Dad took seven weeks off after his second baby was born and it changed how he saw parenting

Paternity leaves are the new norm, and parents of this generation are fortunate to share the load of raising a child equally. This was barely the reality until a few years ago, when a new mother was solely responsible for everything, right from taking on household duties to tending to their newborn while the father headed off to work. TikTok dad Caleb Remington, who features on the joint page run by his wife, Tiffany, and him, @ustheremingtons, summed up his day-to-day while on his paternity leave. He conceded how he learned from the experience and changed his outlook on parenting as a whole. Remington also regretted not having applied for leave during the birth of their first child. 

“It’s unfortunately the end of my maternity…paternity leave. I only joke because my wife is truly the man of the house, and call me what you want, but I’m totally okay with that,” Remington expressed in the viral video with nearly a million likes. Meanwhile, the dad showed himself taking on mundane household chores like cleaning the house and doing the dishes. Remington acknowledged the time as his “privilege” because he seems to have missed out on a lot of things as a first-time parent. “This time around, they gave me 4 weeks, and I took an extra PTO,” he shared. Yet, the creator was consumed with dad guilt of not being able to spend time with his firstborn earlier. 

Remington frets over the missed “small moments” that he has come to cherish following the birth of his second child. “The lady with the milk bags has been so stressed with how messy the house is, I’m doing what I can to start picking up some of those domestic responsibilities,” the dad of two said. He admitted that this is the “part” he failed at with their first newborn. Giving due credit to the paternity leave and his wife, Remington divulged that he was finally aware of how a household is actually managed. However, the dad was initially content with his contribution to the household by performing the mere everyday tasks, but eventually came to realize this was just the “bare minimum.” 

More importantly, the understanding and teamwork between the couple were not built overnight but required countless discussions and active cooperation. With all that, Remington has now finally been able to share the mental load of raising children, growing their marriage, and taking care of their home with his wife. In a candid moment of truth, the father revealed that having children certainly affected the couple’s relationship, which led to misunderstandings and fights. “We’re actually really good communicators, but I felt like anytime anybody expressed something, the other was hurt,” he added, while reading a book to his daughter. 

As second-time parents, the Remingtons are mentally prepared to experience the journey and make important parenting decisions overall again. In the caption, the dad thanked his office for being cooperative during this time while he works remotely. People admired Remington’s honesty and efforts to try and help out. “An accountable king,” said @bichaeljordan while @nebraskamamak revealed, “It took my husband and me, our third to get to this point. I’m sad it took us this long, we’re here at least.” 

You can follow @ustheremingtons on TikTok for more videos.