We’re in the home stretch towards Father’s Day. Every day we’ll continue to feature a great dad, and today it is John Arias. Here is John’s bio and interview:
I’m still pretty new to the dad game since our first kid is just four and a half months now. It’s been a fun ride so far, and it really hasn’t been as stressful as everyone seemed to suggest. We were a little aggressive about Ferber-izing young April, but it was quick and easy and now she sleeps like a champ. I now find myself trying to convince my wife to double down on operation baby factory – just as she’s getting back to her old self. You wanna get nuts? Let’s get nuts.
My first memory as a father is…
The whole birthing process was a little more interactive than I anticipated. I’d been thinking about the old days when new dads could celebrate down the block at the bar over cigars and a stiff drink – but things got real pretty fast. First the nurse tells you to grab a leg, then there’s this blur of needles, screaming and blood, and before you know it the doctor hands you a baby. My first memory of fatherhood was my little girl pooping on my wife’s leg – literally one second after she was born. More than a little inconsiderate in light of what her mom had just been through.
The funniest thing my daughter does is…
As her dad, I find just about everything she does funny. Whenever she smiles or laughs we can’t help but do the same. When she’s in a good mood it seems like it’s just contagious. Taking the dad hat off though, I think the funniest thing she does is fart in the tub. It’s like she’s saving them up for when the diaper comes off and she hits the water.
How many hours of sleep do you get each night?
Sleep is at a premium, but it’s not necessarily the baby’s fault. When we were looking for daycare we had a really tough time finding one, and the internet was surprisingly unhelpful. So since we had just had our first kid, and were already stretched thin and short on sleep we decided it would be a good time to start a website. Obviously. Enter cribsters.com. The site has hundreds of thousands of daycare listings and reviews to help parents find the best fit for them. Hopefully it helps some new moms and dads that find themselves in the same situation we were in. Cribsters is like our second baby now, except it doesn’t fart in the tub.
How many hours of sleep did you get before you became a father?
I used to get eight hours of sleep on weeknights and then try and break the sleep record every weekend. I would sleep so much that space and time would cancel each other out and there was nothing but sleep. I was like Leonardo DeCaprio in Inception. My wife Noa would also sleep a ridiculous amount so I had encouragement there. Those days ended for us when she got pregnant, but the silver lining is that our girl looks like she’s inherited the sleepy gene. Thank you, genetics.
If you your wife could vacation without your kids, where would you go?
I have a new found appreciation for do-nothing beach vacations. Not that I’ve been on one, of course. Before having April we would go on active vacations traveling around France or Japan. We had a lot of energy and the option to sleep in every day. These days the tank’s a little close to ‘E’ so a chance to be lazy and lie around would be like winning the lottery. Any beach will do. As long as there are no babies.
My most traumatic parenting experience was when…
When April was about two and a half months old we decided to test the waters and go to the Poconos for a weekend trip. We had no idea if she’d freak out being away from home. Everything turned out great though – she slept well and behaved herself. Well, mostly. During one of our days there we were walking around town and went a little too long between feedings. We were headed back to the hotel, but April had already lost it and we were coming in hot. We headed up to our room, but it was being cleaned so we needed to find another place to feed her. The only option was this back room where some older couples were sitting around enjoying afternoon tea and not talking to each other. Whipping out the boobs and feeding here in there was probably a little aggressive in itself, but two minutes in April cuts through the silence by unleashing a poop-splosion so loud it rattled the windows. We got dirty looks from her victims for the rest of the weekend, but I like to think we won that battle.
What sports team must your kids like?
Fathers are supposed to protect their children from pain and suffering. We’re supposed to help them avoid dysfunctional relationships. I’d thought long and hard about raising our little lady as a Knicks fan. I’d been in an abusive relationship with my team for the last decade and I didn’t want to subject her to that. The Nets had just started playing in Brooklyn when she was born, and it seemed like a legit, shameless way to break the family curse. It’s not very often you get to start off as a fan of a team since day #1. But in the end I wasn’t strong enough to save her – some decisions you don’t make with your head. She has more orange and blue in her drawer now than I do.
Describe your perfect Father’s Day.
Fatherhood is rewarding enough in itself that I wouldn’t want anything special on Father’s Day. As long as I didn’t have to cook a BBQ for a house full of people I think I’d be happy. A small get together with family and some close friends in someone’s back yard sounds about right. I’d love for April to be able to grab daddy a beer from the fridge for my first Father’s Day, but since she can’t walk those are long odds.
Make sure you head over and check out John’s website, Cribsters.com. Also go find John on Facebook.