Hello everyone! I’m happy to share with you some personal news: I became a father to a beautiful daughter in December! 🎉
It was one of the most amazing and challenging experiences of my life. And I’m so grateful that I had the opportunity to take five weeks of parental leave (or partner leave, as it’s called in the Netherlands) to be with my family.
You see, in the Netherlands, new fathers traditionally only get one week of paternity leave after their partner gives birth. That’s not a lot of time to adjust to such a big change. Luckily, since July 2020, fathers can take an additional five weeks of leave in the first six months after birth. And that’s what I did.
At first, I was hesitant. I thought that two or three weeks would be enough. The internet told me that a newborn sleeps 18+ hours a day, and while enchanting, there is probably still a limit for how many hours you can watch your newborn sleep. But boy, was I wrong. Those five weeks turned out to be the best thing ever.
The quality time I got to spend with my partner and newborn was fantastic. We bonded as a family, we learned how to take care of our baby girl, we supported each other through sleepless nights and stressful moments. We also had some fun and relaxed times together and I got to be there for many of my partner’s ‘firsts’: taking the baby out for a stoll the first time, going out for lunch, visiting Ikea, visiting family. All those things we got to do together for the first time and it was great.
Those couple of weeks made all the difference in the recovery of my partner. And I was happy to be there for her.
They also made a difference in the development of my newborn, who grew so fast before my eyes. She smiled at me for the first time during those weeks. She started to react to my voice and face. She became more alert and curious about the world around her, and most importantly, she started to sleep for longer periods of time during the night.
And they made a difference in my ease of mind when I had to go back to work. I felt more confident and prepared as a father. I knew that my partner and baby were doing well and that they had a good routine going on. I also appreciated my job more after taking some time off.
So if you are expecting a child or planning to have one soon, I highly recommend taking advantage of this new law in the Netherlands. It will benefit you and your family immensely.
Trust me: you won’t regret it.