A Guide to the Best of Southern California : AT HOME : It’s a Father!

EXPECTANT FATHERS who feel neglected during mom’s pregnancy can get equal time with the Labor Coach Kit. This playful attache case full of goodies designed to help fathers become more involved in the labor and delivery process is the brainchild of Elise and Dimitri Vazelakis. When the couple began childbirth classes in preparation for the arrival of their first child, Dimitri excitedly went shopping for such items as a stopwatch to time contractions and a paper bag to prevent hyperventilation. “But when we found there was nothing on the market that had everything in one place to help dads,” Elise says, “we developed the Labor Coach Kit and decided to market it for soon-to-be fathers.”

Baby Alexander arrived last March, and the Labor Coach Kit (about $35) shortly thereafter. According to Elise, all the items in the kit--a baseball cap, stopwatch, therapy ball, sports bottle, telephone lineup chart to list essential phone numbers, earplugs, time-of-delivery pool card for fans, and flash cards containing helpful coaching tips for each stage of labor--revolve around a sports theme “because we felt like we were in training for the main event,” Elise says. In addition, there are assorted informational “score cards.”

“Some items are functional,” she says, “but a lot are for fun. We want new parents to find some humor in the situation.”

The Labor Coach Kit is available by mail order: P.O. Box 67308, Los Angeles 90067, or by telephoning (213) 550-8299. It is also sold at all Babyland locations.