The Emotional Side of Fatherhood Nobody Talks About

You can’t be everything to everyone. So who are you willing to let down? John and Michael talk about the pressure dads face balancing work, marriage, parenting, friendships, and personal time. From setting boundaries and managing dad burnout to avoiding resentment in marriage, this episode is about making intentional choices, protecting your priorities, and becoming the father you actually want to be.

What does the CEO of Babysense think parents actually need at 3 AM? John and Michael sit down with Babysense CEO and dad of two Elad Erdan to talk baby monitors, sleep, parenting anxiety, marriage, career, and the Dad Renaissance. Elad explains WiFi versus non WiFi monitors, why more data is not always better, and why becoming a dad changed the direction of his life.

Baby girl number two is coming. Michael shares what pregnancy looks like the second time around, what he learned from baby number one, and what he is doing differently to support Abigail and prepare their family. Plus, what every expecting dad should know as pregnancy reaches the halfway point.

We gave our wives the microphones. Vivian and Abigail join John and Michael for an honest conversation about pregnancy, postpartum, motherhood, marriage, careers, and what dads can actually do to support their wives. Plus, Michael and Abigail share some big news: baby number two is on the way.

Trying should be the fun part, right? Trying for a baby is supposed to be the fun part. Then the ovulation strips show up, the fertile window turns into a deadline, and sex starts feeling like something you're clocking into. Nobody really preps dads for that. In this episode, John and Michael sit down outside in Dillon, Colorado (concert crowd noise included) to talk honestly about trying to conceive: John and Viv's five months, Michael and Abigail's six to eight, and every emotion that showed up in between. They get into the stuff most guys never say out loud. The pressure of being "the star of the show" — if you don't perform, there's no baby. The mindset shift of scheduled sex, and how to actually make it fun instead of clinical. What it felt like when a pregnancy test came back negative and not realizing until that night how much the moment meant to his wife. The golf trip Michael was on when Abigail got a negative test the morning of his sister's baby shower, and what he learned about not being emotionally present for it. They also cover the practical side: tracking ovulation, timing morning sex around testosterone levels, why hot tubs are a fertility myth worth knowing about, and when it's worth getting your own levels checked. And the mental side almost nobody addresses — the eight inches between your ears that start asking "is this ever going to work" after a few negative tests in a row. But the bigger point isn't the biology. It's that the trying season, hard as it is, is a chance to build the communication and partnership that carries you into parenthood. John's twins were conceived on Leap Day, an accident neither of them expected, after months of turning a stressful window into something they looked forward to together. If you've been trying for one month or two years, this is a reminder you're not the only one white-knuckling the two-week wait, and you don't have to carry it alone. 🍼 In This Episode