The Truth About Being a New Dad

Let's lay it all on the table. And let's start with what's on everyone's mind.....

Henry is 19 weeks old. That's about 4.5 months. Pharmie and I have had sex three times since he was born. Yep, there it is. Pharmie got a little... umm... shall we say "roughed up" during Henry's birth. I didn't want to jump the gun and go too quick - I was totally fine taking our time to get "back at it." The doctor said 6 weeks. We waited 8 to play it safe. But for the last 11 weeks, we've been too pooped to do "anything." Henry has just started sleeping through the night, and that has helped. It's hard to feel "frisky" when you're being woke up every few hours.

(Henry used to sleep in a "pack-n-play" at the foot of our bed, but about a week ago we moved him to his crib in his room. It worked well for him to be in the pack-n-play because if he woke up mad and got TOO hungry too quickly, he could easily get too pissed to eat if Pharmie wasn't ready soon enough. But the pack-n-play also "wiggles" a lot, and Henry's a "twitchy" baby, and we think he sometimes would wake himself up and then be pissed. He slept through the night for the first 5 nights he slept in his crib! [And the last 2 nights he's just woken up once.] I think simply a more sturdy bed kept him from waking himself up. Even in the few days leading up to starting to sleep in the crib, he would wake up 2-5 times a night.)

All babies are a lot of work. Henry fit the definition of colic perfectly (he wasn't just "cranky") for about the first 15-17 weeks. He couldn't be left alone. Not only that, but he NEEDED to be held. And even then, it wasn't uncommon for him to be screaming. He's just recently gotten better. Pharmie and I think that the major change in her diet (cutting out wheat, soy, and dairy) along with him just getting older has helped. He now has a personality. He likes to flirt. He's a lot of fun.

It hasn't all been "bad" to have a baby....

My "time management" skills have SKYROCKETED! Pharmie and I have both mentioned this. Now, if one of us doesn't have Henry, we can get SOOO much done in 20 free minutes! And for me, that includes grading student work. (I recently graded a lot of student work and left more comments than usual and finished all of them sooner than I ever have.)

I fall more and more in love with Pharmie based on watching her and Henry. I can't tell you how much I love to see them talk to each other. I've found my eyes welling up a little as I watch them from across the room sometimes. Or maybe that's just because I'm jealous of how much time he gets to spend with her boobs.

The biggest "up side" to having a baby? This face:

Early in the morning before Pharmie's race last weekend


"Hat Time" with Daddy

It sounds stupid, but I've heard everyone say it: "Having a kid is so much work, but they're totally worth it." I was skeptical. I've wanted to say "Really? REALLY? Are you sure you're not just saying that because that's what you're SUPPOSED to say? Come on... tell me the truth." But you know what? It IS true. Those moments he cracks a smile, or mimics your noises, or giggles when you play with him are priceless.

We wouldn't trade our little guy for the world.

Well, we'd maybe trade him for the chance to take a 3 hour nap on a Saturday afternoon....


UPDATE:
This is part of a comment from blogger buddy Carolina John. I needed to add this in as part of the regular post. This is gold:

...babies will ruin your life. When we say that everyone says "you mean change right?" No, I mean ruin. The life you had before is completely destroyed. That doesn't mean that what you are left with is bad, just that it's so completely different nobody can understand it until you actually join the club and have a baby. When you're pregnant, you get sick of people telling you how much it will change your life, then you see the change and wonder why nobody was able to warn you.

Back with more on my "training" with Henry lately, and what I'm hoping to do over the winter.