My lad has just turned 2, so im not a brand new dad, I have grasped the fact that children change your life forever. My lad was born with Pyloric Stenosis (look it up) and then had extreme reflux to the point where he had to be tube fed for the first 6 months of his life, and has only just come off the drugs for the condition! Thankfully due to OUR hardwork he is now a normal cheeky little toddler and you would never had known that there was owt wrong with him.
After his pyloric operation when he was 1 month the aneathsetist (spelling bad i know) gave him a dose of Paracetamol that would have hospitalized an adult!, we were told then straight after his op, and he was given the Overdose in the recovary room that he probably would'nt make it through the night!
My point is that without my love of climbing and cycling etc... the whole of the last 2 years would have been much harder. If I had not had manged to get to Stanage edge climbing occasionally or get the odd 2 hours out on my bike I would have been in the nuthouse by now. They have proven to be therapeutic beyond belief. Over the few months he has slowly grown out of his reflux and now eats normally, and my thoughts are turning to maybe doing somehing I love, like training for a 24 hr race, or maybe a climbing holday with mates for a few days to spain.
I think that the comments made about being a rubbish daddy, if you have another interest outside of family life are very harsh, and not well though out!
It is very healthy to want time to yourself to do the things you have grown up loving, especially when in fatherhood, it helps you to remind yourself that their is life outside of parenting and helps me keep my self sane, and postive. Even with a love of more than one thing, and wanting to be good at more than one thing at this time in my life, I think Im a great daddy, and coudnt be any better, and without the cycling etc, I think i would be a worse dad.
but now i just chill and if i run/cycle its a bonus.
