In case you’re unfamiliar with Cliff Dwenger’s résumé, here’s a brief rundown: Personal trainer. Nutrition coach. Rapper. And now the 28-year-old German Peloton instructor has added a new role to his CV: dad. He and his wife, Leslie, welcomed their daughter, Anaya, into the world almost a year ago, but the honeymoon is far from over. “It’s beautiful,” he says of parenthood. “It’s the whole journey I enjoy about being a dad, and it’s really the most exciting thing I’ve experienced in my life.”
In celebration of Father’s Day in the U.S., we thought we’d share a few of the lessons Cliff has learned since becoming a dad.
1. Your capacity to feel and express love changes.
“The one major fact I love about being a dad is that you learn to show unconditional love. No matter what your baby is doing, you just love her/him for being your baby,” says Cliff. “It makes me so happy when she laughs—I’m almost addicted to her smiles and laughs. I love when she falls asleep in my arms, kissing her a thousand times during the day and getting to know her more and more.”
2. Boss baby is a real thing...
Many new parents say it’s a full-time job, but Cliff has a slightly more specific perspective. “I see parenthood as a full-time dream job. And guess who is your boss: your baby!” he says, explaining that this job isn’t for the faint of heart: “More responsibility, less sleep, less private time with your partner. It is tough and challenging to know that you can’t plan your day like you used to. The needs of your baby are your number-one priority, so many of your own priorities become secondary. If you make a to-do list for your day, she will decide what you will finish, because remember, she is the boss. If she cries, you need to be there with her and calm her down. If you don’t know why she’s crying, you gotta find out why, and that can take a long time, especially in the beginning. You grow in patience, though—that’s the good part.”
3. …but you need to nourish your relationship too.
Cliff met his wife, Leslie, in a nightclub—“not romantic at all,” he admits sheepishly. But the two had a strong connection based on shared faith and values that they’ve nurtured through the trials of early parenthood. “I remember a tough conversation in which we realized that we both miss our private time together,” Cliff recalls. “Leslie said, ‘Yes, but Anaya is our most important person.’ I responded, ‘Let’s not pay attention to all these cliché slogans. We don’t give numbers like 1, 2, 3 to our family. We all are ‘the most important person.’” It ended up being a turning point for the couple. “That changed our thinking, changed the way we handled things, and without giving less to Anaya, we found a way to enjoy more quality time.”
4. You’ll let yourself go.
No, not in that way. (Physical fitness is, of course, very important to Cliff, and he still enjoys playing soccer, basketball and going to the gym, aka his home gym.) But he says, as a father, he’s found a freedom he never experienced before: “I never thought that I’d be a clown for my daughter. But now I enjoy it. I never had a special connection with babies before I became a dad. We all know this situation, when parents give you their baby to hold it and cuddle and pull some funny faces. Every time that happened to me, I was afraid that the baby would start crying the second he or she landed in my arms. Now it’s different, and I’m glad to have this special connection with my daughter.”
5. You got this!
You’ll surprise yourself in so many ways, whether it’s learning what your baby’s cries mean or becoming an expert-level diaper-changer (“My nappy-changing game is strong! Ask Leslie!” swears Cliff). As hard as it gets, he says, “you’ll love doing all this because it is your dream job, and you get better every day.”
To all the #PelotonDads and dads-to-be out there in the Peloton family, happy Father’s Day! Why not celebrate by joining Cliff in a class on the PelotonApp?