A Word on Being a Parent

Scared, originally uploaded by jhackg0d.

For those of you who are not parents right now, but some day in the future would like to be parents, and have no idea what to expect then this post is for you.

I can’t say right now that I know everything there is to know about being a parent. I only have a 3 month old son… but you’d be surprised just what you can learn in as little as 3 months.

First things first… the hardest part so far of being a dad is definitely sleep (lack thereof). We are told that we got lucky since Noah usually sleeps from 10:30 until 6 most nights. This is definitely phenomenal since he has been doing this for like 2 months now. However, I am the type of person that loves to sleep in and loves to get at least 9 to 10 hours of sleep each night.

Now, more or less, I’m averaging 4-7 hours sleep per night. In other words, if you are having a baby soon or are ever planning on having one, prepare for the lack of sleep.

The other thing I’m noticing more and more about being a dad is that nothing is about me anymore. I had a hard time parting with my video games and 2 hour computer ritual every night. But when I look back on it, I was wasting my time with it. I still get to play video games maybe once or twice a week but I’ve gotten over it.

In the first 3 months you will probably start to realize that you have no time for yourself to get anything done except for cleaning and working and going to school (if you are). I’m completely OK with that now… I realized I used to be selfish and wanted everything to be about me and my wants. I’ve let go of that now and am very focused on being a good father.

If you make it through the first two hurdles, the rest is golden. The lack of sleep, and the lack of time don’t matter when you’ve got a precious little baby there who needs your attention. There is no feeling greater than when your baby smiles when you smile at him or her. It makes me smile more than I ever have in my entire life. Babies are very fun once you get past selfishness and sleep deprivation.