Baby Duties

As excited as I have been to become a dad, I have also been nervous about a lot of things.  One of them is the nitty gritty of taking care of a baby.  Changing diapers, feeding, holding, all that kind of stuff.  Well, I'm learning on the job, as they say.  The diaper change isn't as hard as I thought it would be; these new-fangled diapers are pretty easy to figure out.  The feeding has turned out to be one of my favorites, because when Jada is hungry she's like a little chickie with her mouth open waiting for a worm.  Holding is still a challenge, as I'm still trying to find various comfortable positions that don't leave my arms aching; fortunately, she's still so tiny right now, but soon enough she'll start to put on the pounds. 

 

One milestone for me was last night, when I changed Jada by myself for the first time.  We were in the middle of dinner downstairs in the hotel when we decided she needed a diaper change.  I volunteered to run upstairs and do the deed.  My heart amd mind raced as I tried to remember all the things I needed to do.  Subconsciously, I wanted to do it fast, too, so that my wife and our moms would not think me a bumbling oaf.  I got the diaper part and the clothes part done, and then raced us downstairs and back to the dinner table . . . only to find out that I had forgotten to button back up the onesie!  Minor step in between the other two.  We all had a good laugh, as did the rest of our party, and I was able to take it in stride.  A little embarrassed, but chalking it up to still learning on the job.