Out of darkness comes light.
It feels almost criminal to even think of this awful situation as a positive in anyone’s life. Yet the coronavirus pandemic and its trail of destruction somehow left the cards stacked in my favour. It gave me the unique opportunity to relive my paternity leave. Or to put it more accurately, live the paternity leave I never had.
When my sons were born – 13 weeks ahead of schedule – I had no idea what the hell was going on.
All I knew was that this wasn’t normal… and that was soon proven to me. After nine weeks on the neonatal units at two different hospitals, this is what I learned about how dads can be affected.
There’s no doubt about it: bonding with your baby when they’re in an incubator is hard.
Of course, the mother’s role is imperative. She can provide the all-important breast milk to help your child on its road to recovery.
However, dads shouldn’t feel as though they have to play second fiddle all the time. There are plenty of ways you can help out and bond with your baby, even if they are in a neonatal ward.
In this post I’ll cover eight ways that dads can get involved in the NICU experience and start building a relationship with their newborns.
To enjoy the best thing in my life, I had to endure the worst.
Becoming a dad is the most rewarding and satisfying thing I’ve ever done – but it didn’t always feel that way.
For several long, arduous weeks, my twin sons’ lives hung in the balance. This is the story of how they were born 13 weeks early, and how it immediately affected me.