{We are 4 days out from Father’s Day 2014 and to honor the men in our lives, we are turning over the blogging reins to some pretty special dads this week. Check out all of our dads this week as they share their joys, regrets, and journeys to fatherhood with Austin Dads Blog.}
I’ve known Joe since 2007 and the moment I learned he was a new dad, I was eager to have him guest post for AMB. What better time than to honor him for Father’s Day?! As a professional bachelor, I knew Joe’s journey to fatherhood had to be unique… and in typical Joe fashion, he didn’t disappoint. I’m so excited to have my friend and first-time dad share what he’s learned in his 2 short months as a co-parenting dad. Here’s Joe’s story.
I’m two months into being the dad of a beautiful, amazing baby girl named Olivia. So come Sunday, I will be celebrating my first Father’s Day.
How I became a dad, you ask? Well… the good ‘ole fashion way! Why am I co-parenting you might wonder…? I am 45 years old, never been married and in most eyes, I am considered successful. I am able to do what I want and generally when I want. I have also led a very adventurous life…I’ve done several Ironman’s, ran with the bull’s, motor cycled through Patagonia and ran through the Andes mountains. But, there finally reached a point in my life where I wanted to celebrate in someone else’s achievements more than my own.
But my parents were married for 45 plus years until the day my dad passed so I had a very high standard for marriage. I didn’t want to get married just for the sake of having a child, as when I do get married, I want it to be for life like my parents. And to be honest, I don’t think I’m ready for that, whether it be a timing or maturity issue. Thus, that left me 45 years old, single and wanting to be a dad more than anything.
A friend told me as I was about to become a dad, “get ready for the biggest adventure of your life.”
As most men do, I had a preconceived notion of what being a parent meant…I was wrong.
Here is what I’ve learned in the few weeks that I have been a dad…
- God’s greatest gift to man (and mankind) was not giving us boobs. I understand that there is a certain bond that comes between mother and child during nursing, but I now understand that it is also an external umbilical cord connecting mom and child…24 hours a day. After about a week of no sleep and raw nipples, every guy out there would be mixing formula and throwing the Medela in the trash heap. But not mom’s…..no matter how tired they are or how painful it might be, they nurse 7-10 times a day with a patience and a joy that no man will ever understand.
- Poop comes in several different colors…the worst is the first few days of the black, gooey stuff that makes asphalt tar look like kids play…then somehow breast milk can turn it to the color of mustard and then randomly, the yellow stuff turns to green.
- I love the smell of my baby girl…from her skin to her breath, there is not an aromatherapy candle out there that makes me feel more at peace than breathing in my baby girl.
- Even though they say its not cognitive yet and she doesn’t know what she’s doing, when my baby girl squeezes my finger or wraps her arms around my chest or neck, a protective instinct that I have never known in my entire life kicks in…I would do anything in the world to keep my baby girl safe.
- But 9 weeks in, what I have realized most is that my friend was right, being a dad is the greatest adventure of my life and I can’t wait to share every day and every new adventure with my beautiful baby girl.
