The First 24 Hours of Parenthood

The first 24 hours of parenthood is the most incredible experience I have ever been through due to the raw emotions involved. Pure bliss, extreme exhaustion, skepticism and pride to name a few. It is the day you give up your selfish behaviors and you truly grow as a person.

Our first full day of parenthood began when the doctor asked: “Dad, would you like to call the sex of the baby?”. To which I responded with a little hesitation “It’s a girl!”. To be honest, I wasn’t 100% certain (maybe 95%), so I had to double-check!

You see, this was a big thing for us since we had decided at the very beginning to find out the sex of the baby. During the ultrasound, however, baby-to-be was less than cooperative. We were left with a 50/50 chance that it would be a girl/boy…gee thanks doc! Given that situation, we decided we would wait to find out. So, with this in mind I wanted to be sure I called it right.

Pure Bliss

The first few hours were the most surreal moments in my life. My wife and I had been building up to this moment for the past 9 months. I read the books, I went to birthing class, I should know what to expect right? Wrong! Nothing, absolutely nothing could prepare me for the feeling I had the first time I held my daughter. Remember this feeling. In the “difficult times” ahead (like 2am crying fits with no apparent end in site!) it will help you remember what it is all about.

Extreme Exhaustion

After a while, the fact that we hadn’t slept in 24 hours started to kick in. We arrived at the hospital at 10:00 am on Wednesday and our daughter was born at 5:00 am Thursday.  We’d pulled all-nighters before but this was different. We were running on fumes. The adrenaline pushed us for the past few hours and we were starting to crash.  After we were moved to the postpartum room, which would be our home for the next few days, our daughter was brought to the nursery to be cleaned. Given all that had happened the last few hours I wondered if I would be able to sleep, well I did, and we slept well!

Skepticism

Some time around the middle of the day, I had a feeling that I wasn’t prepared. This, I understand, is as natural as taking your next breath. It’s foolish to think that you have all the answers and could ever be fully prepared at this moment. But with every passing minute, and every breath I took as a new dad, this feeling subsided

Pride

Throughout the entire day I felt an overwhelming sense of pride. I was proud of my wife for all she went through, I was proud of myself for being her support and I was proud of us for what we had created. All the proud moments in my life (awards, accolades, accomplishments) paled in comparison to this new feeling of pride. We had created someone (a child) and something (a family) that we would give up our own lives to protect. That’s the kind of feeling I am talking about.

If I Only Knew

There is a great article over at Dad or Bust that discusses the advice that you would give yourself if you could go back and visit with your “rookie, first-week-of-parenting” self. There is some great advice that I wish I had before the big day, go have a look. If you are a rookie dad or a  seasoned veteran, what advice would you give? Feel free to leave your comments on this post or over at Dad or Bust!

Photo Credit: Freakazoid!