#ThanksBaby for making me who I am today.

Disclosure: I have partnered with Life of Dad and Pampers promotion. 

In the picture above a lot of things are going through my head: "Don't drop her!" "Is this mask scaring you?" "Do you know what it means to be scared?" and "What is going to happen now?" Although all of this was going through my head, the main thing on my mind was relief.

You see, moments before this picture was taken there was dead silence in the delivery room. It seemed that there was meconium present in the amniotic fluid when my wife's water broke that we had to make sure that my daughter would not cry the moment she was born to prevent her from inhaling it since it is a very thick and sticky substance that can cause respiratory distress. When we finally were given the thumbs up and heard her cry I felt so overjoyed. Then I was handed my daughter for the first time.

Right then I knew that even though I was helpless at that moment to take care of her, I would do everything I could to protect her as she got older. One of the ways I could do that was to be in better shape, not only physically, but also mentally.

It's funny because you always hear stories about how having children is going to change everything, but that could be a good thing.  Before my daughter was born, working out and running was a mere afterthought. I never really thought about the fact that you have to be in some type of shape to take care of our children. Once they start crawling and walking, you are literally chasing them around the house all day and if you don't have good cardio, forget about it. 

Fandads; The early days

Having my daughter also made me work harder at the things that I wanted in life. I wanted to be able to provide for her and my wife and make sure that they had the important things in life: food, clothes, and a place to live.  All the other things would come in time, but having those major necessities were very important. Sometimes, I would spread myself a little too thin, which I still do occasionally, and have so many hats on that I would get overwhelmed. My daughter would help me get my focus by asking me to play with her and in those moments I would relax and just focus on what was in front of me: my daughter. 

Dancing the day away!

Now that my family has grown and my son has been added to the mix, I feel more confident and ready to take on whatever he throws at me. All that cardio training has come in handy because this little guy is non stop energy. I love playing with my children and sharing with them all of my childhood passions and seeing them embrace those things on their own terms and telling me about the things they love. Which in my daughter's world is Shopkins, My Little Pony and Star Wars...one out of those three things makes her daddy very proud.

Has my life changed because of my children? Yes. Am I grateful for the change? Yes. Am I excited about what the future holds for my children? Very much so. Everyday I am thankful for having my children in my life. I am not thankful about all the grey hairs they have helped me produce, but I think of each hair as a lesson in fatherhood. Kind of like leveling up in a video game. Whenever I do, or get something right with them I get a grey hair. That shows my wisdom. Why do you think wizards and sages always have grey hair?

To all the wonderful things that my children have shown me and the wonderful moments my children have shared with me, I want to say #ThanksBaby. Thanks for everything. 

   

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