The Sandlot’s Patrick Renna Says New Dads Should Ban This One Word

Patrick Renna is no stranger to iconic one-liners and big laughs, but these days, his best material comes from his life as a dad. Known forever to a generation as Hamilton “Ham” Porter from The Sandlot, Renna is now a producer, husband and any day now, a father of three. And while the children’s book author may not be shouting “You’re killin’ me, Smalls” across the ballfield anymore, he’s still got plenty to say.

“We’re due any day now with baby number three,” Renna shared in an interview with The Bump, while promoting his partnership with Advanced Herbals Ginger Chews, from the makers of Dramamine. Already dad to sons Liam, 4, and Flynn, 7, he and his wife are gearing up to welcome their first girl. While they were thrilled by the news, there were no cannons, balloons or viral stunts involved. “Gender reveals never turn out right,” Renna laughed, recounting disastrous ones he’d seen online. “I’ve never seen a gender reveal that went perfectly. There’s always something.”

While Renna likes to keep his celebrations low-key, his advice for dads during the postpartum phase is loud and clear. “I think men have to take the word ‘no’ out of their vocabulary for three weeks after the baby is born. No matter what it is, just say yes,” he said, describing how he aims to be his wife’s postpartum MVP. “My wife has a weapon of a water bottle, one of those half-gallon metal tanks, and I just keep it full. And whatever food she wants, she gets. I think we ordered sushi to the hospital after Liam was born because she missed it. I always eat whatever she eats, so I gain a few pounds every pregnancy,” he joked.

Those early weeks, he says, are all about tuning in and showing up. "It’s either hungry or tired. That’s it,” Renna said. “Our first night home with our oldest, he was just crying, crying, crying and we had no idea why. He was just hungry. My wife’s milk didn’t come in for 24 hours, so we just had to supplement a little bit. Once we figured that out and her milk came in, he was a kid in a candy store. It’s not 100 percent, but generally 99 percent of the time they’re either hungry or tired, and you just have to remind yourself of that and either feed them or somehow get them to sleep.”

Image: Courtesy of Patrick Renna

When it comes to dad life, Renna keeps things fun. His plans for this summer are pretty simple: stay close to home for the first few weeks to await baby’s arrival, then maybe hit the road for a theme park or fair if everyone’s up for it. And if they do? He’s packing Advanced Herbals Ginger Chews, which he recently partnered with.

“I used to love rides. But now I get instantly nauseous,” he said. “I took my son to the LA Fair and had to ride this one thing over and over. Ginger chews saved me—seriously. I popped two before our last ride, and it made all the difference.” The whole family is on board, too, especially during road trips. “My kids get carsick because I always got carsick,” he said. “To be able to take something natural, and then to have Advanced Herbals Kids Gummies for them, is huge. Because I’ll tell you: there’s nothing worse than a kid throwing up in a car seat. It never comes out.”

This Father’s Day, Renna’s hoping for the ultimate gift. “I hope that this Father’s Day I have a new daughter. That would be amazing,” he says. “Her due date is June 21, so if she comes at 39 weeks, that’s kind of perfect.” Even better? He’ll be spending the day with his own dad, too. “My best Father’s Days are the ones I get to spend with my dad and my kids—and we’ll get to do that this year.”

Even between the trips, daily adventures and parenting home runs, Renna says dad guilt still creeps in. “I definitely have dad guilt,” he admitted. "I think it mainly comes from not getting to see them enough, or those moments when I end up work late. But I shut it down on the weekends. No work. I try to go to all the sporting events, all the birthday parties, all the things. You don’t want to miss it. And no matter what, you are going to miss something. But don’t be too hard on yourself.”

Asked for one final piece of parenting advice, Renna keeps it real: "I think everything in this world is about finding the middle. I don’t know how I feel about gentle parenting or harsh parenting. Parts of everything make the most sense,” he said. “I think you have to raise them right and teach them, otherwise they’ll turn into little monsters, and nobody wants that. But you can’t be too harsh either, because they’re just little guys, learning and figuring it all out. I guess that happy medium has always helped me.”

He pauses, then added with a grin: “But hey, I’m not saying I’m right either. I have two kids and one on the way, and I’m still learning too. Like everyone else, I’m just figuring it out.”