Lockdown Family
During the lockdown my employer's office relocated to my spare bedroom, my wife returned to work, and our childminder couldn't take our daughter anymore. So I became a stay at home dad! This proved to be a massive challenge for me. I had spent the first 13 months of my daughter's life continuing to work long hours and on jobs that often required overnight stays.
In the first few weeks of the lockdown, a number of think pieces were published in UK papers about big fundamental changes many families were experiencing. With more fathers either made redundant, furloughed or otherwise taking on primary care responsibilities, a lot of people were discovering what it really means to be a parent.
For me this meant juggling work with the demands of a 13 monthold and all the challenges inherent in that. I consider myself both incredibly fortunate to have had this opportunity to bond with my daughter, to witness her develop and learn as she grows older, and grateful for the renewed sense of awe at the marvellous feat my wife has achieved, pretty much single-handedly, for the first year of our daughter’s life.
If you like this project, then you may like my Instagram profile documenting the first three months of my daughter’slife @our4thtrimester