Daddies Do Care: Experiences & Encouragement From a New Dad
The most common question I’m asked in this season of my life is, “how does it feel to be a father”? Often times I pause before answering so as to give a honest response based on my most recent experience. With that approach my answer varies from person to person based on the type of day I’m having. At one moment it’s exhaustion, while at another, it’s exhilaration. Exhaustion is expected with a new born baby with his/her sporadic sleeping patterns. But the levels of exhaustion were more than I expected. Persons did advise me on how rough things might be and while it was valuable, no amount of theoretical advice prepared me for the reality. I also fooled myself into thinking that my usual late-night schedule of reading and watching television, would make the grave yard shift a walk in the park. Boy was I wrong.
Those activities are nothing compared to feeding, burping and calming a fussy baby at 3am in the morning. Despite this tiring routine, it is exhilarating raising my son Elijah. When he first came home from the hospital, I sat and admired him sleeping for hours. He is approaching five months soon, so I can’t sit and admire him as long as I did before because his sleeping pattern has changed, and there is a lot more baby clothes to wash. Whether I’m washing his clothes, sterilizing his bottles or bathing him, I get such a joy out of it. My wife doesn’t have to beg me to do anything, as everything is done joyfully. Apart from my paternal instincts as part of the equation, I made an oath years ago that I would be an involved father. Practice makes permanent, so my hope is that I’ll get better as the years roll by. Not only do I enjoy catering to his needs, I also experience immense joy watching him grow. I have been researching developmental milestones and Elijah has been meeting them, sometimes before the expected period. I’m a proud dad.
I mentioned above that advice from persons have its place, so I’ll end this article sharing some of my own.
Firstly, fathers should follow through on plans made with their partner during pregnancy.
My wife had rough nights during her last trimester which we knew was her body’s way of preparing for Elijah’s feeding schedules. Nevertheless, we agreed then that after birth I would play an active role during the grave yard shift. Therefore, after she breast feeds him, she returns to sleep while I burp him, change his pampers and put him back to sleep. She is tremendously grateful that I kept my word.
Secondly, expose yourself to as much information on child rearing as possible.
You may not enjoy reading books or articles like me, but there are many videos out there at the click of a button.
Finally, support your partner as much as possible.
You may feel useless because you can’t produce breast milk or can’t get your baby to stop crying. But there is always a way you can chip in. Simply staying up to give moral support during night time feeding goes a long way.
There’s a lot more I can say but I don’t want make this post any longer than it is. Happy parenting from “new dad”.
Patrick Andrews has been married to Akilah Andrews for the past seven years and they have one bouncing baby boy named Elijah. He is a mason by profession and loves to read and have fun. This year makes it eleven years since he has been saved. At the age of 21, he was convicted to surrender his life to Jesus Christ after years of promiscuous living. As a young convert he pursued God wholeheartedly, and during that time it was revealed to him that he was called into the pastorate. He is a graduate of the West Indies School of Theology with a double major in Pastoral Studies and Bible and Theology. Patrick has a passion for young people and wants to see them maximize their God given potential to fulfil purpose. In 2019 he started an online ministry called #digitaldiscipleship where he seeks to virtually make disciples a reality. He believes in using everything to fulfil the will of God, including his multiple social media accounts, his marriage and now his role as a father.
If you would like to hear or see more of Patrick, you can follow him on social media where he shares digital discipleship videos and other motivational content like the one below.
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Patrick Andrews
Patrick Andrews is a husband and first time father, a minister and is the creator of #digitaldiscipleship, an innovative approach to sharing the good news of Jesus Christ. He hails from Trinidad, where he serves in ministry along with his wife, raising their newborn son and loving every minute of it.
