Reflections On One Year As A Dad

When I see people out and about I make the obligatory comment about how fast the first year has gone, but between you and me, it's been a long year. I'm not saying that that is a bad thing; I'm just saying that the first year as a parent did not just fly by. In fact, I think that's a great thing because there is a ton to absorb in the first 365 days.

Every so often Bridget and I will reminisce about the first 6 weeks and how hard it was. I don't know how many times we looked at each other in those initial weeks and said, "If someone comes to the door and asks for Owen, they can have him." (In jest of course). I used to think it was rough sleeping on the couch over a weekend until I had to do it for the first six months of Owen's life. Fortunately, both the Magic and the Penguins were in the playoffs during that time so it made the 7:00-12:00 shift a little more bearable.

And then there were the illnesses. Nothing major, thank goodness, but I remember the morning that Owen woke up and just started throwing up. There we were on a Saturday morning trying to decide whether to call the doctor or go straight to the hospital. We must have had "New Parents" plastered on our foreheads as we walked into the ER with our kid who had nothing more than a stomach bug. These days we take colds and coughs in stride and have become good friends with Tylenol for those "low grade" fevers.

Owen moved out of the "Baby House" on Friday. It's a detached home owned by the Methodist school that runs his daycare where babies from 6 weeks to 1 year can be found. Wow, what a transformation. He started there just 43 weeks ago as a baby who couldn't even sit up on his own or hold his own bottle and leaves there as a toddler who feeds himself, plays on his own, and even takes a step or three every once-in-a-while. I'm really happy with our choice for daycare. I know it's not for everyone, but I believe that his teachers have pushed him to do things that otherwise his pushover parents would not have been as forceful about.

It's funny that when you have a baby everyone you meet that has a slightly older baby tells you that it only gets better from there. Man, are they right! Like I said, at 6 weeks Owen had us at our wit's end. By three months, he was tolerable. By 6 months, he was enjoyable. And now, at a year, he's a blast! It's so much fun to have him understand a lot of what we say to him even if he can't talk back. And sometimes he'll just look at us and smile or laugh, which never gets old. Sure, there are downsides to getting older like his developing temper tantrums, but I will take a 10 second tantrum over sleeping on the couch with a baby that won't sleep in his crib any day!

Owen is a wonderful kid. I hope all parents feel that way about their kids (at least after the first 6 weeks are over). Sure, we'd like to have a kid that was a little more laid back and didn't need to be moving and going ALL of the time, but it keeps life fun and I can only imagine that it translates into his awesome sleeping habits at night. I wouldn't change anything about him.

And then there is Owen's mom. Bridget is a wonderful mother. She loves Owen so much and is so good with him. And she's done a ton for me letting me travel for work more than I would like to. Owen is one lucky kid to have a mom like Bridget.

Being a dad is unbelievably difficult but unbelievably rewarding. Bridget and I have no life. We consider it a big thing to sneak out to the Olive Garden to have lunch during the week while Owen is in daycare. You'd think that we would want to go out on dates and have babysitters all the time but the couple times we have done that we end up missing the little guy.

I'm still not convinced that I would want to go through it all again. The thoughts of those first couple weeks still haunt me. But it's the times when I see my 1 year old look at me and let out a big laugh that at least have me giving it some consideration.

Owen's First Year

Owen is 1 year old today and, wow, what a year! I thought it'd be fun to put together this quick picture slideshow to watch his progression from being 6 hours old to 1 year old. Each picture, except for the first of course, was taken on the 1st of each month. Enjoy!