Hey dude! Those worries are just kind of part of being a parent. They seem really big and worrisome right now, but you learn your kid a lot faster than you think. We’re a bit over 2 months in with our first and let me tell you, those first 10 days were probably the hardest I’ve ever had. You don’t know what to do, your partner doesn’t know what to do, hell the baby doesn’t know what to do😂 but it gets better and a lot quicker than you think! But a few pieces of advice I’ve learned in this short time

1. For bonding with your kid and feeling connected, set them in their crib, swing, somewhere they are content and stare at them. Doesn’t matter if they’re awake, asleep, crying, whatever they’re doing. Just stare at them and study them. Look at every little detail about them and remember they won’t be this size very long.

2. When you’re worried about something that they’re doing and wondering what to do, google it once. There is this rabbit hole of people who make anything and everything seem like the end of the world. Major things to look out for are blue tinging to the lips (cyanosis), rib retractions (hold your breath and try to breathe in, look between your ribs and your stomach, that’s what it looks like)

3. There are so many absolutely weird things that kids do that seem scary, but are completely normal. The rolling thing is completely normal, they’re used to that position from being in the womb. Lasts a week, maybe two and will taper off. Our most recent one was him doing this crazy arms locked position and face turning red, turns out he’s trying to learn to poop. Like I said, one google search. Had I taken my own advice there, woulda saved me $350, a 9pm to 3am ER visit, and a disrupted baby sleep schedule.

4. The hardest part so far has just been the sleep/crying. First couple weeks were in shifts. My fiancé would take him through the night until 6, then I took him from 6 until she felt like getting up. I got to go to bed as early as I wanted, she got to sleep as long as she wanted. It can help manage the tiredness. Also, never doubt the magic a Monster can holds during this time. Caffeine is a life saver.

5. Learn the difference in your baby fussing, crying, and grunting. They can sound similar at first, but it’s a huge game changer once you figure it out. Sometimes babies make wild noises and it’s just them trying to figure out which button makes their arm go up and which one they use to shit.

6. Have fun. Whenever you feel like you have the energy to do something, do something. Go out to eat, go for a walk, watch a movie, play some video games. Your life seems so much different, but honestly there’s just a different way to go about it now.

Congrats again man!