One of my favorite parts of being a post-partum/newborn nurse was giving the babies their first baths, specifically, running new dads through the procedure. Many rookie fathers have little experience with babies and are terrified of physically handling their newborns, so I'd be careful not to be too delicate. More than one dad asked me, "Can I touch him?"
"Of course you can. He's yours." I'd say, handing over the sponge.
By the end of the bath, if I flopped their babies around enough, most dads were convinced the little things were quite sturdy and pliable, despite being teeny tiny. All flopping aside, helping these fathers connect with their babies felt like sacred work to me.
Seems James di Properzio and Jennifer Margulis had the same goal in mind when they wrote The Baby Bonding Book for Dads. It's chock full of tips on how to help men feel more at ease with their little ones. Most parenting books are fear based and lean toward "what not to do." This book is different. It encourages "baby wrestling," and singing a modified version of "Super Freak" during diaper changes,
"She's a very stinky girl...."
While the book is written with great humor, it's also poignant. An example being the section where the author writes a few paragraphs to his unborn baby while his wife sleeps. Excuse me, I'm a bit verklempt. Tawk amongst yourselves......
If you know any new or expecting daddies out there, this would be the perfect book for Father's Day. And for seasoned dads, it might be a beautiful stroll down memory lane.Three cheers for good fathers!
May you never underestimate your value to your children.
* adorable photos in The Baby Bonding Book for Dads by Christopher Briscoe. Warning...they may make you want to reproduce.
* adorable photos in The Baby Bonding Book for Dads by Christopher Briscoe. Warning...they may make you want to reproduce.
I'm not having any more babies.
I'm not having any more babies.
I'm not having any more babies.
Say it with me......
7 comments:
Oh, what a beautiful book.. and I know exactly who I am going to get this for...
Just checking in (I am becoming addicted to your blog.. LOL) to see how things are today.. Sorry I didn't have much more to offer yesterday.. I've been going in and out of a funk myself. This, however, i DO know. You were chosen to be Riley's mom for a reason...
I remember when Miles was about 9 months old, his dad would conduct the "Big Bad Bunny" wrestling matches on the guest bed.
We had this huge stuffed, soft bunny (about 3 times the size of Miles) and Jim would narrate the "match" and switch between Miles on the Bunny and Bunny on Miles poses to go along with the dialogue. Hilarious. Jim would be *sweating* by the end of the match.
I caught it all on video tape. Classic.
Bottom Line: He had no problem playing with Miles. In fact, years later after he was diagnosed with autism, our friends (who had witnessed Jim's play with Miles) suggested that maybe *this* was the reason why he was "autistic". This was way back in the mid 90's.
Kind of reminds me of the "icebox mom" theory.
Kelli
PS....Love the "Fountain of Youth" photo with this story. Talk about timing :-)
Kelli,
I deleted your duplicate comment. I think ti is a problem on my end. We just switched e-mail accounts and they are coming on on both old and new.
P.S. My sister is Kelli with an "i."
: )
I know how important it was for my husband to bond with our son in his own way, no suggestions from me. And, he is the greatest with my son now. All of that vestibular input from tickling and rough-housing. My son LOVES it. When Daddy walks through the door, the jungle gym has arrived.
Looking at my children always makes me want to have more.
They are so cute :-)
Well...there you go -- the "i's" have it!
Sorry, couldn't resist.
Your sister ROCKS (and I don't even know her)
BTW: Our name means Bold Warrior.
Don't know about "sis" but that definitely describes me to a tee.
And if you've read any of my comments at AoA you know that's exactly dead on.
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