Rosalía Lupita Valentina Neubaue had a bit of a tough start when she was born. Her mom, April, had preeclampsia, which means her blood pressure was really high. Because of this, the doctors decided to help her have the baby by inducing labor and breaking her water.
April and her husband, Maxamillian, were prepared for the arrival of their little girl. They understood that breastfeeding was crucial for the baby’s health, and they also planned to have skin-to-skin contact right after the birth.
Luckily, they didn’t have to give up on those important things just because the mom was having a tough time. A nurse came up with a clever idea, and soon enough, the dad was about to experience something totally unique.
April had preeclampsia, which caused her to have two seizures, leading to an emergency C-section. The second seizure happened right during the surgery, so Max had to wait outside while his baby girl was born.
When he finally got to see his little daughter, his wife was still being taken care of. They were determined to achieve their goal of breastfeeding and having skin-to-skin contact, so Dad stepped in to help.
The nurse asked him if he wanted to try breastfeeding using a special device. It was a rare chance for him to be the first one to feed his baby.
He replied, “Being a big jokester and always up for trying new things, I thought, why not? The nursing staff were laughing and celebrating.”
They had a plan to give Rosalía formula to keep her satisfied until her mom was ready to nurse, but then something creative happened. Later on, April found out that her husband was the first one to breastfeed the baby, and she felt grateful that they managed to make it work.
April explained, “After my procedure, I was out for a long time. It was really important for us to breastfeed her, and my doctors and nurses understood how much it meant to us. So, our nurse came up with the idea for my husband to breastfeed her for the first time until I was awake and alert. It was definitely a surprise, but he would never do anything that made me uncomfortable. Since I couldn’t do it right away because of some health issues, I’m really glad my husband could help out.”
Max was all set with a nipple shield, a syringe tube, and some formula. He managed to mimic breastfeeding for the newborn, saying, “Our nurse was a huge help — I mean, I’ve never breastfed before and never thought I would in a million years.”
When April’s mom and grandpa walked in, they were unsure of what to expect. April’s mother-in-law had a hilarious reaction, saying, “Only you, Maxie… I couldn’t believe the nurses, my goodness, only you.”
Max then shared, “Great Grandpa didn’t say much. He’s really old-fashioned and just gave me a strange look. But in the end, he came around.”
So far, Max has only breastfed once, but he thinks he would do it again if he needed to. He said, “I felt a bond the moment I laid eyes on my little girl. I got to hold her and help her get used to breastfeeding, I hope.
“Honestly, I did it to be a good dad and to impress the nursing staff because they’re like superheroes. You really couldn’t ask for anyone better.”