- Image via Wikipedia
Men have different preconceived ideas of being a father. Some men assume that they only have to take care of the finances and the rest is up to the mother. Some men assume that being a father means forgetting night outs with friends, lesser sleep times, lesser sex and other things which a man is not ready to give up. These assumptions are not wrong, but neither are they complete.
A new father needs to forget those taken for granted gender privileges. All the parental responsibilities handled by a woman also lie on the shoulders of a man (aside from breastfeeding!). You need to get comfortable walking around carrying a baby bag. The changing society does not find dual child responsibility odd anymore. The numerous time that you have laughed at strangers for taking care of their children and your friends for the same, you need to get ready for the same thing now. This is very important to build a lasting relationship with your child. Even if you do not fall in love with your child at first, it is fine. For some fathers, it usually takes time. You need to lose self consciousness and do what you may actually find odd. Apparently acting like a fool and talking to a baby whose only reaction seems to be peeing and pooping, might seem odd at first. You will soon get used to it only if you turn your complete focus to the baby.
Sleeping and feeding are the only two things that the baby is interested in the initial stages of its life. Hence you need to learn to get the baby to sleep and feed well. Only after you spend a considerable amount of time with your baby, will you be able to tell what it likes and what it does not. You will easily tell the reason for its incessant crying easily and will be able to stop it.
