1. The welcome smile you get in the morning
It's 6am and he is oohing and ahhing through the baby monitor. You’ve a busy day ahead, and you know you need your sleep, but you know what you're going to be greeted with when you poke your head into the cot. Wide eyes and a toothless smile. It makes getting out of bed so worth it.
2. Your sincere attempt to genuinely understand and learn their babbling language
Baby babble! You're making the sound in your head right now, aren’t you? Sure, it varies from baby-to-baby but there are common themes. Mostly, saliva-derived gurgles. You copy their gurgles in an attempt to communicate and see if you can spur a new reaction. Sometimes it works, others, not so much...
3. The feeling of pride from getting such a big burp from such a little person
We had friends over for dinner and during an average winding session, he lets a whopping big, belly-originating belch. Our friends (particularly the male) was shocked at the manliness of the burp. I was never so proud of my little boy.
4. Babies grabbing your ears
At six-months-old, babies start to understand ‘anticipation’. When he's on the changing table, my nose will go down onto his belly for a tickle and come back up. And when the nose goes down, little hands like to take a good, strong grip of your ears and, well, it hurts! But this tells me, he’s developing just fine.
5. Morning time slaps
When we're cuddling in bed for the last few minutes before the day begins, there's an exploratory hand searching for your sleepy face…. then smacking it repeatedly. In a very affectionate way, of course.
6. Guilt trip
Leaving the little one behind, knowing that babies thrive on your love and affection; this one hurts. But you’ve got to provide for the family, right? But that comes at a heavy cost of only getting to see them for an hour or so before bedtime. You're out of the loop. Enter parental guilt.
7. Helplessness
Teething, growing pains, coughs, colds and trapped wind. You know they're all normal, he'll overcome them, but that doesn't stop your heart wrenching. And even though you're doing everything you can to make him comfortable, the dreadful feeling of helplessness creeps in.
8. Missing your old life
No longer are you able to just come and go as you please – pop out to the shops or just go out on the lash with your friends. Now you're a responsible Dad. And ALL your available energy is spent. After a full day, you're only fit for one thing. Falling asleep on the couch.
9. You become a babbling, high-pitched puppet
You know what I’m talking about.The high-pitched baby babble your little one loves. But adopt this new language anytime you're anywhere near another baby and it's just embarrassing.
Darren O’Connor is a dad to one screaming little boy. He’s on a mission to become the best dad he can be. His blogs and podcasts are mostly about the positive things associated with becoming a Dad, while his hilarious
tweets document his parent fails as a newbie. This guy is one for the bookmark (chuckle) list. It doesn’t get more real than this.
