It has now been just over two months since our tiny, happy little dictator has entered our lives. To say it has been a learning experience is to say that Emma Thompson is just an actor. Neither statement begins to describe the depth of the reality. As much as Emma Thompson could own any role she chose to take on (*cough* Doctor Who!), so too has the learning expoerience of having young Jack about been more than I expected.
Well, that needs a slight amendment. I knew, for instance, that there would be a high learning curve. What has surprised me, however, is how well I seem to be riding said curve.
Wacky hijinks need not apply.
I’m pretty much a self-taught parent. Margaret has a lot of experience and knowledge on children due to the nature of her work and advanced education. For me, everything I knew about parenting came from television. Surprisingly, television entertainment has fallen a little short. (For one thing, I was expecting a laugh track. Instead, I have to provide my own and it’s little creepy to watch me laughing to myself sometimes. And appluading,)
As I have written before, I’m pretty good at learning things. We ask the experts, we ask other parents, we exercise some masterful Google-fu. So far, we have not had any issues whatsoever.
But this is about skills I’ve picked up over the past two months.
I can change the diaper of a child who kicks… kicks a lot. There is a reason we call him Jackrabbit. This may seem like no big deal, but I also manage to change these diapers and successfully avoid letting the kicking kid land a foot in the middle of a big ol’ poopy diaper.
It’s trickier than it sounds. Ask another parent.
I can dress the child. Again, this may not seem like anything huge, but this kid is a fighter. Oh, sometimes I get a calm, smiling Jack come dressing time, but more often than not a get a kid who (wisely) sees clothes as a sign of oppression.
I don’t blame him for making a fuss… so long as I win. And yes, I even manage the dreaded long-sleeved onesie under the long-sleeved sweatshirt. That’s really tricky.
I can warm a bottle to the perfect temperature, and time it so it gets to the child just before the wails erupt.
Monday.
I know the signs of hunger, wet diaper, and both at once. I can tell when he’s overtired, and I can tell when he’s bored. In most cases I can alleviate all of these situations to his satisfaction.
And I can bundle a baby with the best of ’em.
Not bad for a guy who has only been at this for a couple of months.
And it may seem like this whole piece is about tooting my on horn, and I’m enough of an egotist to not deny it and humble enough to admit it.
But the real point of this piece is that if I can do it, anyone can do it. Yes, it’s a lot of work, but it’s work that can be done. New dads need not despair.
Really.
I’m not saying it’s easy, but I’m saying it’s really not that hard.
Sure, there are still some aspects to parenthood I’m still struggling with. Most of it involves timing. If I want to leave the house at 1pm, there’s still a good chance that might not actually be until 2 or 3. Making solid plans is the hardest thing to do right now, but I think we’ll manage it eventually. Most other folks seem to.
How hard can it be?
(Note, yes, this post is a little late, but I can’t blame the baby, can I? Yes. Yes, I can.)
Cheers!
–John
