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WebMD Magazine - Feature
Entertainer Nick Lachey, 39, says being a new dad surprised, delighted, and challenged him -- and gave him something new to sing about.
You have two nephews. Did that experience prepare you for having your own son, Camden?"To some extent, yeah, in that any experience you have is good. I mean, at least I had changed some diapers and all that. But it’s a whole other ballgame when it’s your own child -- and certainly when you’re changing multiple diapers a day. With that and with everything, you learn on the fly and you learn fast."
Was it at all difficult to watch your little brother have kids before you, when it was something you’d always desired yourself?
"You know, it wasn’t really. I just knew that there’s a time and a place for everything and that eventually I would get to the place where my life was ready for a child."
What has been the most challenging part of this first year of parenthood for you and your wife, Vanessa?
"Oh, definitely the first few days home with Camden. You’re still so new as a parent, and he’s so new, and there’s just all this uncertainty. You just don’t want to screw up. I remember that even just that first ride home from the hospital was incredibly nerve-wracking."
Has sleep deprivation been a major issue?
"I think we’ve both gotten really lucky and made some good choices in terms of how he sleeps. He’s a great baby -- very easygoing and has been sleeping through the night for months. But I think that’s also because we both read a bunch of books to prepare for the sleep issues, and we made sure we didn’t travel too much within his first 6 months, to get him on a pretty strict schedule. Keeping to that schedule is the best thing we’ve done. When he’s rested, he’s happy -- and so are we."
What have you done to keep Camden and yourself healthy during his first year?
"Like most typical new parents, we were pretty vigilant about germs when he was really young -- so anyone who was going to be in close contact with him had to scrub up. But otherwise I think we’ve been pretty mellow, overall. As for me, I made a concerted effort to stay in shape. To start, I tried not to gain any pregnancy sympathy weight. That’s partly just because of the business I’m in, but also partly so I feel good."
Have you had any moments where you thought, whoa, “Daddy FAIL!”?
"Well, I will say that the first time Vanessa went out of town and I had to do his bath solo, it sure wasn’t pretty, and it was not nearly as smooth as when his mom does it. Oh, I got him clean, in the end...but I felt like I was subjecting him to a sub-par bath experience."
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