Welcome to Big Daddy!

Welcome to Big Daddy - Adventures in Fatherhood, a blog devoted to chronicling the adventures of fatherhood from day one. Throughout my wife's pregnancy, we were manically consuming material on the ins and outs of parenthood. We read books, magazines, watched videos, went to seminars, the whole deal. Constantly, I found myself frustrated by how mother-centric most parenting material is. It was out of this frustration, that the idea of Big Daddy was born. My hope is that this blog could serve as a roadmap of sorts for new fathers. In it, I intend to document my experiences, both good and bad, of being a new dad.

There is one piece of wisdom I can already offer to any prospective, or new dad's out there: Everything you have been told is true, once the baby gets here everything changes.

Change is not necessarily bad. In fact, change can be wonderful. For the past nine days since my daughter was born, my life has been completely flipped around. But, as I hope that you will find in your own experience, this change is a blessing, not a curse. In my opinion, crossing the threshold of fatherhood is the final rite of manhood. I feel more comfortable, more complete in my manhood now that I ever had before. It takes a real man to be a good father. Fatherhood is not simple, easy, or a task that can be carried out unconsciously. Fatherhood takes effort, focus, and sacrifice.

Here's the second piece of wisdom I can offer from the prosective of a new dad. Don't fool yourself into thinking you know everything, you don't know jack.

For months during the pregnancy, people were constantly coming up to us, telling us how we would never sleep again, telling my wife how painful the delivery would be, inundating us with all kinds of factoids and advice for every occasion. Our response generally consisted of a smile, a nod, and a gracious thank you. Then secretly, to ourselves we would laugh and say, "that will never happen to us." In the past week, more than at any other time in my life, I've come to terms with my arrogance in a new way. Fatherhood has been one of the most humbling experiences I have ever had. For the most part, everything people told us is true. The delivery was hard, the sleepless nights are difficult, it can at times be incredibly frustrating taking care of a newborn. Not everyone has the same experience of parenthood or childbirth, but certainly there is a norm! Listen to the advice people give you! Sometimes it's pretty good. It only took two nights at home with the baby before my wife and I looked at each other and said, "This is gonna be harder than we thought."

It is hard, but it's also a completely awesome experience. Everytime I take my daughter in my arms I'm amazed and overwhelmed- amazed at this beautiful little creation God has blessed me with, and overwhelmed by the magnitude of the responsibility that has been entrusted to me. It is hard, but brother, let me tell you- it's worth it.