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Home › Articles › Fatherhood › Home Is Where the Hearts Are

Home Is Where the Hearts Are

A Dad's Eye View of Bringing Baby Home for the First Time

By Mark Stackpole

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Dads also need to remember that they are an integral part of their newborn's experience in this new environment. Don't simply fob a crying baby off on Mom assuming that she is hungry or knowing that there is a diaper situation that you want no part of. Pick her up. Hold her.

I know a lot of guys who won't go near babies because of their insecurities about holding them – what if I drop her? What if she breaks? Break this mind-set, Dads, and you will be rewarded. Coos. Giggles. Laughs. Intense gazes. This takes time and trust, but it will happen if you want it to and are brave enough to let it. Before you know it, you'll be throwing her up in the air and spinning her around while she screams, "Again, Daddy. Again." And then, you will never want to stop.

She needs you, Dad. To paint the bedroom. To build the crib. To install the car seat (or find someone who can install it properly). And once the banners are stored away and the balloons have sunk, she will need you to show her that you love her.

So stash the paint brushes and put the tools back in their box. You won't need allen wrenches to tuck her in and tell her how much you love her.

Ways to Get Involved

Some men might be looking for ways to get more involved as a husband and parent. Irene Zoppi has a few suggestions:

  • Burp the baby after a feeding.
  • Change wet diapers (first), then change the "dirty" ones. In breastfed infants, this is far less unpleasant – breastfed stools are less odorous that formula stools.
  • Give a massage – babies and mothers would both love this!
  • Give Baby a bath.
  • Rock, sing and read to Baby.


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