Cool Dads: 7 Ways To Bond With Your Baby

Men these days spend more time with their infants than dads of past generations did. Although dads frequently yearn for closer contact with their babies, bonding frequently occurs on a different timetable, partially because they don’t have the early contact of breastfeeding that many moms have.

But dads should realize, early on, that bonding with their child isn’t a matter of being another mom. In many cases, dads share special activities with their infants. And both parents benefit greatly when they can support and encourage one another.

Early bonding activities that both mom and dad can experience together include:

1. participating together in labor and delivery
2. feeding (breast or bottle); sometimes dad forms a special bond with baby when handling a middle-of-the-night feeding and diaper change
3. reading or singing to baby
4. giving the baby a bath
5. mirroring baby’s movements
6. mimicking baby’s cooing and other vocalizations — the first efforts at communication
using a front baby carrier during routine activities
7. letting baby feel the different textures of dad’s face

See Also

Taking Sugar In The First 1,000 Days After Conception Of A Child Linked To Health Issues Later In Life -New Study 

Source: kidshealth.org