The Prep
“You need to make sure you eat something, you’ll never get a chance to eat once you’re in there.”
“I didn’t have enough sleep. I came from work when I took her to the hospital”
“You’ll forget about tiredness. When it’s time to go – you go.”
“I passed out”
“You can prepare all you want but things are going to change”
Yup, I surveyed around to give me at least an idea on what to expect when you’re expecting.
There is really no “one-size-fits-all” approach to the situation. Each has their own unique experience (I’m sure we’ll have ours too). But I was able to boil the important stuff down to the following:
- Don’t panic
- Get enough rest
- Make sure you’re not operating on an empty stomach
Looking back, these three strategies are applicable not only when you’re giving birth but also to any surprising challenges that come to your life.
With Lexi around, I needed to welcome sleep deprivation with open arms. To occasionally give up my alone time. Cut down on efforts to work on my side projects. Adjust the current lifestyle to allow me to support her needs.
There’s a lot of work that needs to be done on my end.
She is the main “project”.
Say Hello To My Little Friend
A friend asked, “Did it sink in yet?”
Did my life suddenly change when I held her in my arms?
Not really. It’s not like one of those scenes in a movie where the dad felt so blessed that tears came out of his eyes. Hell, I pictured myself doing that too.
However, when that moment came – none of that shit happened.
Instead of feeling overwhelmed, the two questions I only want to be answered during the whole labor situation were:
Is everything okay?
Is this normal?
But thank goodness everything went well:
- no complications
- the baby is healthy
- mommy is recovering well.
I was more than ok.
I feel blessed.
I’m thankful.
I’m happy.
Parenthood - On the Surface
I’m now part of the group of people who rarely gets 7-hr of continuous sleep.
Sounds like a nightmare for someone who values sleep a lot (me).
However, I don’t feel the urge to bitch (at least not yet). There were times when the grumpiness comes up for a few seconds then it fades. It’s a dance I’m gonna have to do for a while.
It’s not easy but it’s well worth it – especially when you wake up to this…
Anyway back to parenthood…
It’s too early to tell what the changes are – but definitely a big change in my routine as we now have to work with her schedule.
This does not mean I’m going to abandon my goal to create a healthy daily routine. But now it requires me to make a significant change to it.
I knew this was coming anyway which is why I trained myself to learn to adapt to sudden changes.
I’ll be writing more about being first-time parents.
The first sign I noticed so far is that I feel overprotective towards my baby – that means a feeling of not wanting to share her with anybody else other than her mother.
No no, don’t get me wrong I don’t prohibit others to carry her. In fact, I prefer it. I just sense my selfish self creep up.
It’s not paranoia – but a signal, a proof that I am now a father 🙂
A Year Ago This Week
I…
- started a new MSPaint Series.
- got my designs printed on t-shirts.
- became very interested in developing good sleeping habits.
- I also talked about creativity – but now I need to apply creativity towards my daily schedule as opposed to my MSPaint art
[Read more about it here]
Goal Update
Personal Projects
Nothing will be done until further notice.
I find it hard to focus on my side projects – Alexis comes first, everything else, second.
Health
I need to craft a new routine – but I’m probably gonna try to get all my personal shit done early in the morning. It’s a lot harder to be alone now. Harder to focus as well – she’s always on my mind.
I feel like I’m “everywhere” lately – that’s normal since I haven’t been getting any good sleep lately.
But I’m not gonna let myself slip further down the slope.
Finance
Milk is expensive.
Diapers can get expensive as well.
Everything else needs to be restructured.