Dad’s all over the world have one job and that is to protect their family, it started since the dawn of time and nowadays we still have the responsibility, you may ask, how can I help with an infant? I don’t produce breast milk, I don’t have the connection my wife has with my daughter and my wife is automatically turned into a parent unlike me.
So am I set to sit this one out until Sophia is older? Not at all, that’s not how urban dictionary describes dad.
The true man in your life that is there for you Your Dad loves you, comforts you, supports you and helps you. Your Dad is someone that you should be able to respect
So comfort, support and help, the three pillars to building a great foundation for your child, but how can we help in the early stages?
Very simple, even if you have no idea what to do, just be there and that’s enough for your wife/partner. “Fhimt, imma xorta naqlaha minghand il-mara” (I understand, but I’ll still get yelled at by my wife) Yes, that’s normal whatever you do, you need to develop a thick skin and leave your pride aside as your wife will be the knowledgeable one in this area, so dad just listens and be proactive. What I mean by being proactive is very simple, if your wife/partner shows you how to change a diaper as its normal for us to do it wrong, listen to what she says and then repeat it but with a daddy’s touch. Yes, dads, we have a fun touch… What we can do is whilst changing the diaper in my case for my daughter I start having a deep conversation with her on her future… Like, “Sophia, remember the only boy who will love is your daddy, so ignore boys and just live with your daddy forever.” Other stuff you can do is show off your beautiful voice, the best thing about it my daughter doesn’t judge my talent she just looks at me with an interesting look, I think she might be saying either this guy is talented or that she makes me realize that I suck at singing, irrelevant what she thinks it is essential to singing to your child even if the song is a mixture of Chinese, Hindi and a hint of Arabic, she will still be lost in your voice.
Ok, but you might be saying I don’t want to sing as I respect my neighbours and I don’t want to sound like a cat in heat. So what other techniques are there? Several others, but these are the proven things that work well for your newborn:
Close Contact with your child: A Newborn’s eyesight is not yet developed, so at this young age it will be impossible for him/her to distinguish one person from the other, as you are just an outline to her. So what is suggested is to hold your child on your chest, so she can smell your scent and also speak to her so she can be felt at ease when hearing your voice.
Talk to your child:
Your child will just hear bla bla bla, but listening to your voice will help develop a bond with you when she’s older and also will mostly pay attention to you. Read her stories, sing to her lullabies, nursery rhymes anything to catch her attention as most babies are the most observant at a young age.
Give a helping hand to your wife/partner:
If your wife breastfeeds, you obviously can help in other ways, such as relaxing your baby after a feed, trying to burp a baby (although if you breastfed, burping is not essential), but if you bottle feed, dads bond with your child by feeding her and also giving a break to mummy.
Be a team player:
Having a calm baby is very rare, that’s what I thought in the beginning, but my daughter is two weeks old and she’s sleeping throughout the day, but in the evening “Mamma Mia” it’s like she’s a vampire and wakes up only in the evening. Even though I cannot do a lot of stuff throughout the day as my wife has to wake up and feed her, but I always wake up and see if she needs help, if Sophia needs changing throughout the night it’s my job, as your wife and yourself have to work as a team in order to build a successful foundation for your child.
Dads, in reality, everyone knows that having a baby at the early stages is not easy, but not impossible. The Maltese Daddy recommends top tips to make it through, be patient, be helpful and communicate with your wife/partner. I hope you enjoyed my blog, if you have any requests for any titles you want to write about, please feel free to contact me.
