A Daddy Moment! Caught! Clicked! Captured!

I'm sure most of you would have seen a video on Facebook. One that describes how a wife, after an argument with her husband walks out of the house leaving their baby son in his care. How he writes his wife a letter after spending a couple of days in "her shoes" and appreciates her for being an incredible Mom. Well, in my case, there was no fight or walk out but an incredible spate of luck that gave my husband one whole precious week to bond with our son. Not to get me wrong and not to blow my trumpet either but he's been doing his best ever since our little heartbeat bounced into our lives. Unfortunately, a job that requires almost 16 hours a day spent traveling and working (yes! no kidding) leaves him very little time to be as hands on as he'd like to be. So when he recently moved jobs and had a one (and half-ish week) at his disposal, I backed off and gladly let him step into my shoes for a week.  

The result was priceless.

It's no secret that my son's entire world revolves around me. Separation anxiety that began when he was nine months old is the main culprit that makes him cling to me for everything and scream (the high-pitched, murderous kind) if I am not within a meter of his sight. As a result, I have to be visible at all times. Not an ideal situation but an unavoidable one. However, he quickly learned to manipulate the situation. So, if we were out shopping or doing fun stuff he would want my husband to carry him around, play games and so on. Back home, he would bring the roof down if anyone other than me tried to put him to sleep. Once asleep, he would often wake to check if I was still around. If not...it was disaster and sleep (well forget about sleep!)

All said and done, I was happy to move aside for one week and so it began. The first morning, I sneaked out of bed with a beautiful picture of my two sleeping warriors and lovely images of a peaceful day. Unfortunately, they were soon replaced with ear piercing shrieks and screams coming from the peaceful bedroom I had just walked out of. As I rushed in, the only thing that struck me was the crestfallen look on my husbands face while my son, wide-eyed and panicky almost jumped out of his hands to reach me. It wasn't the best morning I was hoping for but that did not stop my calm (but seemingly upset) husband who proceeded to fetch our son's milk. That day and the days that followed, he did all of it: cleaned him, bathed him, dressed him, fetched his snack, his bottle, his favorite toy, all with quite a bit of screaming here and there. As the week drew to a close, the screams were less and I could see that bond getting stronger. But I knew my husband was waiting for that special moment, that moment of acceptance and the one that would seal their bond forever. It came that Friday when bedtime routine was complete and it was time to snuggle into bed. My son, who would never leave my side during bedtime, quietly climbed out of bed and made his way out (I could tell he was looking for someone and I curiously followed). He found my husband (sitting on the couch) and with the sweetest smile, climbed on his lap and sat hugging him for as long as he could. I drew back silently and I knew that was it!

That night, my husband was the happiest. Im sure he felt exactly the way I did the moment our son was born. It was his daddy moment: Caught! Clicked! Captured! forever