For many aspiring or actual fathers out there, I wonder when they expect/expected to have that first moment when they were able to interact with their little one.

Of course, as a Dad, you look forward to every scan and treasure every photo you bring home from those events, but somehow there is still no real tactile aspect that gives you a first physical moment of connecting with your little one for quite some time.

For me, I have felt involved the whole time, enjoying the numerous weekly app updates, NCT week by week briefings, and of course Charlotte letting me know all the details of when she feels the little rolls, kicks and punches. However, the first time I was truly aware and in awe of my connection to our little one as a Dad was when I felt that first kick (or punch!).

As I grew up an only child and haven’t had many friends or family members who have been pregnant, I simply didn’t know what to expect when it came to baby kicks. I had been well advised as to when I might start feeling them (around 21 weeks according to NCT) and Charlotte had been letting me know that the kicks she had been feeling had been getting stronger but I still didn’t know what they would actually feel like!

When as a Dad you can finally feel it, it’s a feeling unlike any other! When the little hand (or foot) punches or kicks when you have finally (and it seemed to take a fair few tries) got your hand in the right place, it feels almost like a full connection with your little one.

Despite the little songs you might sing to them or the words you speak to them, this is the first physical interaction you get to be a part of and it truly is magical.

Of course, as time goes by, the kicks and punches get stronger and it becomes more commonplace, but for me the magic is still there.