A day in life of a working dad

It's tough being a working dad.  Especially when mom works too.  My wife and I work opposing shifts, hers in the morning, and mine at night, which makes childcare a lot more affordable, but definitely takes some patience.  However, this does mean that I get lots of good one-on-one time with Oliver.

On a normal day we'll get up around 8 to see mom off, and then play until he gets hungry around 9.  Then we'll read or play some more until he takes his first nap somewhere around 10-10:30.  Then I can clean up and get ready for the day, and depending on how long he sleeps, spend some time relaxing on the computer, or playing with the dog.  He'll usually be out for about an hour, after which we'll have some tummy/floor time.   Then we'll read if he's not too restless, we're working on Jules Verne's 20,000 Leagues right now, one of dad's favorites.  If I'm lucky, after that he'll take another bottle and a short nap while I prepare my lunch and his bag for daycare, and then we're out the door and I'm in for 8 hours of non-stop fun work.

It's not a glamorous life by any means.  It's 16 hour days, 5 days a week, but it's hard to have a bad day after you hear that baby giggle, even if it only lasts a few moments.

Being a dad is a lot like being a tree...

When I first stepped into fatherhood, I didn't know what to do with myself.  It wasn't like a panicked, "OHMEHGERSHIMADAD!" it was more of a "Oh, you're here.  What do you want to do now?" feeling.  You see, the problem is you spend 9 months thinking about how much fun you're going to have teaching your baby to do things and play games with you, but when he finally arrives, you realize he's just a noisy, squirmy, often dirty, but adorably tiny person.  Sound like fun?  It's ok if it doesn't, that feeling goes away pretty quick.

Once you get past that, you'll realize there are a lot of fulfilling activities you can do with a newborn.  Here's a list of some of Oliver's favorites:

• Sit outside and describe everything you see. Remember to make sure it's shady, nothing is worse than a sun-burnt newborn, except his mother.
• Read a book.  It doesn't have to be a children's book, you can read whatever you're interested in, they're still just getting used to your voice and developing a sense of language.
• Take pictures.  Lots of them.  It's fun and mom will love it.
• Just hold him.  Stare at him for awhile.  It's more rewarding than it sounds, you just can't enough of your own baby.

In a few months time, there'll be plenty of time to laugh and play games.  Just enjoy the relative tranquility of a newborn while it lasts.  Being a first-time dad is a big challenge, and it can be pretty confusing.  Awkward moments will be abundant, you'll make mistakes, but it's ok, you know you're parents did too.  Just remember, being a dad is a lot like being a tree, in that it has nothing to do with being an elephant.