Harry Judd opened up about fatherhood, revealing that he 'didn't feel an instant connection' with his son when he was born.
We all expect to fall in love with our kids as soon as they come into our lives. But even though it’s completely normal to take a bit longer to bond with your newborn, it can be hard to admit that you’re struggling.
And if you feel like you’re ‘failing’ at parenthood, you’re definitely not alone. According to research by baby product manufacturer WaterWipes, 62 per cent of parents in the UK feel like failures during the first year of parenthood.
Now Harry Judd has teamed up with the company on the #ThisIsParenthood campaign, which aims to kickstart a more open and honest conversation about parenting.
Harry told Mirror Online that he had an ‘amazing’ experience when his first child Lola was born - however it wasn't quite the same when his son was born.
‘But at the same time, when my son was born, it wasn’t such a kind of rosy situation,’ he admitted. ‘It was the reality of two young children 19 months apart with both of us working – it was really stressful.’
The McFly singer also revealed that while Lola was an easy baby, his son Kit was ‘quite the opposite’, which made things even more stressful.
‘I didn’t feel an instant connection with my son as well when he was born,’ Harry confessed. ‘And I’ve spoken to quite a lot of parents who’ve felt that and the feelings that come with that are quite strange.’
He added that while he is ‘completely besotted’ with his son now, the first six months of Kit’s life were ‘some of the trickiest’ he’d had to deal with as a parent, and put a lot of strain on his relationship with his wife Izzy.
Harry also shared that Izzy, who opened up about her struggles with adjusting to Lola starting nursery school last year, was even tougher on herself as a parent. ‘There have been times I’ve had to reassure her and comfort her that she’s doing a great job,’ he explained.
Now the couple want other parents to know that: ‘It’s okay to talk about it and say it’s not easy.’ Hear, hear.
