Father bonding

A strong presence by fathers is absolutely necessary. The most precious times I had with my children were when they were newborns. Instead of my wife waking in the middle of the night for feedings I jumped at the chance. No noise and no distractions. Just me staring into the eyes of my baby while feeding. I've never felt more connected to anything in my life.

Good advice about having an active role in your child's life. I would love for my partner to be home everyday with our baby. Unfortunately that isnt possible at the moment. However, our baby does know who Daddy is and is very much his Daddy's shadow when he is home. As for carrying them everywhere, i could not do it. My son is far too heavy for me to carry for long periods of time. And a little wiggle worm!

Oh and i dont know that the "mother at home to be homemaker, father out to work" days are all gone. I know many women who stay at home with their children until they are school age.

Hi, it's great to see Dad's writing advice, and it is lovely that you are very tactile with your kids.  May I ask if you meant that you carry them in a carrier, or just with your hands?  Many of us motherly types wouldn't be strong enough to lug kids around safely without some sort of assistance and shop.  Cheers, Lui.

You really sound like a hands on Dad, which is great....carrying them constantly gets pretty tiring though, gotta love a pram now and again!

Very much agree with keeping your baby close to you, I only used a pouch, I just found the pram such a hassle and my hands were free......  Not quite seeing you with the two children and the groceries though!!!! sounds a bit scary lol......  thanks for sharing

I'm assuming you mean carrying in a pouch or something, cause otherwise it gets very uncomfortable very quickly!  We loved a pouch too and used one from birth - they are great for connecting, keeping warm and are much easier than a pram in the early days (especially if you have a toddler as well).  My 2nd cried every time I even got the pram out, but in the pouch she was happy for hours.  Plus, I think you're right it is great for dads to have that connection too and be sharing in that tactile way. My DH certainly did from birth as my first was a caesar and I was in recovery for hours, so he held my little boy for his first few hours, giving them a great connection, which they still have.

One thing, though, not everyone does share the caring equally - if one parent is home with the child, whether mum or dad, I think they will have a closer connection naturally - but that doesn't mean the other partner can't connect, they just have to make sure they make the time to.

Great tips, though, thanks for sharing!

thanks for sharing. i have a hard time picturing a man walking around the shop wiht a kid over his shoulder n one on his hip.. it sounds dangerous.. tho its nice to see a man interested in his children

thanks again for ur advice.

xoxo