I am a first time dad. There’s absolutely no beating around the bush on that. I’m not going to pretend I’m an expert or that I have it all figured out. In fact, I am your stereotypical first time dad, and if you talk to me about it, I’m sure you’ll hear all sorts of cliches and very few original thoughts come out of my mouth. With that being said, there is nothing better than being a dad.
The top three questions I get from people when I meet with them (in no particular order): 1) What’s it like? 2) How’s it going? 3) What has the biggest adjustment been? Again, I have no original thoughts or genius ideas on these, but I am willing to answer these openly and honestly.
For starters, being a dad is amazing. Jenna and I talk about how amazing it is that such a little human can enter your life (in our case at 7lbs 12oz) and make such a profound change. No longer can we go where we want, when we want. No longer can we solely focus on things WE want/need to get done. Our entire world revolves around one little baby-girl blessing and doing everything we can to raise her.
Secondly, so far, being a dad is going great. Like anything, some days are better than others. It was MUCH easier before teeth when she would sleep through the night, but all-in-all, we have a pretty easy baby who is happy just rolling around on the floor or watching her puppies wrestle. We will soon get to the point where we “baby-proof” our house, and we are already having to keep a close eye on the dogs, mainly because Isla has not quite learned her own strength when grabbing at their fur.
Finally, when it comes to adjustments, without a doubt the biggest relates to priorities. Before January 21st, I was convinced that Baby Watley would become #1 on my priority list, and then I would fill the rest of the list with running, housework, reading, etc. What I did NOT account for was the fact that I would have #1 (Isla), and then nothing else! There is one thing that I am focused on, and nearly everything else I do is a matter of helping me accomplish #1.
Anyway, I’m sure if you are reading this and have kids, you might totally disagree with me on many points, and that’s OK! These are just a few of the things I have learned for me personally, and I realize the experiences of others might differ.
Isla is already growing up so fast (maybe too fast), and I am emphatic that I am not going to do anything to miss out on that.
I am a first time dad. And I love it.
Logan
months old now, and I feel like we (Isla and me) are just starting to develop an understanding. Really, it doesn’t take a rocket-scientist to make the connection that if she’s screaming her head off and it’s been more than an hour since she ate last, she’s probably hungry. Likewise, if she’s screaming and she DID just eat, then it’s probably a diaper change. And somewhere in-between, I am able to recognize her heavy eyes that tell me it’s maybe been a little too long since she’s napped. At the same time, Isla somehow knows when exactly I need to see that silly little toothless grin; usually first thing in the morning when she wakes up or late at night when she’s not quite ready to go to bed.
All of the running I did this spring culminated with the Lincoln Half Marathon on Sunday, May 7th. I had realistic expectations while training up to the race (goal of 1:18), but the three weeks leading up to the race did not go at all as I had planned. I ran total weekly miles of 12, 22 and 26 miles and didn’t do a single workout outside of long runs. Because of this (lack of) training, I considered dropping out of the race completely, but in the end, several friends talked me into running the race just to do it, and I settled on a goal pace of sub 1:22. I could detail how the race unfolded, but the end result was 1:21:21 (6:13/mi pace). I left the race completely happy, knowing that I got more out of the race than the work I felt I had put in. It also served as a motivating tool to return to some type of running routine and reminded me why I like running so much in the first place.
