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Advice for Papas, Pères to be…
When my first child was about to be born, someone asked me how I imagined my life changing? How would it be different? What were my expectations? My response was that it was impossible for me to predict how a life altering event would indeed alter my life. All I knew is that it was going to be next chapter in my life. So this advice isn’t just for new Dads, but it will be particularly useful for them. In no particular order of importance…
Say hi to your new life
In no way, should you mourn your old life, but for the next 1–3 years, that old life, where you had time, i mean lots of time for yourself is going to be nowhere near. About the worst thing you can do, is try to reclaim it or hang on to it. You’ve gone from tennis to rugby. Yes, it’s a team sport now.
When the baby sleeps, you sleep
The one thing you will miss more than sex, yes it’s possible, is sleep. Sleep will be this fleeting never have enough of it fantasy. One way to get some of it back is to sleep when the baby sleeps. When your baby sleeps, you may be tempted to get in that video game session with your boys you’ve been missing, heck no. Full stop. Go to f’ing sleep. All things flow from sleep, mainly your sanity and reservoir of patience.
Don’t wait for a phase or age. Enjoy every second
I’ve heard a few fathers tell me how they were “waiting” for their kids to turn a certain age because at that point they would be more or less adult-like. Or you hear tills like just wait till they turn X months or X years, they are so <insert descriptor but basically do not like how they are at the present>. Well, unlike the Eternals, we are not guaranteed tomorrow. Time does fly by incredibly so. One moment you look in the rearview mirror of your car and see a baby barely able to hold up his head, the next moment they are a senior in high school. It does feel and it does go by that fast. So enjoy the early days, the terrible twos and threes, and everything single moment in between.
Record everything like you are a Paparazzi
Your first child is not the time to rethink the subscription to Google One or the extra storage on Apple. Add storage and…
