Hello everyone!

I'm brand new to the forum, and am really interested in getting some advice from all of the SAHDs out there.

First, some background: my wife is a radiologist. Her salary potential absolutely dwarfs mine - she will be making $450-$500K a year once she starts her new job in July of this year. In contrast, I barely break $60K. My job is in downtown Chicago, and hers is going to be about two hours east of the city. We don't have any kids (but have a wonderful dog!) yet, but are trying, and we have talked about adopting if we can't get pregnant naturally.

My wife and I are awaiting our first born in the next couple of weeks (baby boy) and I will be a stay at home father. It's great to see there's an outlet for fathers to share experiences and share views. It was a total change for me to go to my local Target store during a weekday and see nothing but mothers with strollers and the elderly =) I can't wait to take the journey of fatherhood and am here to say hi to all of you that have already started that journey.

-Greg

I am a professor at Northwestern University in Evanston, IL. I'm teaching a course called "Gender and the Life Course" this spring. I'm looking for a stay-at-home dad who could come to my class (without kids - sorry!) to talk about the challenges and rewards of being an at-home dad. The class is Weds., May 14, from 1 PM - 2:20 PM. There's no reimbursement, but you'd get to let about 30 college students know there are options available when it comes to parenting and work. You will be on a panel with a working mom. Please email me at if you're interested. Thanks!

Here are the Free Second Mondays (brought to you by Target) for the Field Museum:

April 14th
May 12th
June 9th
July 14th
August 11th
September 8th
October 13th
November 10th
December 8th

Me and my 2 kids.

Today's Wall Street Journal has some interesting view points about stay at home dads.
http://blogs.wsj.com/juggle/2008/03/12/the-stay-at-home-dad-as-role-model/

Hello Gents, I just wanted to quickly introduce myself as a new member in Chicago. I have a 5mth daughter namd Piper (www.piperburke.com) and today is actually the first day of official stay-at-home dad. It shall be interesting and I look forward to participating in the group!

Group primarily for At Home Dads and family in the Chicago NW and West Suburbs (or from other areas if you're up for making the trip, all are welcome). Will also promote fun activities and events open to moms, other dads & single parents.

Plan will be to arrange playgroup (Wednesday or Friday each week), at parks and other meet ups (zoo, mall, splash pad, museums). For convenience, playgroups will be arranged in a central location to all members. Everything is pretty much open to suggestion and will come down to members input and suggestions.

well guys im new to this site and im just trying to see if its normal to FREAK OUT!!!!!!
Its are first

This just came in to the covnention website.---

Hello--

I'm a feature writer with the Daily Herald newspaper in suburban Chicago. I thought you might be able to help me with a story I'm working on -- a look at "postpartum" weight-gain in men. I know this topic isn' t the primary focus of the At-Home Dads Convention, but there might be members of your group who'd be willing to help me with the story.

Hi there. I'm new to the forum and wanted to introduce myself, having only just discovered the site last week. I contacted Mike about featuring my children's book, "Alena & the Favorite Thing," on this site, and decided that I'd support the site by advertising. That's why I now have the pleasure of being one of the first advertisers on athomedad.org (that's my book that's going to "Give your child a SMILE this holiday!"), as well as a new poster and reader of the wealth of info and advice found here.

Hey guys,
I've signed up for a local groups, but I noticed it didn't add to the "local groups" section (tab), why is this? I followed the steps from this section, but it added it to the discussion under "what's new on athomedad.org". Can someone tell me why this is? By the way I added ECI Dads (East Central Illinois Dads) for those of you who are wondering.

Thanks,
Eric

ECI Dads is a stay at home dads group looking to connect dads in the East Central Illinois area. It was formed to give dads a chance to network with other dads and provide opportunities for their children to socialize. Activities include visits to the library, parks, museums, and restaurants. A Dad's Night Out is planned once a month to give dads a chance to socialize.

This At-Home Dad's Group is for dads with kids of all ages. Whether by choice or not, we've all been given the opportunity to make a difference in the lives of our children.

This group offers the chance to join a group of men to share in our experiences as parents whether you have an infant or college bound high schoolers. ALL are welcome!

We will share in playgroups, monthly Dad's Night Out meetings, field trips and other family events such as the big summer BBQ!

I hope you'll join this newly formed and fun group!

Hi everyone,
I'm a new user and familiar with Chicago Dads. I write for Chicago Parent and have pitched an article idea about Chicago Dads specifically, but the more research I do on Athomedad.org, the broader the scope of the article is becoming.
I spoke with webmaster Mike (congrats on the new baby!) and would include an interview with him about the technical side of organizing and running these two sites. I want to know from y'all:
1. how you use the sites to help with your parenting/sanity?
2. what has Chicago Dads/Athomedad given you that you hadn't had before?