No applause for this father

A few months ago, a friend commented about a new father-" He is very good with the child, helps out a lot and even gives the child a bath." As I listened , I rolled my eyes and thought - lets all applaud together for men who do mundane normal things and make a big deal out of it. Hooray for women, men and the next generation!

So this father’s day I made a list of what  we  applaud in our family and what we do not.

• When you go to day care, baba is in charge of your morning snack and I am responsible for lunch and evening snack. No applause for that, but every day after you come back, one of the first thing your baba does is open your lunch box to check if there are any leftovers. When you have your food polished off he says – “Yes” with a happy satisfaction and if there are any leftovers, there is a little panic in his voice as he grills you to understand why you did not finish your food. It is easy to feed the child once in a while or take interest occasionally, but huge applause to Baba for consistently making sure we cook the best of ingredients for you and you enjoy it and eat it.
•  After I went back to work after maternity leave, Baba took few weeks off to take care of you. He loved it so much that he decided to take a break from work and stayed at home to take care of you. It was unconventional for the father to stay at home to take care of the baby while the mother worked. No applause for him deciding to stay at home as many parents do the same. However, huge applause for Baba for not only taking awesome care of you, but never regretting his decision or not even mentioning once about the “sacrifice” and loving being at home to take care of you! He did not do it because he has to, but because he wants to!
• No applause for doing your laundry every week, but huge applause for spending time hand washing your mud splattered clothes.
• No applause for taking you to the park often, but applause for not looking at his phone while you play, but spending all the time with you only.

Father's day anklet/bracelet in 2017

•         No applause for taking you travelling with us, but huge applause for moving that humongous car seat where ever we go without any complaints, whether it is in the plane or a 5 minute taxi ride. Safety comes first for Baba.
•          No applause for changing your diapers, but a big applause for his “air changing” technique. When we go to restaurants or travel and there is no decent changing table, Baba can change your diaper holding you in one hand, so that you are never in contact with any surface in the restroom. I cannot do it , but he is very good at it! I guess practice makes it perfect.

Here is my favorite ...

•  When I was pregnant with you, your father gave me awesome massages every day, sometimes twice or thrice a day. No one applauds me for taking care of you 24/7, all the weird pregnancy pains, the cramps, the mood swings, so of course no applause for baba for the massages or for doing more than 75% of the house hold chores during the last trimester of pregnancy. No applause for making sure the cord blood kit is always available or in making sure the hospital bag is ready to go. No applause for being at the hospital and encouraging me as I go through labor. After you were born and the nurse placed you on my chest, I was overwhelmed with all the feelings, I closed my eyes for a minute to take it all in. When I opened my eyes I see your baba standing next to me shirtless. In the midst of the pain of birth and the happiness of holding you, I give him a quizzical look at his naked chest and he replies – “I am waiting for you to give him to me so that I can do skin to skin with him. “ Now that’s what we will applaud for, the commitment of Baba, he may not have given birth to you, but he was there every step of the way and the moment you were both born, he wanted to bond as much as he can! Right there in the delivery room, half naked ready to hold you on his chest! 

We love this man and definitely appreciate all the love he showers on us , not just on fathers day, but everyday....