Advice from future selves

01Aug08

Does BuyBuyBaby have flux capacitors?

A lot of people have given me advice on the first few weeks of fatherhood.  Most of it comes with “don’t worry…” attached to the front of it.   Yet I still worry.

So I asked a bunch of Twittererer parent-bloggers for the advice they’d provide if they could go back in time and visit their rookie, first-week-of-parenting selves.   Thought I’d share some of those here.

The most complete response came from copywritermom, who created a whole post on it for her blog that  really covers the topic well.   She tackles the issues of self-doubt and feeling trapped.   One of her good suggestions is that you make sure to take a break from the nest now and then, even if it means just sitting outside.  I imagine myself clutching my knees with my arms, rocking back and forth on my porch, twitching while the neighbors point, but I understand the sentiment.

Here are some others, and I’m including them precisely as they appear on Twitter so that this blog will be imbued with the light of SMS/microblogging-style abbreviations and emoticons.   I am told this will make it so that you readers go “viral” and really start becoming “evangelists” on the “Internets.”   Maybe soon you will even take DoB “mobile.”   <starts doing the Macarena>

“I’d go back & tell myself the constant crying won’t last forever.” – angelashupe, who writes Write to Press

“Sleep when the baby sleeps! ” -mommydx, who writes The Parental Gamer

“You won’t remember this first week because of the sleep deprivation.”-icelander, who writes Move to Iceland

“They really mean it, I should have slept when she did. To bank it up. (best wishes!)” - Kim Wood, who sells houses in Chester County, PA

“I would have told myself to relax. And not to worry about visitors, should have just had select company for the first few wks!” -daddyrockstar, who writes daddyrockstar

“I would tell myself not to be upset by the “friends” who showed their true colors(jealousy) by not supporting/celebrating with me.” -MakesMeHoller, who writes Makes Me Wanna Holler

“Relax! You aren’t going to screw it up. oh, and don’t drop the baby. “ – momneedstherapy, who writes Mommy Needs Therapy

This last one confused me at first as I had forgotten that I’d asked what people would tell their former selves.  But then it made me feel so good I wanted to buy a new dress…

“Don’t cry, you’ll lose the weight. And it’ll be easier than you think. Really. You’re pretty!” – thedailydigress, who writes The Daily Digress

Do you have some more advice for me and the rest of the world’s clueless about-to-be-new-fathers?  Do you want to play a cruel joke on us and get us to do something really dumb?

Feel free to leave a comment.    You no longer have to register to leave a comment.  The Twittererers taught me that was stupid.

<end Macarena>

Filed under: Tips   |  9 Comments
Tags: advice for new parents, back to the future, blog for dads, dad blog, fatherhood, first week infant, first week of parenthood, infancy, parenting