Stay-at-home dads face a lot of challenges after their wife goes back to work. But Christopher Allen is dealing with them creatively.
After his fiancé, Jennifer Capo, had to return to work after the birth of their daughter, Destiny, he had to find a way to feed their little girl, who’s become used to breastfeeding.
He initially shared the video through his Facebook page but it quickly went viral after Kristy Kemp, the founder of Breastfeeding Mama Talk posted the video to her page.
It first got a thousand views on his page but after Kemp shared it on her page it has been viewed over five million times (as of this writing).
“Mommy had to go back to work so daddy’s helping out…” he says in the beginning of the selfie video and we see a small bottle of milk protruding from his shirt.
Watch the entire video below.
“I think it resonated so well with so many because in the end, despite the humor, it’s a dad going that extra mile to take care of his baby,” said Kemp. “I think another reason it resonated well is because bottle refusal is such a common occurrence (in breastfed babies,) so the fact that he went the extra mile to get his baby to drink from the bottle was awesome. I’m sure many mamas will be cutting holes in their husbands’ shirts after watching that clip if they’ve been struggling with getting their baby to take a bottle.”
Though it has received some negative comments, majority of the feedback from other parents have been positive and encouraging.
Find out more about this innovative dad on the next page
The observant dad shared how observing his infant daughter’s behavior led him to his brilliant discovery.
“I realized sometimes throughout the day at different times of me feeding her, she would be comfortable sometimes and other times she wasn’t as comfortable,” Allen told TODAY Parents. “One day, I decided to take matters into my own hands after Destiny was a little restless during one feeding, so I cut a hole in my shirt and stuck the bottle in it and fed her. That was the most comfortable I’ve ever seen my baby during a feeding with me.”
He shared that he is continuing to feed Destiny, who is now eight weeks old, in this manner.
photo: TODAY
“I do it now regularly when I’m having a hard time feeding her,” said Allen. “Feeding her that way makes her super comfortable and happy. It also helps her and I bond a lot more than a regular feeding method.”
So, has this new experience has given him a newfound appreciation of what his fiancé goes through as a breastfeeding mom?
“I always appreciated my fiancé for breastfeeding our three children because I know it’s good for our kids,” shared Allen. “I now know even more so that it’s not easy all the time, and because of that, I give her even more kudos.”
READ: Dads are now bonding with their premature newborns through ‘kangaroo care’
