Daddy-o dot coms

When you are a new father, an endorsement from another dad is the best endorsement there is, says Jon Armstrong. Are you looking for tips on how to get the baby to sleep? A recommendation on the best stroller or car seat?

Of course, Armstrong could always ask a family member questions like these. And he has neighbors who have kids. And he has friends. (But some of the dads he knows who are his age are already on their fourth child. They were probably tired of diaper talk six years ago.)

Sometimes Armstrong prefers to go online. "The Internet links people with similar kinds of experiences much more quickly," he says. On the Internet he has had some of his best dad-to-dad exchanges.

• slowlane.com describes itself as "the searchable online reference for SAHDs" (stay-at-home dads), but it offers information and links for every type of fatherhood organization — from the over-50 first-time dad to the divorced dad to the gay dad.

• trixieupdate.com is all about numbers. The at-home dad who started it uses this site to chart his daughter's every feeding, nap and diaper change. His original plan was for his wife to be able to enter the site from work and see how the baby was doing. Now he's making software so other parents can track their babies just as closely.
  (Note: This site is funnier than it sounds. His best chart is the one that extrapolates his daughter's weight gain. She went from 6 pounds at birth to 9 pounds at 1 month. His chart shows her topping 700 pounds on her first birthday.)

• rebeldad.com talks about books and parenting magazines and links to laidoffdad.com, which, recently anyway, had some political commentary about Presidents Ronald Reagan and Bush.

• bloggingbaby.com is a new online magazine offering condensed versions of the latest baby news.

  Sometimes it's hard to tell if a site is being paid to advertise a certain product. But diaperdude.com is definitely a commercial site where you can order a camouflage diaper bag. babycenter.com is an online store that has tons of gear and parenting info and chat rooms.