Father's Day

I had my first Mother’s Day last month and now it is my husband’s turn for his first Father’s Day.  He gets to spend it at home with Baby while Mama works all weekend at the hospital.  That is basically the story of our lives.  I am one of many mothers-in-medicine whose careers are made possibly by supportive partners.

This arrangement is challenging at times, but allows Baby to develop a special bond with his Daddy.  It is wonderful to see Baby’s entire face light up (often with a happy dance as well) when he sees Daddy come into a room or hears his voice. 

Although Daddy can’t breastfeed, he has other unique duties.  He is the designated solid food giver.  Baby sits on Daddy’s lap for dinner time and puts his little hand on Daddy’s big hand to help guide the spoon.  With his superior upper body strength, he is the baby flyer and bouncer and car-seat carrier.  He is better at lowering sleepy Baby smoothly into his bed.

I love watching them play together and laugh at each other.  I am looking forward to seeing how their relationship evolves as Baby grows up.  I am so thankful that he will have such a strong male role model: a man who is kind, smart, generous, patient, respectful.  A man who can coordinate biomedical research and manage multi-site databases, and also cook, bake, and do laundry.  I wish every little boy – and little girl – could have a daddy like that.

I am also thankful for the father figures in my life, who will be grandfather figures to him.  I am blessed with an amazing dad of my own, a fabulous godfather, and a number of male mentors.  Each one can play a special role in Baby’s life too.