Becoming a Father Changes You. When others say this to you before your child is born, you politely nod and smile, but inside you think they’re morons for allowing their lives to change because of a tiny little person. Then, you start wondering how and why! And it is understandable to feel so, because everything sounds impossible until it’s not.
Everything sounds impossible until the baby enters your life and you start experiencing those words you have been told before.
Of course, your life evolves with time, but the initial few days, weeks, and months may bring some unexpected changes.
Let’s look at some of the changes you will undergo on becoming a father.
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You start respecting sleep.
Sleep was something you used to take for granted. You adored it, but you craved it as you crave water. To put it another way, absolutely not. When you turn on a faucet, water comes out, and if you want to sleep, you simply go to bed. Not any longer. Every second of restful sleep is a priceless gift.
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You’re accountable in ways you never imagined.
It’s one thing to be in a relationship with someone who is financially and emotionally reliant on you. It’s another thing entirely to become a father and know you’re in charge of keeping this little new being alive. They are entirely dependent on you! That is a huge duty and one that should not be taken lightly.
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You can go through a full range of emotions in less than a minute.
Being a father is an emotional rollercoaster, to put it mildly. It can move you from red-faced rage to full-on weeping to heart-swelling pure love in under 60 seconds. Do all fathers have mood swings? It appears to be that way at times.
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You learn to think before you act.
As a father, your words have a lot of weight. So, you cease spouting off the first ideas that spring to mind. Instead, you start to wonder how other people will react if you’re speaking out of rage or raw emotion and if it’s sometimes better to say nothing at all.
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You become more affectionate.
If you were previously uninterested in public shows of affection, that is about to change. There will be kissing and hugging, and you will be fine with it. It will happen on demand, at any time, and in any location, and you will be fine with it.
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Your wardrobe will change.
You are trying to figure out what to wear today? Prepare to ask yourself the following questions: a) what is clean? b) Is there anything that isn’t white? & c) where do you feel most at ease when you’re playing? You’ll almost certainly notice a change in your appearance.
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The new social norm
The new social norm will be spending basically all of your free time with your partner and baby. You will now spend most of your time with your family. Allowing yourself less time to socialize with friends and do the other things you used to do. You might even feel bad about leaving them at home when you go out.
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Meeting new people
It’s just as vital to schedule time for yourself and your family, as it is to schedule time for your friends and hobbies. Even if it takes a lot less time than it did before. Your partner is in the same boat. Furthermore, parenting entails meeting a LOT of new individuals regularly. Chatting with someone you’ve never met on the playground? That’s your new life, then!