I suppose I should have added more to this for a new soon-to-be dad:
* It's not as hard as you think. Babies are resilient!
* You don't need nearly as much clothes/equipment as the baby industry wants to sell you.
* Yeah, it may (or may not) take a few weeks for your baby to sleep through the night. Even so they tend to only get up once.
* Changing diapers is no big deal, especially for a baby.
* Enjoy it! It really is all over as fast as it began. My oldest flew the coup a few years back and it really does seem like yesterday when they were born. Your kid will be in college before you know it.
* Finally, lots of things in life will start to make sense. Raising children gives you a certain perspective on things, and no, watching someone else's kids from time-to-time isn't even remotely close to the 24x7, no days off responsibility of raising kids.
* If I could change anything I would have liked to have had more kids, but I already had 3. There's a lot of logistics pushing back on you to cap it at 3. TBH, there's a lot of logistics pushing back on you to cap it at 2. But we had 3 anyway! Bwhahahahahahaha!
Like I said, get your "what to expect" books, take it as guidance and not gospel, remember every kid is different.
Oh, and before I go - this is a bit darker issue - don't try to live vicariously through your kids, don't impose your hopes and dreams onto them. They're different people, they'll have different hopes and dreams. Your job is to help them figure out who they are and help them take the steps they need to realize their hopes and dreams. Just always remember they're their own people, not xerox copies.
* It's not as hard as you think. Babies are resilient!
* You don't need nearly as much clothes/equipment as the baby industry wants to sell you.
* Yeah, it may (or may not) take a few weeks for your baby to sleep through the night. Even so they tend to only get up once.
* Changing diapers is no big deal, especially for a baby.
* Enjoy it! It really is all over as fast as it began. My oldest flew the coup a few years back and it really does seem like yesterday when they were born. Your kid will be in college before you know it.
* Finally, lots of things in life will start to make sense. Raising children gives you a certain perspective on things, and no, watching someone else's kids from time-to-time isn't even remotely close to the 24x7, no days off responsibility of raising kids.
* If I could change anything I would have liked to have had more kids, but I already had 3. There's a lot of logistics pushing back on you to cap it at 3. TBH, there's a lot of logistics pushing back on you to cap it at 2. But we had 3 anyway! Bwhahahahahahaha!
Like I said, get your "what to expect" books, take it as guidance and not gospel, remember every kid is different.
Oh, and before I go - this is a bit darker issue - don't try to live vicariously through your kids, don't impose your hopes and dreams onto them. They're different people, they'll have different hopes and dreams. Your job is to help them figure out who they are and help them take the steps they need to realize their hopes and dreams. Just always remember they're their own people, not xerox copies.