Tip 16: Do not be afraid to carry the 1 day old baby

As a daddy, we get lots of nagging of how well we carry a baby, bath a baby, not having clean hands, too rough handling, too careless, not gentle enough. But, that should not discourage the daddy to still reach out to the baby. Sadly, many daddies begin to leave that task to mummy fully who can do the job better and instead only play with baby from afar. That should never be the way. I realized even if Haruka would sometime prefer mummy's embrace or carrying than mine, she still looks at me with affection and curiosity, knowing that I am daddy. That's because I make every effort to reach out to her, imperfect it may be.

Tomomi is always at home and the bonding between Haruka who is on breastfeeding with mummy is very strong. Yet, I sensed Haruka knows that I am daddy as I make every effort to embrace her affectionately whenever I am home. I play with her and be a fun daddy and somehow she likes playing with me more than mummy. It is important that we do not get discouraged that we daddies are not doing a good enough job compared to mummies. We will never be. We are all special and each of us, have our own special way to reach out to others. Just be ourselves (but of course, wash our hands and be as careful and gentle as we can) and show to our baby that we care. One day, Haruka Ann Lee, my darling daughter will read this blog and know that daddy has tried his best and that is what counts.