New Dad Shares 10 Things He Has Learned in His 160 Days as a Father And He’s Not Wrong!
There’s a lot to learn when you become a parent. You can read all the parenting books and take all the antenatal classes you like, there is still nothing quite like driving home with your brand new baby for the first time wondering what on earth you’ve gotten yourselves into. The enormous responsibility to keep this darling little human alive and happy can be overwhelming at times!
South African dad Bonisile Mgidi recently opened up with complete honesty about ten things he has learned in his first 160 days of fatherhood after he and his partner welcomed their daughter Mihlayonke.
His Twitter thread was met with thousands of retweets, likes, and comments by fellow parents who agreed with his take on early parenthood.
10 Things I learnt in my 160 days as Mihla’s father [Thread] pic.twitter.com/AhuLhSgslP
— Mihla’s Dad (@Bonisile_RMS) January 25, 2021
1. Parenting a baby is all about poop. What colour is it? When last did they poop? Did they struggle while pooping? Do we have enough nappies for the next 10 poops? Let me take a picture of this poop to show the doctor. Now your gallery is full of poop. pic.twitter.com/IYPUWBkxy5
— Mihla’s Dad (@Bonisile_RMS) January 25, 2021
2. There will be outfits they only wear once before outgrowing them. This hurts. Try not to buy expensive outfits. pic.twitter.com/hpfyhjzSBl
— Mihla’s Dad (@Bonisile_RMS) January 25, 2021
3. You are not frustrated, you just haven’t been smiled at. No matter how frustrated you are with babies they will defuse you with a smile. Manipulative little pricks those ones. 😭😭😭🤣🤣🤣
— Mihla’s Dad (@Bonisile_RMS) January 25, 2021
4. A backup outfit for the baby is ideal but a backup outfit for yourself is even more important. They will puke on you and laugh. Yes, Black ke colour ya manyora but puke stains look worse on it. pic.twitter.com/ToFjs5mxtL
— Mihla’s Dad (@Bonisile_RMS) January 25, 2021
5. You need to have a database of 24hr pharmacies. Try the pharmacies in hospitals. They either close late or are open 24 hours. After a while they will know you by name.
— Mihla’s Dad (@Bonisile_RMS) January 25, 2021
6. Read on parenting quite a lot. Have a book or an online resource to use. I recommend this book. It has kept me sane. It even has a black baby and a white baby on the cover so Mandela will be happy 🤣 pic.twitter.com/nLofplECyb
— Mihla’s Dad (@Bonisile_RMS) January 25, 2021
7. Have a playlist. I have compiled a playlist that I use to disarm her when she is angry or annoyed. I have tested it on my friends’ babies too. Babies love these songs. Here is the link to the Apple Music playlist I curated.https://t.co/6HjMAbUzHD pic.twitter.com/PqtIDmAM4T
— Mihla’s Dad (@Bonisile_RMS) January 25, 2021
8. You might think you are a nice person but in fact you are a sadistict being who will find joy in your baby rejecting other people and wanting you. Sies! pic.twitter.com/1kYnkcQJqa
— Mihla’s Dad (@Bonisile_RMS) January 25, 2021
9. These things are always trying to die. Your job is to stop them. They will want to rollover a bed, they will want to chew on the tip of your laptop charger, they will want to swallow the coin that just fell out of your pocket. Your job is suicide watch.
Don’t slip. pic.twitter.com/FR3bWhT1v5
— Mihla’s Dad (@Bonisile_RMS) January 25, 2021
10. Your routine completely changes. If support is available use it. If you can afford a nanny get one If you are in business then take your usual deadlines and add a day or two. If you have understanding clients like mine you might even bring the little brat to a few meetings. pic.twitter.com/cU2w7p5A05
— Mihla’s Dad (@Bonisile_RMS) January 25, 2021
[BONUS LESSON] Your phone does not have enough space for all the pictures you will take. Not even your 128GB phone. If you have an Android device get a memory card just for the baby pics. If you have an iPhone just get another one for baby pics, akere wena you are rich 🤣 pic.twitter.com/Q9wqsNaZqM
— Mihla’s Dad (@Bonisile_RMS) January 25, 2021
After some followers questioned his playlist for soothing his daughter, Bonisile responded with this adorable clip.
Shame on ya’ll for doubting Casablanca as a baby soothing song pic.twitter.com/ONTDI6VuOT
— Mihla’s Dad (@Bonisile_RMS) January 27, 2021
Before long, Bonisile’s thread was filled with other fathers backing up his wise words alongside beautiful photos of themselves with their own children. They also added a few pertinent lessons of their own.
“I’ve been a dad for 12 years and I can confirm that everything this man said is true” penned one man. “Also when they reach their toddler stage please ask where they got the water for ‘Tea’ when they’re playing with the tea-set… I gulped about a litre of toilet water!”
“Trick that really helps with these little buggers from falling off the bed, buy a noodle, the swimming noodle and shove it under the sheet on their side of the bed! The only regret is that I found out about this trick very late. Works like a dream on my 3yo,” added another.
Bonisile opened up about the new responsibility of being a present father and how much his life has changed since his daughter was born.
“I know it sounds stupid because what the hell were you expecting?” he said, referring to the constant vigilance of caring for a baby.
“But it is always there. It is not a bra you can take off at the end of a long day or a belt you can unbuckle. It is there. Demanding your attention and love constantly. This shouldn’t have surprised me but it did. A baby is just always there, you have to live for yourself and for it too. It’s weird having another person this reliant on you.”
Yep, that’s parenthood!
