A Special Word to Fathers (adapted from MCHB, Healthy Start Grow Smart, Your Newborn: www.ed.gov/offices/OESE/earlychildhood/healthystart)

Nowadays, some fathers are taking full care of babies, yet that is unusual. Many fathers have no experience taking care of babies and feel very uncomfortable with the idea of doing so. Yet, as a father, you have an important role to play in taking care of your baby. Your baby needs you. And mom needs you to share many of the responsibilities of taking care of your new baby. When you do things with your baby, you and your baby get closer. You and your baby form a bond that helps her feel safe and happy.

You may feel nervous around a newborn. Or you may be afraid to touch your baby because you have never done it before. The best way for you to get over the uneasiness is to hold your baby. You will have a different way of handling your baby than the baby's mother. There is reason to believe that babies benefit from being handled in a manner more typical of men in addition to a more typically female style.

Here are some things you can do to be a part of your baby's life. You will find that the more you do with her, the more comfortable you will be.

• Hold and cuddle your baby.
• Smile and laugh with your baby.
• When mom's breast milk or formula has been put in a bottle, you can give your baby the bottle. Cuddle with and talk and sing to your baby during bottle time. If the plan is to do any bottle feeding at all, it is a good idea to begin doing this at around three weeks of age and to have the father be the one to begin introducing the bottle. If you wait too long to try this it may start out being an unpleasant experience because the baby will object for the first week or so.
• Talk to your baby. Your baby will quickly learn your voice and know that you are her daddy.
• Change your baby's diapers.
• Cuddle with mom and your baby during breastfeeding.
• Take your baby for a walk. Babies love the sights and sounds of the outdoors.
• Play with your baby.