My husband will be deployed for the first year of our son's life, how can I help our son get to know him?

Question

My husband is active duty military and unfortunately will be deploying a month before my due date. He will be deployed for 12 months with the possibility of an extension. He will be able to return home for 3 weeks in the middle of the deployment. How can I help our baby get to know his father when his father won't be there?

Answer 1

pitchers, photos or whatever u would keep as a memory 2 keep 4 a long long while

Answer 2

Hearing his voice and seeing pictures will help him become part of the household.

Answer 3

The best way I could think of doing this is by the use of photos and video of Dad talking to his son whether it be through web cam or digital camera. If he has access to a computer, use a web camera and talk to him through it.

Sharing photos of the baby and sending them to Dad while he's on the field is great way of communication too. The idea of using the digital video and talking to one another is probably the greatest invention anyone has come up with I believe. Using the digital camera, everyone (Mom, Dad, and baby) can keep in touch while Dad has down time, Dad gets to see his beautiful boy grow up while he's away plus he gets to speak with his beautiful bride. Perhaps by doing this with a digital camera those miles apart may seem as if they were right beside you.

Please thank your husband for his service to our country. Congratulations to you both on the birth of your new son, you'll be wonderful parents!

Answer 4

lots and lots of pictures around.  

ALWAYS talk about daddy.

get a web cam and him where he is at.  Send videos a lot to him and him to you..

Answer 5

I don't want to seem insensitive, but if he's going to Iraq, you might want to make sure he comes back alive first or you will be trying to explain that this is who daddy was.

Answer 6

Pictures, videos, ect. He can probably understand.

Answer 7

This is a hard one. Talk about the father, when he calls have him talk to the baby, so the baby hears the voice. Keep pictures all aorund the child of the father. While he is away have him send updated photos and use a web cam if you can.

Stay strong mama.

Answer 8

My husband was deployed for most of my son's first year too.  We made videos of him reading to our son, which I would play for him all of the time.  Also, I would show him the pictures of my husband all the time.  One more thing that my husband would do is to send stuffed animals with his voice recorded in it saying something to him.  (He would buy them when he would hit ports-he is Navy).  Since he is only a year old, it won't be too much of an adjustment for your baby when your husband comes back.  Good luck!

Answer 9

First of all I want to say, I admire the strength it must take for you to go through your babys first year on your own and I wish you the best of luck.

Babies are better at recognising voices than faces, so have him talk a lot to your belly for now. I reccomend having him record some bed time stories onto tapes so that your baby can become familiar with his voice. Along with photos and videos your baby should feel very comfortable around him.

You will probably find out that it is harder for your husband than your baby so make sure you take loads of pics and videos of the baby so he doesnt feel he is missing out too much.

Best of luck to all of you!

Answer 10

Will the best idea to do is

Make sure that your child

Sees he/she fathers picture

And also make sure that

You tell wonderful stories

Of him to you child, your will

Be a mom soon you will know

What is the best thing to do for your child.

Answer 11

Hi, i am also a military spouse, my husband returned from a 15mth deployment to iraq last november and is getting ready to go back.  We have a 3 year old son.  The first year, is really the best your child won't remember him being gone, and should accept him pretty quick when he comes back.  Things i did with mine, were to have pictures of my husband everywhere, and i also had my husband read a few books (about 30 min.) and video'd it so i could play it for my son.  We also webcammed as often as the darn connection would let us LOL..Also my husband wrote letters to my son, just telling him about his day and how much he missed him etc. i would read them to him.  Of course he's to little but we have a "deployment box" that i keep them in so as my son gets older he can go back and read them and hopefully it will help for future deployments so he understands his dad loves him and doesn't want to be away from him but he has a job to do but he thinks of him often.  Keep your head up girl the first deployment is the toughest have a good support group of family and friends and your child will come thru just fine.  It will be alot tougher on your husband then your child.  Stay strong time will pass and he will come home.

Answer 12

My husband deployed for the 3rd time when our son was 6 months old.  What we did was have my husband video himself sitting in the nursery reading books to our son and then we would watch daddy and read along with him when he was gone.  We also bought one of the infant photo albums that doubles as like a teether (in the infant toys sections made by infantino I think) and put pics of daddy in it.  Then when we would go somewhere we could take daddy with us.  You can also go to build-a-bear and make a teddy with daddy's voice.  Oh, and we bought one of the toy recordable cell phones and had him record his voice saying Hi, I miss you and love you, and then if we were having a bad day we could "call" daddy and tell him about it.  Then there's the webcams of course so Daddy can see the baby too.  Our son is 22 months old and my husband is due back within the next month so we can't wait!  Good luck and congratulations.  It will be hard at first, but trust me, it gets easier and the time will pass faster than you think.

Answer 13

First thanks to your husband for serving and for you being his support and having the patience to be without him and for holding down the fort at home....it takes a super wife and mom to do this.  Thanks for his time courage for being in the military and serving for all of us at home.

Start making videos of your husband and snapping pictures showing him doing regular things around the house and in the yard etc....

Plus making a journal with everything that you know about your husband and his father that will be there for both of you while he is away.....

Speak well of your husband to your son..even though he is a baby they sense your tone of voice....and who knows what they understand and take in.....have your husband write things in the journal also....notes to him....for future reading....about things he did as a boy that he wants your son to know .....

How about the scent your husband uses his aftershave...or cologne...spray some on a teddy bear...so you son will know what he smells like.....all of our senses work when it comes to identifying people around us.

Tape your husband's voice...and play it for your son and tell him it's DADDY...

I'm sure there are other things you already have thought of....wishing you the best in your new life as a Mother and Father....enjoy every minute and give your son all the love you can that is more important than material things....

Best to you,

Mama Jazzy Geri

Answer 14

record his voice. pictures wont help since really all he sees is shadow. but make sure you play these recordings everyday so that he recognizes the voice when he gets back home and he feels that comfort.

Answer 15

Get in contact with him through web-cam so u guys each other can see one another...hahah at least that's what i did.