Parenthood

When I became a father for the first time, it didn’t hit me until Ellie was born after. I remember thinking to myself, ‘this is it, we’re now responsible for this individual.’ It was always in the back of my mind that we are going to be parents one day. But you don’t truly know until that very moment. Then it reinforces that state of mind when Ellie is a few months old and starts to show some expressions and more interactive.
Those few nights at home with a newborn were surreal. You’re in this dreamlike state, trying to go about your routine, figuring out what the baby’s needs are. At this point I’m still calling our newborn, ‘the baby,’ we haven’t quite wrapped our head around calling our newborn by her name, even though we already have a name registered.
The only thing, I knew I can do at the time was try to manage the chaos that was to ensue. I made sure we had all the supplies needed, diapers, and formula to help supplement until Le Man can figure out breastfeeding.
By about the third day, I had a mental checklist of what I had to do next. At this point, my memory was excellent. Sharp as nails. I rarely needed to write things down despite the lack of sleep and fatigue. After all, I was younger at the time. The memory nowadays, what was I saying again? Just lost my train of thought. The struggle with Dad brain is real.
Slower brain function quietly creeps in. My kids let me know how lost I am all the time. Oh how quick and nimble I used to think I was, now I can’t remember why I entered a room.
Oh yes, back to baby, god I’m tired. My turn to bottle feed. After the feeding, burp baby, diaper change and if she’s good she goes back to sleep. We can in turn catch up on sleep. Next hour, get up handwash those Dr. Brown bottles, wash the bottles with a bottle brush and then wash those other little parts like the syringe thing that’s supposed to reduce air bubbles in the milk, reducing gas in the baby. The final step after washing, steam clean to kill any germs, bacteria.
Ya, the first kid was special. Extra hygienic and took every precaution to ensure nothing was dirty. By the third kid, I think I rinsed the bottles in hot water. Dropped food on the floor, five-second rule right? We’ll talk about multiple kids in the next post. That’s a fun one. =)