top 10 thoughts on being a dad

3 and half months in

1. When labor starts and I'm grabbing the go-bag, there's a moment where I have to choose between the g-shock or the fitbit. The choice sets a tone. In moments of stress, reliability is what matters most.
2. On an unseasonably warm Minnesota winter, he'll be in the omni 360 and I'm waiting at a crosswalk, I become aware of his chest pushing into mine with every breath of his and every breath of mine.
3. I am proud of the arc and distance of projectile poops.
4. The reflection of the hallway light in his beady little eyes after I've paced and rocked and shushed for an hour trying to get him to sleep is one of the most terrifying things I've witnessed.
5. My wife is an absolute champion. Of all the choices I've made in my life, she is the best one.
6. A week or so after he was born, as a joke, I lay on the ground and pretended to be a baby. All I could do was flail my arms and kick my feet. I couldn't tell anyone what I wanted except to babble or cry. I couldn't control my head. I got less frustrated when I couldn't understand why he was crying after I did that.
7. There should be more dinosaurs on clothing.
8. He smiles at me when I change his diaper in the dead of the night.
9. I haven't felt a love like this before.
10. My parents felt this way about me.