First-Time Fathers Talk Balancing Baby Life and Working the Entertainment Industry

 
 
 

adler diggs

With Father’s Day around the corner, we here at AZ Foothills have been thinking a lot about the importance and significance of a dad. Be it your birth-given father or a supportive, father-figure in your life, it’s hard to say where we’d be without them. For many of you, your dad was the first one to teach you how to ride a bike or throw a baseball. He pushed you to be your best, supported you in all your endeavors, and maybe even bought you your first beer when you turned 21.

We all have special memories with our dads, and despite any gift we give them or cards we send them, we could never begin to explain the tremendous impact they’ve had on our lives. If we made a list of all that we were grateful for from them, we’d be here ‘till the apocalypse.

To celebrate Father’s Day this year around, we’re asking two new, first-time fathers from the Valley about their experiences raising children. Get the tissues, readers. Their responses are heart warming and could probably make the Grinch’s heart grow two sizes too big.

Jason Adler (left) and Joe Diggs (right) are both operations directors for Triyar Entertainment Group, a Scottsdale company that owns and operates several bars and nightclubs in Old Town. Diggs is a new father to seven-month-old daughter Isla and Adler an even newer father to two-month-old Gwen.

According to Diggs, he and Adler work a 55+ hour workweek to ensure events and promotions run smoothly at all locations. Diggs heads the W Scottsdale and Dakota, an upscale, high-volume bar and restaurant, and Adler leads Maya Day + Night Club and Triyar’s newest concept, The District. Between working far-from-average hours in the entertainment industry and raising newborn babies, the two are tremendously busy and said they are still working on striking that perfect balance.

They are exemplary modern dads, working hard to provide for their families, and have a surprising amount of wisdom from their short time periods as fathers. They deserve major kudos for their efforts and success.

AFM: How do you balance working and being a dad?

Diggs: A lot of times you work six or seven days a week, but you are working when the baby’s sleeping. While my schedule is probably more hours (than others’), there’s a little bit of flexibility. I get a lot of alone time with (Isla) in the morning. I try to work my schedule or whatever events we have, around Isla. She has swim class every Monday, so I make sure I’m there for that, (and) I try to get in an early pattern of not missing doctors appointments or (any) kind of events that she’s going to, and I’m there for bath time pretty much every night.

Adler: It’s pretty new to me. I actually did take some work off right when the baby was born, which was great. So it’s something I’m adjusting to now. Usually when I get (home) at nighttime, the baby’s just getting up. I’ll take the baby and put her back down while the wife gets some sleep. Then, throughout the day, my wife will bring her over to one of our properties or to my office to let me see her a little bit, and most of the time, Sunday through Wednesday nights, I’m at home and I get to spend the quality time I need to with both of them.


 Joe Diggs Family Small File

AFM: What is most difficult about balancing it all?

Diggs: The most time consuming part is basically it’s a full week of work during normal business hours, (and) then you have to go back at nighttime as well and be there. I’ll be honest; at this point it’s probably not even the baby. I think it’s when you’re leaving the wife to go back to work. Your weekends are eliminated. That’s the hardest thing, but then again, that’s the business I chose. I love my job, and I have since the first time I started. (Diggs, his wife and daughter shown in photo above)

Adler: Not getting to see her. I want to be with her 24/7 but at the same time, in life, you have to make money and support your family and make sure they’re taken care of. She’s such a new baby. I hope I don’t miss laughing and smiling and different things that are happening, and I hope that I’m there and that she’s doing these things when I’m actually around.

 

AFM:  What has been the most rewarding part of being a dad thus far?

Diggs: At her age right now, it’s that she acknowledges you right as you walk in the room. She starts smiling and laughing and making noises. Being there when she starts crawling. Introducing her to new toys and foods. It’s interactions with her when she’s having a bad day and (is) a little whiny or something and you pick her up, and she stops crying.  

Adler: Man, that’s a difficult question. It was surreal to me before the baby came, and now it’s actually real. Just being able to be a father… it’s an unexplained feeling of having a newborn baby or just having a baby – knowing that it’s yours. Knowing that you’re able to guide them and give them a good life and upbringing and make sure they see life the same way you did, in a good way.

 

AFM: What have you learned about raising a daughter?

Diggs: I don’t think you really understand until you hold her for the first time or until you watch her wake up and watch her go to bed, how much you really want to protect her, and it’s so hard to put it into words. You look at life in general after and nothing else matters. The world could be coming to an end. You could have a long day at work, and I Just want to hold her, whether she’s happy or sad. Go on walks, play on blankets with toys... She chases everything I put in front of her. I could put any little object in front of her and she’ll crawl faster. She’s pretty special. I think she’s the best looking baby, and we get told many times when we’re out or at the mall that she is, so…

Adler: When I found out I was having a girl, I’m pretty sure my heart dropped instantly. I’ve always heard it’s harder to raise boys than girls, but just being a father and a parent and knowing eventually one day she’ll start dating and she’ll have different things going on in her life? – It’s not just that I’m here for (her), I want to make sure she’s okay to experience life on her own and nothing bad will happen to her.


Jason Adler Baby Photo

AFM: Do you have any goals as a father or things you try to consistently work on?

Diggs: I want to introduce her to stuff early and often, whether it’s food or experiences. She gets bounced around by our dogs a little bit, but she loves it. She’s very resilient. She had her shots today and cried for like, 30 seconds and is like over it. I think knowing that we’ll always be here for her and she’ll always be safe with us but at the same time, giving her a resiliency to be able to explore on her own, even if it’s just crawling around the living room or something like that, (is my goal).

Adler: Every day I come to work and go to work knowing it’s for her. It’s for my daughter. The future goal is obviously to give her a good upbringing and make sure she has everything that she wants and needs to be successful by herself. (Adler's wife and daughter in photo above)

 

AFM: If you were to instill one value in your daughter so she may grow up to be strong and independent, what would it be?

Diggs: I think her personality is like her mom, which some would say is feisty, but I would just say independent and opinionated. We don’t baby her that much. We like her to tell us when she’s not doing well. She uses her hands and she’ll yell and verbalize some stuff. I think she’ll turn into a very opinionated young lady, and I’ll be in trouble when she’s a teenager. I’m sure she’ll try and pull some moves on me.

Adler: I was actually raised in the Midwest, so I had family around me all the time. Good family values and morale are probably two of the biggest things instilled in me – to make sure you’re a very fun-loving, caring, giving person to everyone, no matter who it is. It would probably be the most important to me to push on to her – to make sure that she is the same exact kind, caring and loving person we were raised to be as well. 

 

AFM: What are your favorite traits about your daughter?

Diggs: The only trait she got of mine is her blue eyes, which is good. I’m glad she got those, but that’s kind of a personal thing. She’s tall, she moves around. I definitely want her to play some type of sport and be active, and she’s definitely trending along that way already.

Adler: Some of the facial expressions she does, she looks very much like me. Her facial expressions are very, very similar to mine. I get pictures sent to me from my wife throughout the day of what she’s doing and it reminds me very much of myself.

 

AFM: Do you have a favorite activity you enjoy doing with your daughter?

Diggs: I take her and one of our dogs on a 30-minute walk every single morning after I go on a run. I talk to her, and I leave my phone at home, which is very rare for me. Half the time I’m talking and interacting with her and just rambling, and the other half she’s in the zone and just takes in other dogs and bikes and people running around. So that’s pretty cool. It’s a cool little routine.

Adler: I think tummy time when she’s actually learning how to hold her head up and just be on her own, since it’s pretty fun right now. She’s so tiny, I haven’t actually gotten to experience seeing her walk or seeing her crawl. I guess it’s a day-by-day process. She’s my first child and it’s something that’s exciting to see – her progressing and being able to hold her head up and giving smiles and such.

 

AFM: How do you plan to celebrate your first Father’s Day?

Diggs: We take her everywhere. It’s not like we put her up with a nanny or a sitter all the time. It’s not like I’m going to leave and go play golf or something like that. I think we’ll just go to a fun brunch and bring the baby along. She loves to swim, so we (could) go to a different resort pool. She’ll pick up the water - she loves that. So I don’t know. We don’t really celebrate the holidays that crazily, it’s more like we hang out as a family pretty much every day. 

Adler: Probably to go into work because she is so little, but I don’t know what my wife has up her sleeve. We could probably do something else. Maybe a good Father’s Day brunch or hanging out with my wife and the baby. I don’t need much. Very small things make me happy as long as I’m just with them. That’s all I really need.