Hello all! I am Daddy H and
can I start by saying what an honour it is to be That’s My Mummy’s first guest
blogger just in time for Father's Day!
I’ve spent a couple of days wondering
about what I should write about. There appears to be a plethora of “daddy
blogs” that have sprung up over recent years, and to be honest, I hadn’t
really heard of any of them. It still seems as though the role of
being a dad (despite having change dramatically) still remains shrouded in
mystery. So I sat down and read through a couple of those which have
received widespread acclaim, including one by Tom of “Diary of the Dad” (http://www.diaryofthedad.co.uk/).
It was great to see that Tom, along with most other new dads, had
shared several of the same experiences as me – a relief to think I’m
not doing anything particularly wrong!
So, now I have a little more confidence in my
ability as having “successfully” negotiated the first six months of fatherhood
(mainly due to the exceptional work of Mummy H), I settled upon
celebrating reaching this milestone and all the good things that have
gone on.
Little T’s Achievements
The little guy has had so many (as one
might expect when pretty much everything is new!) that I won’t list them here.
Many of the activities would no doubt be mundane to most passers-by, but
to a new parent they are like scaling Everest or locating the lost
city of Atlantis (e.g. the first sleep through the night)! However, some
of the most heart-warming have included seeing Little T smile for the
first time, and laugh for the first time at ridiculously silly noises we
make to try and keep him entertained. The older he has got (seems ridiculous
given he is only 6 months) the more frequent these moments have been, and
as we enter the second half the year it seems so much more is still to
come - he has just learnt how to roll which has required the camera being kept out constantly!
Mummy and Daddy
Although becoming a parent is a massive
game-changer, it’s not “the end of the world” as some might have you believe.
Mummy H and I have actively tried to ensure that we keep time
for ourselves, to do things that we did before Little T was on the
scene. Some of these he has been able to attend, such as dinners out or weekend
trips away, while other times we have been lucky enough to have the
support of friends and family to do the occasional bit of babysitting!
Having Little T has confirmed to me just how lucky I am to have Mummy H, while
also making me proud to see our own small family unit flourish - it really
is difficult to think of a time before Little T (until we an old holiday
picture crops up on Facebook with two drinks in hand)!
Friends
While it can will initially it can lead
you to feeling tried and exhausted, leaving very little enthusiasm for seeing
friends/visitors, never underestimate what seeing a familiar face can have. We
have been lucky enough to have a constant stream of people offering
to help and support us, which has been invaluable. It has actually brought most
of our friends closer to us, despite some concerns it might do the
opposite (who wants to hang out with a crying baby??). For me it has
cemented some friendships which I hope will now last a lifetime - and some of
these have only recently come about as a result of having Little
T. Attending a pre-natal course (with some like-minded people) presented
the chance to get to know fellow first time dads in the area, and while
our communication is not as frequent nor as entertaining as the mums’
(who still see each other almost every day) it is still another network that
you always feel you could ask if you need some advice (or a escapist
pint).
What’s next?
Overall, the journey so far has been
incredible. Being a dad is one of, if not, the
most important job of your life. Something
incredible happens the moment you first hold your baby. All reservations and hesitations you may have felt about this life
changing moment simply fall away. You know, in that moment, that your life
has changed, but for the better and in a way you did not think possible. I can't wait for the adventure to continue!
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