In honour of Father's Day, we wanted to do something fun and different on the blog. We decided to ask someone with a little more perspective to develop this post — a Father, and a new Dad, Dan.
Dan and his wife, Shannon, are new parents to baby Brody, an adorable 1 1/2 month old little boy living in Toronto, Ontario. See below, where you'll learn of this new Dad's thoughts and feelings about being a Father.
Can you share with our readers what a typical day might look like for you, as a Dad?
During the week it’s mostly the same as before we had Brody, except with less sleep. On the weekends, I’ll usually spend some quality time with him first thing in the morning while my wife sleeps in a bit. We have baby-daddy skin to skin time and I sing him songs I make up myself. I think the big difference is now we spend most of the time doing things with the baby and spending time together as a family. Even if we’re just spending time at home or going for a walk to the local park it’s always great to spend time together as a family.
As a parent, you are constantly caring for your baby and teaching him new things - Is there anything that you feel Brody has taught you?
I think you see things differently after you have a baby. You share their excitement, even when they’re really young. I’ve learned to see the world though fresh eyes, to appreciate the little things and to value every day.
If you could pick one, what would be the most challenging thing, or adjustment that you have had to make as a Dad?
I think the hardest part is finding time for yourself or time to rest. You really have to plan things in advance and try to coordinate with your partner to get in a bit of free time or sneak in a nap.
What’s your favourite activity to do as a family?
We like to go for walks. We try to go for a walk every day if the weather is nice. I find that early on we were a little hesitant to go too far from home or go out for too long but as time goes on we started to expand our comfort zone. The first few days we would only go for short walks in our neighborhood but we gradually built up to longer walks and last weekend we went for a little hike in Rouge Park. Maybe we’ll try to go to a baseball game later in the summer.
What advice would you give to new Dad’s or Dad’s-to-be?
I think the biggest thing is to enjoy every moment. It’s important to take the time to appreciate how special they are when they’re little since they get bigger so fast. One piece of advice someone gave me before the baby came was to get as much sleep as I could while I still could… and he was right – if you like to sleep in, make sure to do it before the baby comes!
A big thank you to Dan for joining us today, and to Shannon for capturing some cute moments on camera. We at Poppys Collection are so thankful for Dan and all of the other Fathers out there — we hope you have a Happy Father's Day!!
Love,
Poppys Collection
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