First off, congrats on having a new addition to your family coming soon! I was somewhat in the same boat as you a few weeks ago. My baby boy was born last Wednesday so I am figuring things out as I go.
My experience thus far has been hectic, to say the least. I haven't had much time for learning or projects since my wife came home with my son last Friday. Most of my days have been eaten up doing things around the house since my wife is currently not able to do a whole lot other than care for our son. So I would say that at least the first couple of weeks are really going to be spent mostly serving your family. Just do your best to be the best dad and husband you can be while your wife recovers from giving birth. Hopefully, you are on some sort of paternity leave for at least the first couple of weeks.
I haven't experienced any sleep-related issues yet. I am getting fewer hours of sleep than I normally would but it hasn't been all that drastic. My wife and I have pretty much worked it out that she takes care of our son at night and then I relieve her during the day when she needs some time to rest. It isn't perfect, but that's what has been working for us thus far. Our baby sleeps a lot during the day so we mostly spend our time snuggling on the couch and I really cherish the time I get to spend with him.
I can't really give a whole lot of advice on how to partition your time between work and family time. I can tell you that I generally get a couple of hours to myself during the day to do as I please, but only after taking care of all the necessary things (watching the baby, doing the laundry and dishes, cleaning the house and yard, etc...) and before I make dinner (I'm also cooking all the meals). I really can't get too deep into anything during that time but I try to stay connected to programming in some way (that's why I am here on dev reading blog posts 🙂).
I really wish I could offer you more advice on how to balance work with a new baby but I am currently without a job and not sure how I am going to handle the situation once I do start working again.
Good luck, and try to enjoy your time with the family as much as you can.
Hi John,
First off, congrats on having a new addition to your family coming soon! I was somewhat in the same boat as you a few weeks ago. My baby boy was born last Wednesday so I am figuring things out as I go.
My experience thus far has been hectic, to say the least. I haven't had much time for learning or projects since my wife came home with my son last Friday. Most of my days have been eaten up doing things around the house since my wife is currently not able to do a whole lot other than care for our son. So I would say that at least the first couple of weeks are really going to be spent mostly serving your family. Just do your best to be the best dad and husband you can be while your wife recovers from giving birth. Hopefully, you are on some sort of paternity leave for at least the first couple of weeks.
I haven't experienced any sleep-related issues yet. I am getting fewer hours of sleep than I normally would but it hasn't been all that drastic. My wife and I have pretty much worked it out that she takes care of our son at night and then I relieve her during the day when she needs some time to rest. It isn't perfect, but that's what has been working for us thus far. Our baby sleeps a lot during the day so we mostly spend our time snuggling on the couch and I really cherish the time I get to spend with him.
I can't really give a whole lot of advice on how to partition your time between work and family time. I can tell you that I generally get a couple of hours to myself during the day to do as I please, but only after taking care of all the necessary things (watching the baby, doing the laundry and dishes, cleaning the house and yard, etc...) and before I make dinner (I'm also cooking all the meals). I really can't get too deep into anything during that time but I try to stay connected to programming in some way (that's why I am here on dev reading blog posts 🙂).
I really wish I could offer you more advice on how to balance work with a new baby but I am currently without a job and not sure how I am going to handle the situation once I do start working again.
Good luck, and try to enjoy your time with the family as much as you can.
Last Wednesday‽ Damn! Congrats. I feel like you are beta testing this dad thing for me. 🤣
Yea, I’ve got 3 weeks, I hope that’s enough to be a help. I really want to help her have time to bond with baby and get back on her feet.
That schedule handoff sounds like a good plan. I’m an early bird and my wife is a night owl, so that might work out well. Good tip.
It’s good to hear you at least are able to grab moments to yourself / be here on dev.
Thanks so much for taking the time to write this up! Best of luck with new baby! Keep us posted!