Gifts for Dad-to-Be: What Expecting Dads Actually Use

Shopping for gifts for a dad-to-be is harder than it looks. He doesn’t need the baby gear yet, and the “World’s Best Dad” mug can wait until he’s earned it. The gifts that land are the ones that get him ready: for the birth, for the first night home, and for the moment it all becomes real. This list is for Christmas, a birthday or a baby shower, and for anyone buying for an expecting dad, including from his partner.

Shopping for a dad whose baby is already here? See our best gifts for new dads instead.

How we made this list: we picked gifts that are useful before the baby arrives or in the first weeks, and checked every detail on the maker’s or publisher’s own website in October 2026. We haven’t tested these ourselves. Prices change, so we’ve left them off products sold on Amazon.

The short answer

• Best book for the birth: The Birth Partner, 6th edition.
• Best book for the whole pregnancy: The Expectant Father, 5th edition.
• Best class: Boot Camp for New Dads, a live online workshop.
• Best gear: a diaper backpack made for dads, and a night light and sound machine for the nursery.
• Best keepsake: Letters to My Baby, a set of letters he can write now.

Get him ready for the birth

Best book for the birth: The Birth Partner

If he reads one book before the due date, make it this one. It’s written for “dads, partners, doulas, and other labor companions”: the person in the room whose job is to help. It walks through what happens at each stage of labor and what to do, which is exactly what most dads feel unprepared for. The sixth edition came out in December 2024. Pair it with our guides to when to go to the hospital for labor and what dads do during labor.

Best book for the whole pregnancy: The Expectant Father

A month-by-month guide written for dads: what’s happening with the baby, how to support his partner, and how to get ready. It’s from the same series as The New Father, which is on our list for dads whose baby has arrived, so the two make a natural pair a few months apart.

Best class: Boot Camp for New Dads

Boot Camp for New Dads is built only for men: a live, three-hour online workshop on a Saturday, open to first-time dads-to-be anywhere in the US. The nonprofit has run since 1990, lists the workshop at $40 per dad on its site, and sells gift certificates. One thing to know: it doesn’t give refunds, though it will reschedule.

Also worth it: an infant CPR course

Not something you wrap, but one of the most useful gifts on this list. The American Red Cross runs an online Pediatric (Child and Baby) First Aid/CPR/AED course that takes about 2 hours and 25 minutes, listed at $37 on its site. It needs a computer or tablet, not a phone. Check with the Red Cross how to buy it for someone else, or sign up together.

Gear he’ll actually use

Best diaper bag for dads: Tactical Baby Gear Everyday Backpack

A backpack he’ll actually carry, which is the whole point of a diaper bag for dads. The maker built it “for dads”: water-resistant fabric, a changing pad included, an insulated pocket for bottles, a padded laptop or tablet sleeve and straps to hang it on a stroller. It’s expensive for a diaper bag and the tactical look won’t suit everyone.

Best for the nursery: Hatch Baby

Setting up the nursery is often a dad job. Hatch Baby is a sound machine with a soft night light for 3 a.m. feeds and diaper changes, so nobody has to switch on the big light. Two things to know: it needs Wi-Fi, and the full sound library is a subscription after the first three months, though Hatch says that’s optional. Hatch also says to place it at least 3 feet from the baby’s sleep space, with the cord out of reach.

Best stocking stuffer: Yogasleep Hushh 2

A pocket-size white noise machine for the diaper bag, the car or a hotel room on the first trip with the baby. Yogasleep lists up to 34 hours of battery on one charge. Keep it away from the baby’s ears; see the safety note below.

A note on sound machines. A 2014 study in Pediatrics measured 14 infant sleep machines at maximum volume. At about 1 foot away, every one was louder than the recommended noise limit for hospital nurseries, and three were loud enough that, played for more than 8 hours, they would exceed the noise limits set for adults at work. Whatever machine you give, keep it across the room, never in the crib, and the volume low.

Something to keep

Best keepsake: Letters to My Baby

Twelve letters with prompts like “On the day you were born,” to fill in, seal and save for the child to open years later. It’s a small gift that gives him something to do with all the feelings of the waiting months, and a good one from his partner.

What to skip

• Baby gear he can’t use yet, unless it’s on your registry. The essentials list for month one is short; see newborn essentials for dads.
• Anything for the crib that isn’t a fitted sheet. Crib bumpers and inclined sleepers are banned by federal law, and the American Academy of Pediatrics says to keep the crib bare.

FAQ

What do you get a dad-to-be for Christmas?

Something that gets him ready for the birth: The Birth Partner or The Expectant Father, a Boot Camp for New Dads workshop, or an infant CPR course. For gear, a diaper backpack made for dads is a gift he’ll use every day.

What is a good gift for a dad-to-be from his wife?

A class or a keepsake works well. Boot Camp for New Dads gives him a space with other first-time dads, and Letters to My Baby lets him write to the baby before the birth.

What’s the best book for expecting dads?

For the birth itself, The Birth Partner (6th edition, 2024), written for whoever supports her in labor. For the whole pregnancy, The Expectant Father (5th edition), a month-by-month guide for dads.

Are sound machines safe for babies?

They can be, if used carefully. A 2014 study in Pediatrics found some infant sleep machines loud enough at maximum volume to risk babies’ hearing. Keep the machine at least 3 feet from the crib, as Hatch advises for its own, and the volume low.

Is a diaper bag a good gift for a dad?

Yes, if it’s one he’ll actually carry. A backpack made for dads, with a changing pad and room for bottles, gets used every day.

Sources

• The Birth Partner, Sixth Revised Edition, Harvard Common Press (Quarto)
• The Expectant Father, Abbeville Press
• Online workshop and About, Boot Camp for New Dads
• Pediatric (Child and Baby) First Aid/CPR/AED Online, American Red Cross
• Everyday Diaper Bag Backpack, Tactical Baby Gear
• Hatch Baby, Hatch
• Hushh 2, Yogasleep
• Letters to My Baby, Chronicle Books
• Infant sleep machines and hazardous sound pressure levels, Hugh et al., Pediatrics, 2014
• Inclined Sleepers and Other Baby Registry Items to Avoid, American Academy of Pediatrics (HealthyChildren.org)