Hey Dads! This one is short and sweet, just for you! It’s important to establish a bond with your child as early as possible so don’t hesitate to grab every opportunity. Here are 5 easy ideas for daddy and baby bonding time:
1. Skin-to-Skin Time
Here’s how this works, Dads: Remove your shirt. Dress baby in diaper only. Place baby on your chest. Cover baby’s back with a blanket if it’s cold.
That’s it!
You can start skin-to-skin time as soon as a doctor or nurse gives you the green light. In a lot of cases, this is minutes after baby is born. There are so many health benefits to skin-to-skin time in baby’s first months, but it’s also a great way to kick off daddy and baby bonding time.
2. Wear Your Baby
Tula, Moby, Boba, Ergo, Bjorn. These names ring a bell? No?!? They are just a few of the dozens of options available for baby carriers.
Ask around, try some on, and find the carrier that is most comfortable for you. You can wear your baby pretty much anywhere you go and it’s the perfect opportunity to stay in close contact.
3. Bottle Feed
Babies learn to connect with the hand (or boob) that feeds them. When you bottle-feed your baby, she will begin to recognize you as someone who fulfills one of her most basic needs.
So if your baby is formula-fed, that makes bottle feeding easy. If your baby is exclusively breastfed, ask mama if she minds pumping bottles every now and then so that you can feed Baby, too!
See all of my breastfeeding and pumping essentials!
4. Read and Sing
Basically, just let baby hear your voice. You’ll be promoting vocabulary and communication skills while baby cuddles and learns your intonations and mannerisms. The more animated and silly you are, the better!
5. Get Your Hands Dirty
Nothing says “I love you” like changing a poopy diaper. Or better yet, cleaning an epic blowout. Don’t be afraid to jump in there and do the dirty work. Whenever you get the chance, change and bathe your baby for the ultimate bonding experience.
You can do it!
Small babies mostly need to be comforted and stimulated by someone they trust. The sooner a relationship develops, the more attached your baby will become to you (and the less dependent on mommy for every tiny thing). Spending time with your baby doesn’t have to be complicated. Try these easy ideas for daddy and baby bonding time!
If you’re ready for the next level of bonding, here are some more baby activities that both of our girls loved. You can also see what we always keep in our diaper bag and read about how I lost ALL of my baby weight!
Talk to you soon!
Love this post! My husband wears our son all the time and it really has helped with bonding! My little boy loves hanging (literally) with his daddy!
Thanks!!! Isn’t it the best? Seeing your husband being an awesome father?
So sweet! This was the main reason we started both our boys on bottles by about two weeks — Daddy time!
Yes! It’s the little things that truly make a big difference!
Love these ideas! My kids are a little older but I also have my husband runs errands with either one or both kids with him. He loves chatting with them in the car or at the stores.
Thanks! I love when he takes the kids on errands 😉 But just talking to your kids is the best way to grow closer, especially as they get older!
This is a super simple list for dads that are feeling a little nervous. I would love to see a follow up for dads that are already doing these things, but now what to step up their game and bond in ways that mommy and baby aren’t.
The really cool thing that I found was this list was awesome for getting my husband acclimated to fatherhood. But then he became so empowered and confident that he found new ways to hang out with our daughters by himself!
You can also head over to this post with more activities he and I both did with our babies: https://thecinnamonmom.com/babys-favorite-toys-and-activities/
These are great 🙂 I know it’s always been hard for my husband to connect when they were teeny tiny – our last two refused to bottle feed, so that didn’t help either! And bonus points to all the baby wearing dads – I love to see that!
Thank you! I think it’s hard for a lot of dads. They just don’t know where to start so I hope this lists shows them that bonding time can consist of simple activities.
Boring time is so important. I love seeing my husband and our son bond!
Yay, that’s great! It’s such a special thing to see!
These are all perfect ways to bond. My husband fav is baby wearing. I love seeing the love between them
Awesome! I’m so glad your husband is embracing parenthood!