll take
-
Would rather prepare than wing it
-
Is willing to drop the mask, even just a little
It's not for:
-
Anyone looking for medical guidance — that's your OB, your midwife, your nurses
-
Men who want infant care basics — feeding, sleep training, swaddling. There are a thousand of those and this isn't one
-
Anyone in crisis right now. If that's where you are, you need a clinician, not a video series, and I'd rather help you find one
How it works
Step 1 — Order it. The wristband ships to you. The 14 days start whenever you're ready.
Step 2 — Do the fourteen days. One video, one action, each morning. Ten minutes.
Step 3 — Wear the band. That's what it's for.
Step 4 — Tell us she's here. One click in your last email starts the next three months.
Price
$67 — wristband shipped to you, the 14-day prep, and three months of check-ins after the birth.
Free U.S. shipping. Order by 36 weeks to be safe.
A NOTE ON WHAT THIS ISN'T
This is not medical advice and does not override anything your care team tells you. Nothing here tells you what decisions to make about her care or the baby's. Your OB, midwife, and nurses are the clinical experts in that room — this makes you a better partner to them, not a substitute for them.
Justin McClain is a Licensed Therapist, but he is not your therapist and this is not treatment. If you or your partner are struggling with your mental health, please reach out to a licensed provider. Postpartum Support International (1-800-944-4773) is a good place to start.
The First Day Is the One You're Afraid Of. The First Year Is the One That Changes You.
Looking for more in the future? The Locker Room is a 12-man fantasy football league for dads with young kids 0-5, where the football is the excuse and the conversation is the point.