Our fears of a lacking paternal/infant bond have been squelched time and time again simply by our son’s reaction to his dad’s post travel or end-of-day reappearance. There are many days that nothing I do will pull him out of a fussy mood, but the second dad walks in the room, it’s all smiles, kicks and cuteness ““ he absolutely lights up at the sight of that man. Sure, it seems a bit unfair, but it couldn’t make me happier ““ it is so indicative of the bond they have, even at this early age.
While on travel, we keep dad in the loop by sending daily pictures and putting him on speakerphone so babycakes can hear his voice. Our little man is quite the chatterbug these days, but is ““ admittedly ““ just now getting to the point where he listens to voices coming through the phone.
I truly believe that babies bond with caregivers from day one, regardless of whether it is their dad or mom. In my mind, it is about making the moments that you have with them count ““ be present and interact with them, no matter how goofy you feel or whether they are too young to reciprocate.
I may be the one who is present seven days a week, but he has a great dad who has shamelessly danced around the kitchen ““ on more than one occasion ““ to stop tears and entertain. Who gets legitimately excited about getting to puree peas and green beans. Who loves bath time, takes on diaper changes, and gives the world’s most enthusiastic airplanes. And who has time and time again disproved his own initial philosophy on the early dad-child bond.
I’ve never been happier to utter those three little words: “Told you so.”