Father's Joy

 

The first moments for dads after a baby’s birth

By Tamara Rajakariar
Editor’s note. In anticipation of Father’s Day, for the last nine days we have used this space to post about Men and Abortion. But I’ve also tried to add portraits of men and fatherhood that show what a difference that newborn can make in their lives.
In many of life’s important moments – moments that are special for both men and women – it’s the women that tend to steal the limelight. A wedding is one (yes, I am one of those people that watch the groom as the bride walks down the aisle), and another would be the birth of a new child. That’s why I think that these photos, of men photographed minutes after the birth of their child, are so unique. They manage to capture a side of things that we might not usually notice.
The focus is usually on the mother when a child is born. And fair enough, she did a lot of the work! But a man’s life changes too – he is now responsible for a whole new human being, and there’s no doubt that a whole heap of new, intense emotions would be streaming through his veins.
These days you do see a bit of it on Facebook – I recall an acquaintance’s post when his wife gave birth on Valentine’s Day, those adorable shots of father and child. And a personal favourite of mine was a friend’s husband, whose status was about feeling the need to buy protective weaponry after setting eyes on his beautiful new baby girl.
When my dad talks about when I was born, he likes to recreate the crinkly-eyed look I apparently gave him, as well as the way he held me in those first moments. And I’ll always remember his joy at the birth of my other siblings – especially one time when he picked us up from school in the highest of spirits, stopped at the supermarket so we could celebrate with our pick of the confectionery aisle, and then rushed to the hospital to meet our new sibling. So much joy – what a beautiful thing!
This first appeared at mercatornet.com.
Source: NRLC News