Top tips for dads on bonding with your baby..
* Give a midnight bottle
* Have a staring contest
* Play kangaroo
Some babies are never happy unless someone was holding them. Daddy could going about their business — raking leaves, setting the table, tossing a ball for the dog — all with their baby cuddled against their belly.* Take a bath together
* Read to them
* Set a table for two
If your baby is old enough to be eating solid food, then you might as well be the maitre d'. It's entertaining — see the food go in, watch it come right back out!* Change a diaper
* Be there for a cold or fever
* Bench press
The bad news is that once you're a parent, you don't have much time to get to the gym. The good news is that you have just acquired a fabulous set of hand weights, approximately 7 to 20 pounds. Once our kids' necks could support the weight of their heads, Tim would balance their bodies on his palms and then carefully curl them, bench them, whatever struck his fancy ... and both his biceps and the babies loved it.
* Be a texture board
One of the greatest attributes of men is that they feel great (or they probably wouldn't be daddies in the first place). From the rough shadow of beard to a silky moustache to a crewcut hairdo, a father is a tactile delight. Beware: Little fingers can get a punishing grip on chest hair.
* Take pictures
* Roughhouse ( within reason )
Studies have shown that mothers and fathers hold their babies in very different ways. Moms are more likely to cuddle; dads tend to get a little more physical. You should never shake a baby, but you can certainly stimulate her muscles. If your child is old enough to sit up, she might like being tossed gently in the air, or getting bounced on a knee, or being carried beneath the arm like a football ... things that Mom isn't as likely to do, but that are sure to bring squeals of delight.
