Our 749th Dad in the Limelight is Dustin Howes of Dutch Daddy and WPEngine. I want to thank Dustin Howes for being a part of this series. It has been great getting connected with him and now sharing him with all of you.
1) Tell me about yourself, (as well as how you are in the limelight for my readers knowledge)
America…growing facial hair…making people smile…family…Dustin Howes. Friends call me Dutch. My credo: “No excuses, just be an athlete.” Originally from Fresno California, I joined the Marines out of high school, spent 8 years getting a 4 year college degree while I was a full-time poker dealer. I moved to Vegas the day I graduated college to chase a dream of playing poker professionally. It didn’t work out, but the lessons I learned sculpted the person I am today. I love baseball, the great outdoors, kicking ass, chewing bubble gum, quoting movies randomly, gambling, tickle fights, hunting, blogging sporadically on dutchdaddy.com & razzing friends. My blogging hobby catapulted me into WordPress enthusiast and eventually landed me a job as Affiliate Manager at wpengine.com.
2) Tell me about your family
My wife and I moved to Austin in 2010 and have since acquired two children (girl 2.5 years and boy 8 months) and two Boston terriers. Sarah works full-time from home and her biggest hobby is keeping our children safe and raising them to be kind to people. My role is entertaining the kids and ensuring safety.
3) What has been the largest challenge you have had in being a father?
Largest challenge for me as a father is not being selfish and staying engaged with my kids in their early development. Babies are boring; I have never been a big baby person, never caring about holding babies unless it’s my own. I have a burning need to be productive with my time and watching a baby before they can crawl felt like a waste of time. Infants aren’t for everyone & coming to terms with the concept that I’m not a cold-hearted monster was a tough battle.
4) What advice would you give to other fathers?
I always suggest future and current fathers read the Baby Manual book as their first step into handling infants. After that, research everything via Google, but take all suggestions with a grain of salt. All advice from blogs come from things that worked for that author, but every child and case will be different. Be your own dad and make your own story.
5) How have you come to balance parenthood and outside life?
I believe in the concept of pick 3: Work, sleep, family, fitness, or friends. I focus on family time, working full-time & side hustles, and networking/friendship. I exercise enough to stay squishy and not be fat. Sleep is for babies…except for mine, we average 2 tantrums per night.
6) What have you learned from the fathers that you have interacted with?
I’ve learned that making mistakes happen to all dads. My biggest influence is my father, who helped me become a decent human being. My goal is to take his lessons and methods, then improve on them. I collect all data from friends, try out methods and see if it’s a fit for my family. I’ll try anything once.
7) What else would you share regarding your experiences as a father thus far?
Buy a $30 yoga ball. This is the most used tool in my house. Infants love to bounce, it’s put mine to sleep more times than I can count. Toddlers have a blast with it during play time.
8) What have been the most memorable experiences that you have had thus far as a parent?
My most memorable experiences so far have been the next level steps my 2 year old daughter takes when talking to me. We can have full conversations now; she’s sassy and knows how to play with my heart strings to get her way I love this game! Everytime she learns something new, it puts the biggest smile on my face.
If you have any questions for Dustin Howes, please leave a comment here and I will make sure that he gets them so that he may be able to respond!
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The post Dads in the Limelight – Dustin Howes of Dutch Daddy and WPEngine appeared first on Dad of Divas.