On May 20th, 2015, my brother became an uncle, my sister became an aunt, my parents became grandparents, my wife became a mother and I became a father. People say that having a child is an amazing feeling, but I realized on that day, that is something you can’t describe. It’s a feeling that you won’t be able to understand, until you get it.

Meet Annabelle

Such a sweet little girl. Being born was just the first step. Now she has to be my daughter. I have to be her dad. That’s going to be easy, right? Haha.. ha… I have learned a lot, and I still have a lot to learn.

The Importance of Burping

Somehow nobody ever told me how important burping is. I know you have to burp babies, because they can’t do it themselves, but nobody ever said anything about the ensuing hell if you miss a crucial burp. It’s fun though. I’ve even started enjoying my own burps a bit more.

Eat, Sleep, Poop

The holy trinity of babies, as I’ve sort of figured out. If you get those three right and in the right order, you’ll basically be fine. You also can’t forget burping, but I don’t know what the word is for the four part equivalent of trinity. My daughter is about 2 months old now and she’s only just now starting to have additional needs, such as entertainment and social interaction.

It may sound pretty simple, but it isn’t. Babies aren’t very good at communication.

The Guessing Game

You are bound to get something wrong and the baby will get upset. It’s very easy to tell when the baby gets upset. Even your neighbors will know. When the baby starts crying it becomes a guessing game. You can go through a process of elimination but that will only get you part of the way. Diapers empty? Check. Hungry? No. Needs to burp? That’s something you can’t answer quickly. The only thing you can do is try and get the bubbles out. If this wasn’t the solution then you’ve wasted some time. There are quite a few things that will upset the baby. I think even boredom might be one of them.

Speaking of Poop

You’re going to be spending lot’s of money on diapers. Just be ready for that. And because babies grow so fast you can’t stock up on a bunch of diapers in the current size. After two months we’ve gone from “Newborn” to “Small” and now she’s wearing “Medium” sizes.

Diapers have to be changed regularly. The baby doesn’t like sitting or lying around in it’s own feces.

I make it sound so bad. Poop, crying, vomit… It’s all part of the game, but as long as it’s your own child, I think it’s not so bad. Plus…

The Smile that Melts your Heart

In between all the sleeping and pooping and crying there are special moments. When she smiles at me. That’s what I do it for.