photo by: Contributed Photo

Cale Moore gives a bottle to the baby of Cain Mathis in July 2024 as part the Boot Camp for New Dads workshop at LMH Health. Facilitators and board members of Dads of Douglas County help lead conversations on preparing for birth, adjusting to life with a newborn and keeping the baby safe and healthy.

When Cale Moore was months away from becoming a parent in the summer of 2024, he and his wife found the Boot Camp for New Dads at LMH Health, a Saturday workshop offered in partnership with the nonprofit Dads of Douglas County.

“I always have felt like I’ve wanted to be an involved dad and an equal parent with my partner in raising our child, and this course felt like a good place to start,” said Moore, a Lawrence resident and product designer.

He attended the July 2024 class with other expecting dads and even got to hold and feed a baby — a real hands-on experience to practice. During the three-hour session, dads-to-be learn the ropes from veteran dads, especially past participants who bring their new babies to help offer advice, encouragement and share their experiences with the rookies.

Facilitators and board members of Dads of Douglas County help lead conversations on preparing for birth, adjusting to life with a newborn and keeping the baby safe and healthy. They also talk about ways new dads can support their partners in the postpartum period, such as by creating a supportive home environment and recognizing signs of baby blues and postpartum depression.

“The most impactful parts of the boot camp were the discussions that centered around sharing our anxieties around being a dad,” Moore said. “I learned a ton from the other rookie and veteran dads when we discussed which elements of our experience with our own fathers we would like to carry forward and which we’d like to leave behind.”

The conversations are part of the broader goal of the boot camp, said Vince Romero, a Lawrence resident and trained facilitator for the class.

“Boot Camp for New Dads provides an excellent opportunity for expectant dads to ask questions about any aspect of fatherhood and hear wisdoms from fathers who just had their babies,” Romero said. “I think the men are quickly relieved to hear that everyone else is having the same apprehensions, excitement and eagerness about fatherhood. Our hope is that new moms are comforted by the fact that their partners have taken the class and have great desire to be an active part of the family journey from the very start.”

Conner Foster, the father of a young son who came to a recent Boot Camp as a veteran dad, said the time in boot camp provides an environment for men to connect with each other — something that can be difficult sometimes in day-to-day life. Moore agreed.

“I found the experience to really set me off on the right foot with being a dad. I was feeling very isolated in the later stages of my wife’s pregnancy,” Moore said. “I felt like I didn’t have many guys around me who could understand the anticipation and magnitude of what I was about to experience, and the boot camp helped me feel some camaraderie and feel like there were other guys who would share that strong desire to be a thoughtful, involved and caring dad.”

The nonprofit Dads of Douglas County is dedicated to encouraging and promoting the involvement of fathers in children’s lives. Board member Charlie Bryan, a business systems and finance manager at Lawrence-Douglas County Public Health, said the group seeks to build a caring community where men can connect with other fathers for both friendship and support while building strong lifetime bonds with their children and partners.

They have been facilitating the Boot Camp for New Dads for several years at LMH Health, though things stalled during COVID, and they have since ramped up again in the past year. Another bonus is seeing the rookie dads come back usually for the next class in a few months with a baby and show how confident they are, Bryan said.

“It’s powerful to watch new dads show up with a mix of nerves, questions and curiosity, and then see them leave with more confidence and a clearer sense of their role as expectant fathers,” he said. “Even more rewarding is when they return as veteran dads, experienced and eager to share their stories, helping the next group navigate that same journey. The growth is real and visible.”

The Boot Camp for New Dads matters because it gives fathers a space to connect, ask honest questions and learn from each other, he said.

“That kind of support strengthens not just the dads but their partners, their kids and the whole family,” Bryan said.

Romero added that he has seen the positive effects of boot camp and hopes they create a ripple effect out into the community as well as new fathers feel more equipped as they begin their journeys.

Moore was grateful for the class, as his daughter was born three weeks early in August of 2024, about a month after he took the class. Things are going well as she approaches her first birthday later this year. He would recommend Boot Camp for New Dads to any expectant fathers as they prepare.

“It’s a great way to start orienting your mindset with being a dad and the changes your partnership will undergo,” he said. “It also helps you start thinking about the responsibilities, joys and the challenges in the next important phase of life.”

LMH Health and Dads of Douglas County offer Boot Camp for New Dads each quarter. The next session is 9 a.m. to noon Saturday, July 12, at the LMH Health auditorium, 330 Arkansas St. Registration is available online at lmh.org.

Cost is $10 per person. Please contact 785-505-3081 for scholarship information.

Learn more about Dads of Douglas County at its website, dadsofdouglascounty.org, and its Facebook page.

— George Diepenbrock is a Dads of Douglas County board member and volunteer.