by Kiall Rowberry

Created on: May 15, 2008

I'm not a morning person, never have been. If I had known exactly how early I'd be getting out of bed every morning from the moment my son was born, I doubt I would have dived into fatherhood as enthusiastically as I did.

It is an all too common response from people when they first learn that you are to be a Dad. They tell you all about the nasty' side of parenthood. There is always a look of sheer delight on their faces as they explain all about changing them when they're dirty, the middle of the night feeds, and of course the inevitable drop in bedroom activities.

It is these pearls of wisdom that rapidly change your thoughts from being excited about the impending birth to near hysteria and absolute fear.

"How am I ever going to cope?"

But the remarkable thing about becoming a parent is the things you previously held dear to you, like your Sunday morning sleep in or the occasional big night out on the town, pale into insignificance.

I certainly never thought I could stomach handling someone else's body waste, but I now do it without so much as a thought. It has become second nature, a part of my normal day. Because of the indescribable love you have for the person who is responsible for that waste, it is not an issue at all. Never was, never will be.

You hear it a lot from the childless, "I never want kids I like my freedom too much." What these people don't realize is the sacrifices you make for your children are returned a thousand fold in so many other ways.

This is not something you can easily explain. You must experience it first hand.

It is the wide-eyed grin on their face when you enter the room, and it is the all embracing hug as you go to leave. You get it when they cuddle up to you in a chair and when you notice that they are copying your every move, just to be like dad.

I get more thrills from pretending to be scared when he leaps out from under a pillow, shouting "boo!", or acting like a cow for hours on end, than I ever did getting drunk with friends at university.

Kids have that incredible ability to make you subconsciously reassess your priorities. I still don't like getting out of bed, but the difference now is that I don't roll over in the morning and bury my head under the sheets.

When he was first born I would get up several times a night to assist in feeding him, changing him and soothing him. As he has grown I have become used to getting up just to watch him play because for a child 5am means nothing. If he's awake, you're awake, and it's game on!

But I wouldn't swap one minute of time with him for all of the late mornings in the world.

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