Bonding With Daddy

One common misconception that I hear when talking about breastfeeding is that if a mother chooses to breastfeed, then the father is not able to feed the baby and therefore not able to bond with the baby.

Rubbish.

Why do people think that feeding the baby is the only way to bond? What about playing, giving baths, or even changing diapers?

The Knight has never felt like he had a hard time bonding with our girls. In fact, they are both definitly Daddy's Girls, and are extremely bonded to him.

So, how did he manage to bond with them if he couldn't feed them? Simple. The Knight gives the girls their baths, all of them. Bath time is considered special Daddy Time and in fact the Mermaid will get disgruntled in the rare times that I give her a bath. The Knight also spends a lot of time reading and playing with the girls. He will read book after book after book; he tickles their feet, tosses them in the air, and gives them piggy back rides. He has never felt "left out" simply because he couldn't feed them.

The Knight also was very hands on in night time parenting. When the girls would wake up as newborns, he would be the one to get up and change their diapers before handing them off to me to be nursed. When we wake up in the morning, it is the Knight that the Mermaid is usually snuggled tight against. He changes most of their diapers and makes a game of it. To the girls, a diaper change is one big laugh festival.

I get very annoyed when people imply that a father will not be able to bond with his baby if he is unable to feed the baby a bottle. I personally consider it an insult to imply that a man is unable to come up with any other ways of interacting with his baby except through food. Do women really believe that their husband/partner will be that dense when thinking of things to do with their children? Why is it the bottle or nothing?

I only write about this subject because of an entry I read written by Mama Joy over at her blog, Breast and Belly. Her writing is wonderful, and it is a fantastic post. Head on over and check her out.

And the next time you see your hubby changing a diaper, or giving the baby a bath, or any other act that fascilitates bonding, give the man a big hug and a kiss. He deserves it.

Bonding With Daddy