Don’t Forget Dad! Father's Day is Coming.....

I can’t remember the last baby shower I went to that wasn’t coed. These days, we all know that baby stuff isn’t just for the women, and dads play an active roll in a newborn’s life. Still, when it comes to going out with baby, the majority of the diaper bags on the market today are either oversized women’s purses with feminine (and super-styling) designs, or baby-themed in pink or baby blue. I know my husband would have never gone out to run an errand if he had to tote something like that along.

Fortunately, there are also plenty of options out there for dads that won’t leave them embarrassed. My husband was perfectly happy to traipse around town with the Baby Bjorn Diaper Backpack, which was practical—it gives you hands-free mobility—and gender-neutral.

But maybe you’re a dude, and you’re going to your dude-friend’s baby shower, or you’re a woman, but your favorite little brother is about to become a dad for the first time. Then maybe you want to get him something special that’s just for him. Something his wife won’t get to use at all. The GR8X Messenger Bag is the ultimate in guy’s diaper bags, and comes in a sporty camo print that guarantees he’ll be the hippest dad at the playground.

Or maybe your dude-friend or little brother is about the most clueless person in the world when it comes to babies, and he’s got that deer-in-headlights look about him as he watches his wife’s belly growing bigger by the week. The Daddy’s Toolbag Kit can help. It’s part diaper-bag, part do-it-yourself video, all put together in an easy-to-relate-to tool bag. The entertaining video is full of sound advice on all that new newborn stuff: diapering, bathing, car seat safety, nasal aspiration, fingernail clipping, bottles and burping.

The Petunia Pickle Bottom Scout Rubicon Rucksack comes in either black or brown buffalo leather, and looks, well, nothing like a diaper bag, although it’s designed to function as one. This really is the diaper bag for the dude who has everything. The Scout Rubicon Rucksack comes with two interior linings that can be interchanged—they snap out and convert the bag from a diaper bag to a laptop bag. It even comes with its own antique brass wipes case. And while it may be on the pricey side, it’s something he’ll use well after junior is out of diapers.

Of course, if you want to go for something simpler, you can always get him a t-shirt or a keychain —two things you’re almost sure he’ll use, regardless of if he ever changes a diaper.

Jane