6 Months of Fatherhood

Our sweet one is 6 months old, y’all.

Half a year ago I said goodbye to sleep. I’m literally nodding off right now.

6 months ago the phrase “on a whim” flew the coop, and on the same wings flew “good night’s sleep” and “strutting your stuff”. These have been replaced by “do you have the diaper bag/day school bag/stroller base/binky/blanket/formula/time to run home and thaw the breastmilk?” and “what’s really so bad about 4am?” and “but can you really SEE the barf on my shirt?”

Honestly, I feel like a crazed chicken most days. But I couldn’t be happier.

At 6 months in, we’re finding our new normal. Sure, I’ve given up on any clothes I own that don’t stretch. Sure, I forget what day it is all the time. And gosh, I miss so much about my life a year ago (biking, my ARC friends, sleep).

But now, now I get her nuzzles into my chest when she’s tired. At 6 months I get the giggles that float like bubbles when I lift her into the air. At 6 months, I get dozey mornings with all three of us in bed after her early morning bottle.

She smiles when I pick her up from day school. She rolls over on her belly now, and she tries so hard to roll back over, too (I know you’ll get there, little sweetheart!). She’s just starting to recognize her own name.

I am savoring every minute of this first summer, the three of us together. If you’re wondering what Fatherhood is like for me half a year in, take a warm, early summer day. Add giggles and a raspberry popsicle. Invite your favorite friend and stare up at the leaves of trees as if you’re seeing them for the first time. Pretend you don’t know what a tree is at all. Watch them sway. Listen to the rustle and soak it in like a symphony.