Our 421st Dad in the Limelight is Seth Burleigh. I want to thank Seth 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)

I am a 29 year old first-time-dad from Los Angeles. I am the VP of Operations for a small sports media company, specifically working in youth/college soccer. I love to stay active, although the gym and I have not seen each other in about 4 months and I haven’t been able to play soccer even longer than that. I love to travel and look forward to taking my daughter on her first trip!

2) Tell me about your family

I met my wife in middle school, we started dating in high school, continued together at UC Berkeley, and celebrated our 4 year wedding anniversary last August. We just had our first child, Isabel, on September 22. She was a small one – only 5 lbs. 7oz, but full of lung power!

My wife is Mexican, Cuban, and Catholic, and I am a white Jewish boy. We look forward to raising our child in a multiracial, multireligious, and multicultural environment.

3) What has been the largest challenge you have had in being a father?

I’m already a pretty patient and flexible person, but learning to be patient with a screaming child in your arms is a different kind of patient. I’ve definitely had to become more flexible and willing to accept the unexpected. There are just so many uncontrollable things with a new child that even attempting to control them is maddening. With that said, I have also struggled with attempting to control the things I can control. Advocating for my family is more important than ever and I need to learn to be firmer whenever possible.

4) What advice would you give to other fathers?

I’m hardly at the stage to be giving advice, but if I’ve learned anything it is that things will never stay the way they are. The hard/frustrating moments are just that, moments. They will soon be replaced by extremely joyous moments. Early fatherhood (and I imagine fatherhood in general) is a series of moments and phases that everyone learns from (even baby), which helps make each subsequent moment/phase a little easier to navigate.

5) How have you come to balance parenthood and outside life?

I think for me, it hasn’t been so much balancing parenthood and outside life, but more learning to balance my time. Fortunately, my job allows me to leave most work at the office and I commute four hours a day, so I have a few extra hours to get things done. But I am also getting my MBA, so that is a time suck. And having a blog has taken more time than I originally thought it would. Finding a way to balance all those and give attention to my family has definitely been a struggle for me and is something that I have to say aware of.

6) What have you learned from the fathers that you have interacted with?

I’ve actually had more “virtual” interaction with fellow dad bloggers and have appreciated the sharing of experiences and sense of brotherhood, regardless of whether we have met each other in person. While everyone’s situation is unique, we all share a common thread that enables us to relate to each other. I’ve enjoyed learning about their experiences and how it might relate to me. And I’ve also heard a few stories that I’m crossing my fingers I don’t experience.

7) What else would you share regarding your experiences as a father thus far?

http://www.fortyweekslater. com/2013/12/10-ways- parenthood-like-matrix/ I’ve learned that the internet is like the oracle from The Matrix – full of advice, but never any concrete answers when your really need/want them (I wrote about parenting and The Matrix here:

My wife is a research junky on all this parenting stuff and is always telling me about things she’s read pertaining to whatever we are going through at the moment. And in our quest to learn and figure out what to do in different situations we’ve learned the internet can be a blessing and a curse, so I’ve definitely learned to take everything for what it is – people sharing their stories and their experiences. There is no right or wrong way to do anything (well, almost anything), so we we’ve had to figure out what works for us.

8) What have been the most memorable experiences that you have had thus far as a parent?

Seeing her smile for the first time. Hearing her talk and find her voice (we are in the screaming stage right now). Watching her master tummy time and roll over (we are almost at back-to-front, any day now). Experiencing her wonderment with her new-found freedom in the bath once we let her sit on her own. The first night she slept 12 hours and the recent night she woke up multiple times. Moving her to her own room. Falling in love with her more every day. Seeing the pure joy my wife has interacting with her. I can keep going. 🙂

If you have any questions for Seth, please leave a comment here and I will make sure that he gets them so that he may be able to respond!

Also, do you know a Dad in the Limelight? If so, please email me their contact information so that they too can be a part of this series!

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