After my son was born, my husband was only able to take 3 days off work. One day was taken up with paperwork. I did not see much benefit in the remaining 2 days. In fact, I did not see any benefit in the first month. He was afraid of being alone with the child, of taking him in his arms. One day I got angry and told him to get involved with the baby and asked why he didn’t hold him.
He said, ‘I’m afraid I’ll hurt him’. At that moment I put myself in his shoes. He could have been right. They always say that fatherhood develops later in fathers. It was no problem for me from right from the beginning, I felt confident. It was like I just knew what to do as soon as my son was born, as if I had known for years.
I gave my husband time and eventually he started winding the baby in the evenings. When my son was 2 months old, he would even take him to the park for a walk on his own. This was a huge reward for me back then. All mothers know what it feels like to have half an hour to themselves.
