I have partnered with Life of Dad and Pampers for this promotion.

I have always known that I’ve wanted to be a dad. All my life I’ve been told that I’d make a great dad someday. Usually told to me by girls who just wanted to be friends, but I digress. I found my one and only and we were married and tried to start a family. The first pregnancy came and we were jubilant, who would be this new child in our lives that would make us a mom and a dad. We shared our excitement with friends and family only to have it taken away from us. Our first baby did not come. This hardened my heart.

Over the years life has taught me not to talk about a thing until it is real and physical and actual. I had forgotten that in my excitement over learning that I was going to be a dad for the first time. I let my guard down and allowed myself to be happy before the actual event. I was devastated by the news which was compounded by my being away when it happened. Our sadness was further compounded by having to share in the joy of our good friends bringing their first child into the world on that day. I give my wife and I credit for being strong enough to share in their happiness while we were so shattered. I became guarded and skeptical when Allison became pregnant a second time. I was there at every doctor’s session looking for potential bad news. I would not allow myself to be happy or dream of a child in our lives. I didn’t want to get my hopes up only to have them dashed again.

On October 10, 2007 I finally became a dad. Our beautiful baby girl, Eva was born in a real hurry. We arrived at the hospital at 10am and she arrived in the world at 12:10pm. While that may seem like a short time, especially to moms with over 36 hour labors, it felt like an eternity for me. All the visits said that our baby was doing okay (I did not want to know the gender of our baby, another possibility to get my hopes up that I did not want) but I wanted certainty and would not get that until I held our baby in my arms. Eva rocketed into the world full of life and a knotted umbilical cord. She had been in distress but we were lucky that she was born so fast that the knot left no lasting issues.

I watched my baby girl like a hawk. She did not leave my sight or my side while she was in the hospital. When the nurses came to take her to measure and check her out I went with them. I changed her first diaper and so many more after that. Allison can brag that she did not have to change a diaper for the first two weeks following Eva’s birth. I would gladly do the job. Eva’s birth allowed that hard heart of mine to crack and realize that yes, this baby girl of ours was here, was healthy and was the reason I could now be called a Dad.

This Father’s Day, Pampers is thanking those babies in our lives who have made us dads. Their message that when a baby is born, so is a dad is all about making dad feel exceptionally special and empowering him to discover new roles in life through fatherhood. I know that Eva’s birth made me an official dad to the world and that is a role I was born to play.

After Eva we tried again and another pregnancy came. Part of my defenses were cracked because of Eva and while I was very guarded I still had faith that I would be a father once again. Life can be terribly hard sometimes. We received hard news that this baby, if born, would most likely have birth defects of one kind or another. Each doctor’s visit was filled with uncertainty and dread. We resolved ourselves that we would be the best parents possible to this baby no matter what. On the day that we decided upon a name, Faith, we learned that the baby was gone. More walls went up around my heart, walls that only Eva could get through. I would be the best dad she could ever hope for.

A few years later we tried a fourth time for a baby. We were blessed with an energetic and impish son. I grew a beard like athletes do out of superstition when they are on a hot streak. My rally beard would not come off until our child was born. When Andrew the fourth arrived I took photos and watched him be cared for by the nurses. Then I grabbed my razor and a can of shaving cream and took off that beard. My son was here and I could be me again. I could open that part of my heart that got slammed shut on our third pregnancy. My son was here.

This beautiful little boy would change my role as a dad tremendously. Over the years he would challenge, frustrate and infuriate me while at the same time make me laugh, love and live more. Our family was now complete. Eva now had a lifelong companion and friend and we had two beautiful and healthy children. The path to being a father has been a long and hard one. There have been moments of utter despair and incredible joy. Each day I renew my role as dad to these two sweet kids who bring me so much joy.

The images here are some of my favorite ones of my children, especially the ones of me with each child sleeping on my chest. The most favorite feeling in the world that I have with my children is when they sleep on me. Carrying a sleeping child who trusts me completely to keep them safe is one of my most favorite moments as a dad. It is the vulnerability of this sleeping child in my arms that opens my heart further because I am charged with caring for them, protecting them and loving them. That is a job that I’d been preparing for my whole life and will joyfully work at all the rest of my life. I thank my babies for being the reason that I am called a dad. I thank them for allowing my heart to be filled with joy and love at having them in my life. #ThanksBaby

So, why am I choosing to talk about so much in my journey in being a dad? As you saw above, I am partnering with Life of Dad and Pampers. Pampers has released a new #ThanksBaby video that captures the amazing relationship that is created between a dad and his baby when a baby is born and the beautiful journey of fatherhood begins. You can follow along with my story and the stories of several exceptional dads by following the campaign hashtag #ThanksBaby and reading their stories. You can also watch this video that Pampers has released honoring dads for just being dads and thanking babies for making us truly become dads. Please join me by tweeting why you are most thankful for baby with the hashtag #ThanksBaby. Please enjoy this video.

Visit www.pampers.com to learn more about Pampers products, join the Pampers Rewards program, and find ideas and information to help your baby get the most out of love, sleep and play. You can also join me and a bunch of other dads this Wednesday night at 9pm EST for a #ThankBaby Twitter Party. There will be plenty of prizes including a grand prize of a $250.00 Visa gift card.