A Chambana Dad to Know: Andy Roberts
February 24, 2010 by Laura Weisskopf Bleill
Filed under Blog, Chambana Dads to Know
Andy, Mary, and Rosalie Roberts. (Photo provided)
Andy Roberts is co-host of the Holstein & Company Morning Show on WIXY 100.3. He and his wife Mary are first-time parents to daughter Rosalie, born New Year’s Day. In his free time, he volunteers with the Boy Scouts (he’s an Eagle Scout) and runs (training for the Illinois Marathon). You can follow his musings about being a new dad on Twitter.
See why we think Andy Roberts is a Chambana dad to know.
Question: What surprises you most about being a new dad?
Answer: Three things come to mind- One, How hard it is. It’s getting easier, but my wife Mary and I look at each other all the time and ask “how does a single mom do this?” Or a teenage girl? Two, I’m also surprised by how natural being a dad is. Calling Mary “Mommy” and me “Daddy” was second-nature from the first moment Rosalie was born. Rocking is natural – even when I’m not holding Rosalie I find myself swaying. Before becoming a dad, holding a baby was foreign to me with other friend’s babies, but it was easy to pick up and carry my own. And the last thing that surprises me are the conversations I’ve had with my guy friends about their wives cervixes (cervi?), effacement, and dialation I would never have had 12 months ago. Don’t get me wrong; we still talk sports and power tools.
Q: Be honest: were you disappointed you didn’t get the tax deduction? Or that she wasn’t the first baby in C-U in 2010?
A: Rosalie’s due date was Jan 2nd. Everybody kept saying “tax deduction;” they were more interested in it that we were (in fact, I had heard the deadline was moved up to mid-Dec, so I assumed we weren’t eligible anyway – not sure if it’s true). I was bummed we weren’t the first baby of the year. We checked into the hospital at 4 a.m. on New Year’s Day with contractions. We were first. But Mary wasn’t progressing, so they sent us home. We came back at 4 p.m. and had the baby New Year’s Day after all. I think we were third. But our baby’s smarter and better looking than the first two.
Q: What scares you about being a dad to a daughter?
A: Obvious answer: boys, because I know how they think. But that’s the last thing on my mind. Have you seen those anti-meth PSAs? Do you see the Dateline reports on cyber-bullying? Everytime there’s a teen on TV in a drama, they hate their parents, they have no friends, and they’re thinking about “doing something to be remembered.” It’s the CSI effect on parenting – not all crimes are solved by DNA and not all teens end up “socially awkward.” But it scares me. But with two awesome parents like us, there’s no way she’ll be screwed up, right?
Q: You didn’t know the gender of your baby. Why did you decide not to know?
A: It was my decision, Mary went along with it (if she found out, she would not be able to keep it a secret). I love surprises – I don’t even want to know the episode title when I’m watching TV shows because I feel they give too much away. That being said, not knowing the gender was just something to continue to look forward to. Otherwise, in those last few weeks, all we’d be dwelling on is the “impending pain.” In hindsight, it kept pink gifts at bay. Not that we don’t want pink; we don’t want an overdose of pink.
Q: I saw this tweet from you from Dec. 22: “Just got great advice about being a dad from a listener: The best thing you can do for your child is love their mother.” Why did that resonate with you?
A: For two reasons – a) It was actual advice. So many people want to focus on the negative aspect of parenthood. I can’t tell you how many people said “I hope you’re ready for sleepless nights” or “I hope you’re ready to say goodbye to alone time” or something similar. It’s like they were trying to counteract our blind optimism with severe pessimism. b) I think it’s a great way to word something I already believe: a child will prosper in an environment of love. Maybe that’s blind optimism, but please don’t burst my bubble.
Do you know a Chambana mom (or dad) to know? We welcome your nominations in the comments or send them to Editor AT chambanamoms DOT com.
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Great interview!!
I got to know Andy a little at the Perfect Wedding Showcase back in November when we discussed mine and Mary’s pregnancies a little bit. I’m due in April, and I totally agree with Andy’s last statement about people being pessimistic. I know it’s going to be difficult and I’m not going to get much sleep, but I’d much rather hear about how rewarding it is too and how you’ll never want to go back. Great interview!
We laugh at work because whenever someone brings in a baby, we all start swaying without even realizing it. Welcome to the club!