Derick's blog: New dad

My son Israel nursed 20 min, threw up 4 times, and went through 3 diapers… all within the span of about an hour and a half last night. I’m sure this scenario is all too familiar to millions of parents who, at one time, have had the joy of caring for their infant child. I have much more respect for those dads who have gone on before me and experienced those early stages of fatherhood. In college I was in fraternities, and I compare my last two weeks to somewhat of an initiation into fatherhood. The learning curve has been pretty steep since Israel was born. Unlike my wife, I only have one sibling, my brother Dan who is 24, and there are no kids under 18 in my extended family. Being the father of a newborn isn’t always easy, but taking care of my son is so rewarding. I’ve learned that since babies can’t talk or walk, they communicate by crying. Whenever he’s crying, I’ve started just going down a list of possible solutions: 1) Ask him what’s wrong, and then remember that babies can’t talk 2) Change diaper 3) Burp him 4) Bounce him 5) Give him to momma Jill to feed 6) Repeat until crying stops. It has been a fast and furious transition, but I wouldn’t trade it for anything. And as for my wife, well, she is a champion. Well I better go to bed and get some sleep before the baby wakes up.