[00:00] So it's been said that being a parent is the most difficult job in the world. All I ever hear from parents is, "Oh, you're tired now?
[00:13] Try that with kids. I haven't taken a (beep) in five years." I was excited to prove everyone wrong.
[00:26] So I decided to document my first 30 days being a dad. Oh!
[00:39] (breathes deeply) (Frankie crying)
[00:54] It's been a bit of a rollercoaster.
[01:06] I'll never forget the moment when I first heard Frankie cry. I just did not realize how much it would change me After having gone through such a challenging labor,
[01:23] seeing that Frankie was distressed at times, was just this immense amount of relief. for Nat and what she had done
[01:39] And then there was a moment when I realized, holy shit, we have to take care The learning curve to becoming a parent is steep.
[01:56] We took every class you could imagine before having a baby. filled with all of the research from the past nine months. Breastfeeding, parenting 101, CPR for kids, hypnobirthing.
[02:10] We read the books, we listened to the podcasts. - The first week unequivocally for us was the worst part. Since there was just so much to learn,
[02:23] How much does a newborn sleep? Learning how to change a diaper, understand his cues, It was all very overwhelming
[02:37] You have so many moments where you think, so hard? - Why was it so hard? it was hard I think for a number of factors.
[02:51] So we were really struggling to know how to feed him. That was just so stressful and scary. I don't think we had the best midwife care.
[03:05] So we had a lot of guilt and shame through our experience. Like, we were brand new parents. Not at home, but in a hospital sterile environment.
[03:17] of intuition and confidence in ourselves, after six days. - Yeah.
[03:29] - So once we got home, and things got a little bit, dare I say, easy. but nothing like those first few weeks for us.
[03:46] Nat got more confident breastfeeding, we were getting more than three hours of sleep a night. and I've got to say that I got so good at diaper changes,
[04:00] (upbeat music) As we were getting close to the four-week mark,
[04:12] and decided that it was time for me to get back to work. That's okay. I don't wanna edit either.
[04:26] we decided to set up a schedule Wake up times, getting ready, bottle feeds, bath time. I really felt pulled in a million directions.
[04:40] I wanted to prioritize my health. I wanted to spend as much time as I could with Frankie, and I didn't wanna miss a second of any of it.
[04:53] I made adjustments to make time for everything I could. I cut my workouts down to three days a week, to the gym, to the grocery store, to the coffee shop.
[05:08] I realized I needed to start letting go. I needed to simplify my life now more than ever. is because I've been trying to shift my priorities
[05:25] in a direction where I have more freedom. a lot of the decisions that I've made They've made it so I need to make more money.
[05:39] I need to have all these projects going And more and more, I am revisiting some of the core practices of minimalism.
[05:51] How can I create as simple of a life as possible that are absolutely most important, non-negotiable? while I thought I was busy before,
[06:05] I truly am reaching a whole new level of being busy. And our time with Frankie, I've heard that from so many parents before.
[06:19] to be there for every single moment that I can I'd like to thank my sponsor that I could outsource this part of the video to AI.
[06:35] - [Narrator] This video is sponsored According to my database, as of 2023, has been using Squarespace to host his own website.
[06:48] The design, the colors, the photography, the biceps. By the way, these are all very real, unedited photos. Oh, where to start?
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[07:17] Then when you're ready to launch, to save 10% off your first purchase of a website or domain. - [Narrator] Okay. Back to the video.
[07:33] and I know that I've talked quite a bit about the challenges, but honestly, as crazy as it's been, - I love the wake ups in the morning.
[07:48] When you take up his swaddle and he goes... and it looks like they're reaching out for you. and it's, like, 7:00 a.m. or whatever,
[08:04] - For the first couple weeks, where I was just, like, making eye contact with him - Yeah, I know.
[08:16] - I know, yeah. It's been amazing. these can be the most difficult weeks of our life Like, that's well said.
[08:30] 'Cause it doesn't make sense - So my older brother, Mark, who's a dad to three He actually texted me on Father's Day
[08:46] it's usually a sign of good parenting. to not care, to not research, to not worry. It's exhausting, but it's what makes great parents,
[09:01] - Aw. Hey, bubba.