Time goes so fast. They grow so quickly.
Clichéd as these things sound, people aren’t joking. Our little girl is already a month old and trying to roll around. Like a know-it-all teenager I figured it was all rubbish. But to paraphrase the great Han Solo – “It’s true…all of it”.
I was terrified as I wrote Super Duper Dad #1. I didn’t know how to look after a baby and I had no idea what to expect. That seems so long ago now. I don’t fret about supporting my little one’s neck and nappies are a doddle.
Instead of worrying about things turning out OK, we’re now into the thick of it!
I’d never considered five hours to be enough sleep before. And I’ve never talked about poo so much in my life. Green pesto!
We’ve been very good about getting outside, and had a lot of visitors. We’ve also seen a lot of Tipping Point and Cash Trapped and have even managed some films! Having family nearby even allowed us to go on a date night (can’t recommend that enough).
Having an understanding employer helps; two weeks of Paternity leave plus leave gave us a chance to get our head around things. It’s especially useful as we spent the first two weeks in and out of hospital. The NHS has been an absolute marvel as far as we’re concerned. They’ve been simultaneously caring, never condescending, always there for us, and are just a great bunch of people.
I’m not going to go into detail about labour as there isn’t much point. Comparing experiences only shows how different it is each time, so there’s not much to be gleaned from it. Make sure your birth plan’s sorted; even if it doesn’t work out you’ll at least know what you really don’t want to do.
What I can say, with absolute certainty, is that my wife is a stone-cold superstar. Labour was the most terrifying thing we’ve been through but she was awesome. She’s gone on to take to being a Mother like a duck to water and I couldn’t be more proud.
Apparently our little one doesn’t care about much so we’ve been lucky so far. I’m not great with the sleep, and I’ve got uppity at times. As someone who’s had things pretty cushy and is prone to being selfish, this is a big thing to deal with. But I’ve learnt a couple of things.
The first thing is to use your support network. Lean on each other, and take all the help you can! Don’t be too proud and don’t feel guilty. More importantly, parenthood seems to be mainly about common sense, and it would seem that I’ve actually got some!
Father to a one month old. She’ll be going to school soon at this rate!
P.S. The featured image is of another famous Father. I’ve been sharing photos all over social media, but putting them on here seems far more open than I’m comfortable with as I can’t control things like I can on a Facebook post. I may well share on here in the future, but for now I liked using Bowser so thought I’d pick out another one.
Be the first to comment