Michael Bublé knows the high highs and low lows of parenthood.
The singer and his wife, Luisana Lopilato, have three children ― Noah, Elias and Vida. Since becoming a father in 2013, the singer has opened up about the experience, from lullabies to potty training to his oldest son’s cancer battle.
In honor of his birthday, we’ve rounded up 20 quotes about parenthood from Bublé.
On Expecting His First Child
“The truth is, I don’t know what to expect, because obviously I’ve never expected before, so I’m just really actually enjoying it. Neither one of us are anxious, we’re just excited. We can’t wait to know what it’s like, we can’t wait to meet this little guy.”
On Pregnancy Cravings
“Some women crave pickles or ice cream. My wife wants blood sausages. Sausage made of congealed blood. And I promise you, she hated it her whole life and now she said, ‘Mike, I want some blood sausage,’ and it’s like, ‘What the hell?’”
On Meeting His Baby
“I didn’t have that overwhelming feeling of love. I’m being honest with you. I’d heard all of these stories about how this moment was life-changing, but it wasn’t like that for me. I was nervous for my wife, and I was happy that he was healthy … but, that day, it was like meeting a stranger. That next night, it really clicked. I was looking at him and all of a sudden, I got it.”
On Being A New Father And Husband
“My happiness is to be embedded with these two and they’re my whole world, so the truth is I wouldn’t be happy without them.”
On Baby Gifts
“The best [baby gift] I got was a little baby circus tent and you just take it and you put it on his little wiener when you change him.”
On Prioritizing Family
“There will have to be a healthy balance and if there’s not, then only one thing is going to have to have to suffer, and let me tell you it won’t be my family life ... Even if that means I can’t be there physically, at least I can be there on Skype or whatever.”
On His First Son’s Interests
“He wants to play soccer and hockey and he wants to sing with Papa — that’s what he wants.”
On Serenading Babies
“I sing to him all day and all night. When he’s crying with somebody else and I hold him and I sing to him, he just stops. It’s really cool. The songs I’m singing are not my hits — that’s for sure. My number one go-to right now is ‘Down by the Bay.’”
On Christmas With Family
“All morning, [my little boy] was singing ‘Santa Claus is Coming to Town.’ That’s the soundtrack of our holiday and our life. He fills in the words right now, but basically he’s got ‘pout,’ ‘better not cry,’ ‘pout why,’ and then his way of saying Santa Claus sounds like ‘kekaus,’ but he loves it, so music is a big part of it.”
On Noah’s Scalding Accident
“It’s tough to see him go through it. I try to remind Lu that we are lucky — that it could have been worse.”
On Moments Of Pride
“Yesterday was a huge day. [Noah] made his first caca in the toilet. I know it sounds crazy to say that, but if it’s your kid, it’s like an Academy Award.”
On Wanting More Children
“You know, Noah’s 2 and I already miss him when he was a baby. We love that part so much that how can we not want to have that again? And again, and again … I’m saying that now, let’s see what I say after two.”
On Work/Life Balance
“It’s very tough. There’s talk so much about how women are forced to try to find balance in their professional life and their family life, and the truth is, it’s not said enough about men: Men have the same issue. I know I do. I’m really lucky that my wife and I have decided to try and support each other in that way, and as we speak, I’m [working], but I fly back Sunday, and right now my wife is making a movie. I’ll fly back, and for the three weeks that she’s making a movie, I’m the babysitter, I’m Mr. Mom or whatever you call it. So it allows us both to be fulfilled within our professional lives, but at the same time, we feel like we haven’t lost control of the balance. At the end of the day, what defines us is the fact that we are parents, that we’re brothers and sisters and mom and dads and sons and daughters — not what we do. I wish it wasn’t a struggle, but it is a struggle to find a balance. I’ll never find it perfectly, but I will do my damnedest to find it as best I can.”
On Preparing His Son For A New Brother
“We just talk to him a lot about it [and] he sort of gets it. We bought him a little baby doll so that he would understand that he’s gonna have to help take care of his bother. That’s ‘Noah’s baby,’ and he grabbed it by its feet and smashed it and poked its eyes, so we’re not sure about that.”
On Noah’s Cancer Battle
“I’ve been to hell. I don’t talk about the whole story, not even to my friends because it hurts too much. It’s my boy. He’s a superhero, he doesn’t need to relive it over and again. But I’ve been to hell. And you know what, hell seems like a really nice place to vacation compared to where we’ve been.”
On Perspective
“Family is what matters. The health of my children is No.1. The relationship with my family, my wife, my faith ― all of it is easily No. 1. I live with a perspective that I just didn’t have before and it allows me to have no fear. Perspective has allowed me to rekindle my love of music. When I went through Noah’s cancer from the first moment there was a snap. I remember sitting in the hospital room thinking, ‘I was worried about any of that shit? I was worried about record sales or a meme or what some a–hole said about me?’ In a second it had gotten so clear.”
On Choosing His Daughter’s Name
“I picked it. It’s the second time I had come up with the name. I was going through the list of names, and I went ‘Oh, you know what, babe? Vida! I mean, what says it better than life, you know?’ What a miracle this kid is.”
On Being Present
“I just don’t want to look back and say, ‘God, I should have been there more,’ because I have a feeling that I’ll never look back and say, ‘Jeez, I should have worked more.’”
On The Greatest Joy
“I just love being home and listening and singing and drawing and playing and wrestling. My kids make me happiest.”
On His Approach To Parenting
“Every single person in the whole world tells you how to do it a different way. At first it confuses you, then it drives you nuts, and then you realize that there is no right way. You just do the best you can and hope it turns out okay.”
