Being a new parent comes with challenges aplenty. Changing of diapers and late nights tending to a crying newborn baby might be the more obvious ones we can think of.
But some challenges are maybe much harder to spot, unless you've experienced them before.
On Wednesday (Sept 7), TikTok user Happierwithyourmouthopen shared his views on the topic, having become a new father recently.
"The most challenging thing about being a new parent was the sudden inability to spend time with my wife," he said.
There always has to be someone taking care of the baby, of course.
For a few months, he and his wife had a schedule where she'd be able to rest while he's in charge of the child, and vice versa.
"We literally did not see each other or get to spend time with each other," he explained.
And even when the couple did manage to find some alone time during that period, they were simply "too tired to interact" with one another.
He described the situation as painful, and it seemed to have taken a toll on him.
The fact that this new distance between them was rather "foreign" to how they were before the arrival of their child probably felt like rubbing salt on the wound.
As a tip to other parents, he advised them to make an effort by checking in on one's spouse as parenting should not be a lonely journey.
"Sometimes, he or she may miss you a lot but dare not say it as they know it already takes a lot out of both of you to care for the baby," he said.
In the comments section, netizens who've gone through a similar experience offered words of encouragement and shared how they navigated parenting a baby.
"This is real. Thank you for speaking up. I guess this is what my husband felt a few years back after having our second baby," one netizen commented.
Father-son bonding session
Things might start to change when a child reaches the toddler years.
In the case of Jason Tang, he began to notice behavioural changes in his two-year-old child, Kyson.
He shared how his son would often reject Jason and look for his mum instead.
Since then, the father would consciously make efforts to go out with his son alone.
He explained to AsiaOne that it's very important for him to form this close relationship with his child as he identifies himself most as a father.
This article was first published on AsiaOne and republished on theAsianparent with permission.