Earlier this year I became a dad for the first time.  As we near the end of the year and the end of 7 months with the little one, I wanted to share a few thoughts I had.

1. The life changes are not what you expect
   • There are the obvious things that you expect to change: sleep patterns will change, going out has to change, etc.  What caught me off guard were the simple changes like needing to run to the store.  Everything starts getting planned around the baby, even the little things.
2. Yes he poops, but it’s not as bad as everyone made it out to be
   • Before the baby was born, every parent I knew had some horrific baby poop story.  I don’t know what it is about poop that everyone insists on talking about it, but so far I don’t have a horror story.  Sure, it’s stinky and sometimes it ends up on things that it shouldn’t (like my hand) but that’s why we have soap and water.
3. You’ve got to have a sense of humor
   • Let’s stick with the bodily fluids, as long as we’re already on the topic.  Things will go awry with the baby, that’s just the way it is.  You have to have a sense of humor about everything.  Our little guy was pretty good about not trying to pee on us when we were changing his diaper, but about a week ago he took aim at my face.  I was able to dodge it and block it with my hand but he just kept going and going.  It’s impossible to have a situation like that without laughing!
4. You get used to the smells pretty fast
   • There are all sorts of smells that go along with a baby.  There are the obvious ones like poo, but you’ll get used to even the stinkiest diaper.  There are definitely times where I’ve gagged a little but ultimately you get over it pretty fast.  But then there are things like diapers and wipes.  Even the clean ones have a distinct smell to them and those just become a part of the baby experience.
5. You have to learn to live in the moment
   • I’ve spent plenty of time worrying about the future.  Will I be able to teach him good morals and decision-making?  Will he love the same things I do?  How do I keep him from getting hurt?  So much of that is way out in the future.  I’ve found that I have to live in the moment sometimes.  He’s smiling and laughing, I just need to keep that going.
6. There isn’t really anything you can do to prepare
   • You can read books and blogs and get an idea of some of the things to expect.  But ultimately everything is going to be new.  Each kid is going to be different, and your experience will be different from everyone else.  And really, people have been doing this for thousands of years without the help of books and the internet.  You figure it out as you go.
7. I wouldn’t trade it for anything
   • I was the youngest in my family and we never lived near any extended family.  Which means I never grew up around babies or little kids, so the idea of having my own was pretty scary and at times something I wasn’t sure I wanted.  As I grew older, my wife helped convince me that kids aren’t totally scary.  She was right.  Although there are scary moments, I would never trade this.  I would never be the kind to advocate that everyone has to have kids, it gives your life meaning, etc.  But for me, I couldn’t be happier.

What about you?  Are there any other first-timers with thoughts on how life changes?