The great news is that my son was born in time for Father's Day, coming in at 8 lbs, 14 oz, and 22 inches tall (or should that be 22 inches long until he can walk?). The first week of fatherhood has taught me many lessons, the most important of which for this blog is that free time vanishes until we figure things out that'll lead to more time to type my incessant thoughts as a first-time father.
To be fair just writing this brief update is a sign that my wife and I are getting more efficient with babycare. We've begun to realize that it's okay to hang out with him outside of the nursery because a diaper change can wait the extra ten seconds it takes to walk down the hall. When he sleeps in the nursery, listening to podcasts are fine, but watching the World Cup and Netflix are so much more entertaining.
It's also okay to have him sleep in his bassinet. Not every nap must be skin-to-skin, no matter how cute and awesome it is to hold him next to me, zonked out from his latest food coma. We've learned that it's okay to put him down for a moment while we brush our teeth. We still check on him every 30 seconds to hear his breathing or see his chest rise and fall, but that's 30 more seconds of two-handed functionality we didn't have a few days ago.
When the in-laws visit, it's okay to be happy that someone else is holding your newborn so that you can brush your teeth, wash your face and put on deodorant. Shaving my face happens on a three-day cycle; not because I don't have the time, but because there's no real point these days. I don't want my son to know just yet that he's destined to a life of facial hair in which his mustache will never connect to his beard.
Ah, time's up. Diaper change commence!
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