Tips for bonding between father and baby & bull; hello healthy

Being a new father for the first time may be both fun and surprising for guys. People around you may focus more on the relationship between mother and newborn. However, what is no less important is the relationship between father and baby. The relationship between father and baby can be nurtured even before the baby is born into the world.

Research from Canada shows that future fathers undergo biological and hormonal changes to prepare them for parenthood. The hormone testosterone in the prospective father will decrease, while the hormone prolactin and cortisol (both related to hormones in pregnant women) will increase at 3 weeks before the baby is born. This shows that the father's body has prepared him to be a parent since the baby was not born.

Before the baby is born, the father-to-be can begin to bond by singing songs or reading books while the baby is still in the womb. This helps the baby to recognize the voice of the father. Accompanying the mother to see the doctor can also help build a relationship with the fetus. Pregnant women must also feel supported by their husbands and this is positive for the development of maternal health. Follow every development of the mother's pregnancy. So that after the baby is born, the father is not too difficult to bond with the baby.

How to bond father and baby

Accompanying the mother during childbirth is a great start in building a bond between father and baby. Research shows that fathers who accompany mothers to give birth and touch their babies after birth have a father-baby bond similar to the bond that mother-baby experiences in the first few weeks after birth. A father who spends a lot of time with the baby during the first months after birth can build a father-baby relationship until the baby grows older.

Here are some ways to bond between a father and a newborn:

Through touch

During the first weeks after the baby is born, touch the baby whenever dad can, and look him in the eye. The power of touch can create closeness between father and baby. Touch between the skin of the father and the skin of the baby is also needed, not just a touch between the skin of the mother and baby. Father can carry the baby and place the baby on the father's chest so that the baby is comfortable. The baby can hear the father's heartbeat and that helps the baby to maintain his body temperature.

Spending a lot of time with baby is a great way to bond between father and baby.

Washing, dressing, and changing diapers

Fathers can also help mothers wash, dress, and change the baby's diaper. It also helps to bond between father and baby. The more often dad is involved in taking care of the baby, the easier it will be for him to bond with the baby. Maybe the first time you pick up a baby, wash her, dress her, and change her diaper, my father is afraid to make mistakes and injure the baby because he feels the baby is very fragile. But, don't be out of fear so that dad doesn't do it.

It is normal to make mistakes. If you keep trying it many times, surely over time you will be able to do it well.

Accompany her to sleep

Putting the baby to sleep and accompanying him to sleep is also one way to bond with the baby. Dad can put the baby to sleep while singing a song or read a story to the baby. This also helps the baby to be familiar with the voice of the father, so that every baby hears the voice of the father, the baby understands that he is with the father and feels comfortable.

Play together

Playing with babies is fun. Fathers can make funny faces, act funny, play on planes, play "peekaboo", etc. that make babies smile and laugh. Daddy may be the first person to make a baby smile. Seeing a smiling baby is a joy in itself for father. Fathers can be lovely to the baby's eyes. And this is very helpful in establishing closeness between father and baby.

When the baby has returned home, maybe the father will be busy getting back to his daily routine. Dad will work and come home late. Don't worry, dad will still be able to bond with the baby. Dad can play with the baby after coming home from work. When night falls, the father can accompany the baby to sleep and look after him throughout the night. Being near the baby and touching it makes the baby sleep comfortably.

Any time spent together between father and baby can be an emotional investment in the future in building the relationship between father and baby.