You know you’re a loving new father if …
…you’re kind of proud of those circles under the eyes.
…you check diapers to make sure everything came through okay.
…you hurt when she gets a vaccination.
…you start taking better care of yourself, exercising and eating more healthy foods, because you have an important job to do for the next eighteen years.
…you’d rather play peek-a-boo than read the sports page.
…your ability to catch falling little bodies improves.
…you reach into your pocket for a pen and pull out a crayon.
…work doesn’t seem quite so important anymore.
…it’s a long way to the kitchen, and you don’t really care who last ate with that spoon.
…you can differentiate smashed blueberries from smashed blackberries when wiping up rugs and little mouths.
…you hear a child cry in a restaurant and suddenly you’re on your feet.
…you hope for long naps.
…you know the names of all the Sesame Street characters.
…you know which teeth have come in, and how sharp they are.
…unlike other fathers who brag, you simply tell true stories of which you are proud.
…you are more able to lift and carry heavy, precious packages.
…you feel sad seeing single people.
…you find women with kids more attractive.
…you look at the slightly overweight mother of your child sleeping next to you, and find that she is quite beautiful.
…you remember what it was like to first ride a bicycle.
…it hurts a little when she can do it all by herself.
…you feel old watching him grow up.
…you can’t imagine not being a dad.