Nutrition Challenges
Nutrition was an unexpected new dad issue. I struggled with eating well after he was born. You're sitting around the house all day. Friends, if you have friends as awesome as ours, are bringing food by to help out.
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Those tortilla chips are right there. The oranges went bad at some point and who wants to go grocery shopping right now? We have leftovers! We started asking friends to bring by healthier options and eventually made it grocery shopping, where we focused on the good-for-you sections.
Dealing With Guilt
Then there is what I call "husband guilt." Husband guilt comes from the fact that my wife has to be much more tied to our son than I do. That isn't some archaic She's-The-Woman-So-She-Raises-Baby statement.
She's breastfeeding on demand. She needs to be there when he is hungry. So even if she wanted to get out of the house alone for awhile, she can't. She hasn't complained about this and I don't think she will. She loves it and this is a choice she made.
Meanwhile, I can get up in the morning, change a diaper, kiss them goodbye, and hit the pool for 45 minutes. I can come home from work, change a diaper, kiss them, and pull on my shoes and shorts for a quick run. It doesn't seem fair.
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The key here is my wife. She understands. Saying she "lets me" workout sends the wrong message. She doesn't complain that I workout. She understands the need. I am involved when I'm home, holding, coo-ing, reading, changing, changing and changing.Being an active dad has so very much to do with being a good husband and having a super awesome wife. My priorities need to be straight and clear and she'll support me. Our partnership gets stronger every day.
I'm sure days will come when I'll roll in from work and expect to get a run in and she will say, "No. Here. Mom needs a break." No run for Dad that day. No complaints. I get to hang with baby instead.
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To keep my motivation up and quiet the call of the couch, I've also registered for two more events coming soon. When I don't want to workout, I've got the fear of event fail haunting me.
I hope they come to the races. Since before he was born, I've wanted to have her hand the baby to me just before the finish line and cross holding him. How cool will that be?
There will be plenty of chances for that though. I see a lot of active dad opportunities in the near future. We still haven't tried out the running stroller. What I do know is my son will grow up in an active family, around lots of opportunities to be physical and have fun. That's important.
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