Babies and Beer, a newborn class for dads, is coming to Lawrence to teach baby basics and help new fathers support their partners and connect with other dads.
University of Kansas pediatric nurse, clinical assistant professor and father Nate Mattson created the class to help new dads feel more prepared for birth, newborn care and the early days at home.
Through his work in the pediatric and neonatal intensive care units, general pediatrics and the newborn nursery, Mattson has spoken with hundreds of dads right after birth and said many of them were listening, but not fully processing what he was telling them.
“I thought to myself, ‘Man, how can I make this a situation where dads know what to expect, they’re engaged when I talk to them, they’re listening, they’re understanding, they’re comprehending, they’re asking questions back to me, because they’re armed with knowledge?’” Mattson said.
Don’t miss a beat … Click here to sign up for our email newsletters
Click here to learn more about our newsletters first
Free State Brewing Co., 636 Massachusetts St., will host the first Babies and Beer class in Lawrence for $1 at 6:30 p.m. on Wednesday, May 6.
While mothers can take classes on labor, breastfeeding, newborn care and prenatal fitness, resources designed for dads are harder to find, Mattson said.
Please support
The Lawrence Times!
Subscribe here.
Babies and Beer is a two-hour, hands-on course where new fathers learn what to expect at the hospital, from newborn nutrition and car seats to diapering, safe sleep and bathing. The course also focuses on how dads can support their partners through each stage of the process.
“If we can have a helpful partner at home who is participating and active and give mom the rest that they deserve and need to heal their bodies and their minds, that is going to help them recover to a more full extent,” Mattson said.
Mattson said he had connected with Free State Brewing Co. owner Chuck Magerl, who agreed to offer space for the class after hearing about the concept.
“We had times in the past where perhaps those questions would be handled from one generation to another,” Magerl said. “Most of us don’t have that immediate family connection right next door, and so the need to be able to find a social way to communicate how we care for our kids, how we care for each other seems like a really good avenue to pursue.”
Mattson said the name Babies and Beer is meant to be approachable.
“Babies and Beer was just a fun name to get catchy out there,” Mattson said. “I have gotten pushback on the beer before, but I’m here to have fun, and this class is meant to be fun.”
Mattson said that hosting the class in a brewery was a way to get new dads comfortable in a space where they can learn and feel safe to ask questions.
The class is evidence-based, referencing information from medical and safety sources such as the American Academy of Pediatrics, the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, La Leche League and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
Mattson said he does not make parenting decisions for dads. On questions such as breastfeeding or bottle-feeding, circumcision and newborn vaccines, he explains the options and leaves the decisions to parents.
“I got three slides into my third class, and a guy goes, ‘Alright, I trust you. I trust you with everything. How do I hold a baby?’” Mattson said.
Mattson said that holding a baby isn’t as simple as cradling them against your chest. Instead, he teaches dads to support the baby’s head by placing a thumb behind one ear and the middle finger behind the other, with the baby’s body resting along the forearm.
“I really liked it,” class participant Jonathan Ellis said. “You have full control of baby, hand to the world, hand to when you trip over something, you can catch yourself, you know, like someone’s bumping into you, you have that free hand and the baby’s secure.”
Ellis said his wife found the class and that he liked the idea of learning from a medical professional with firsthand experience as a dad. He said he went in anxious and overwhelmed, but the hands-on portion helped make everything click.
Ellis said the brewery made him more comfortable and helped to create conversations between the dads in the room. He said the class gave him more confidence and helped him feel ready for parenthood.
Mattson starts every class by having the dads introduce themselves, say when they are due and share a hobby, hoping that will open them up to conversation whether over a shared interest or a close due date.
“This last week, I had two dads that said they were interested in tennis link up and share numbers to say, ‘Hey, we’re having a baby around the same time. We both play tennis. Let’s play tennis sometime,’” Mattson said.
The class has drawn a mix of participants, including uncles, grandparents, adoptive dads, friends of dads and even dads who came back a second time.
The next two Lawrence classes are Wednesday, Aug. 12 and Wednesday, Nov. 11 and people can sign up on the Babies and Beer website. The classes cost $50 to attend and do not include beer, but dads may buy one before the class starts and during the halfway break.
Babies and Beer offers scholarships for dads who need financial help, and donors can sponsor one, two, 10 or 15 dads. Mattson also offers private lessons for people with privacy concerns and those who can’t attend the regular class times.
At the end of the day for Mattson, this is about helping his community.
“I just feel so energized when I’m done with the Babies and Beer experience,” Mattson said. “I got to help these dads. They all shook my hand. They looked me right in the eye, and said, ‘Thank you so much.’”
If local news matters to you, please help us keep doing this work.
Don’t miss a beat — get the latest news from the Times delivered to your inbox:
Click here to learn more about our newsletters first
Courtney Lane (she/her), staff reporter, has worked with The Lawrence Times since April 2026. She can be reached at [email protected].
Read her complete bio here. Read her work for the Times at this link, and see her photography for the Times at this link.
Latest Lawrence news:
Molly Adams / Lawrence Times
Jacob Rice / Lawrence Times
Molly Adams / Lawrence Times
Jacob Rice / Lawrence Times
