But now, a photo of a father and his son cuddling newborn twins on their chests is winning the hearts of Internet users everywhere. After being posted to the Nino Birth Facebook page, the “aww”-inducing image went viral. Because, cuteness overload!
The heartwarming shot of a new dad and big brother both reveling in a sweet moment of skin-to-skin contact with a set of twins has garnered 33,000 reactions, and close to 30,000 shares at time of writing.
The post also touches upon the benefits of kangaroo care. We know that preemies are helped greatly by sharing skin-to-skin contact with their mothers. This practice can improve babies’ respiration, and help regulate their body temperature, among other things.
But skin-to-skin care offers benefits for full-term babies as well. As the Nino Birth Facebook “About” page explains, “Putting your newborn baby skin-to-skin on your chest at birth makes all the difference between feeling safe or unsafe. Mother’s chest is the SAFE place. Here baby is warmed, and heart and lungs work best. The baby can find the breast and latch on. From the breast baby will make eye contact with mum. This starts bonding, even in the first hour of life.”
As this photo proves, isn’t just for moms and their little ones. Dads and older siblings can offer loving touch, too.
And those volunteers who help cuddle NICU patients when their parents are away can also be guys, too, as evidenced by the too adorable "ICU grandpa" recently featured on CNN.
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Melissa Willets is a writer, mom and coffee devotee. Find her on Facebook and Instagram where she chronicles her life momming under the influence. Of yoga.
