As pictures of her shirtless husband cuddling his newborn have swept across the internet, Lesa Brackbill has been surprised by just how surprised some internet commenters have been to see a dad doing skin-to-skinwith his babies.

After her C-section, she knew her husband, Brennan, would want to have skin-to-skin contact with the couple’s twin sons. He did the same thing with their first child, Victoria, and the memory of her flesh on his is one he will never forget.

Skin-to-skin contact, otherwise known as kangaroo care, is a parenting practice that involves placing your newborn baby on your bare chest instead of using an incubator. It’s believed to have many potentially beneficial qualities for both you and your young one. It aids in the relaxation of mothers, the early bonding of father and child, and the body regulation of the most fragile newborns. Apart from all of that, it also makes for an extremely lovely photograph!

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Attachment, bonding, and a warm relationship with you help your baby feel safe and secure. This lays the foundation for all areas of your baby’s development.

Brackbill praises her husband for informing hospital personnel of his need for skin-to-skin contact after her second C-section and forgiving each of their newborn sons the post-birth hugs they required.

Brennan was afraid that the staff would find his suggestion somewhat weird, but he explained why this was so important to him and everybody in the room thought it was absolutely heartwarming.

“‘Look, I don’t wanna be pushy. It’s your OR,” he told the medical staff. “However, this is very important to us because of our daughter. I got a big wingspan and I’ll go shirtless under my OR garb if I have to.’ They quickly agreed that would work.”

Both parents were having skin-to-skin contact with their newborn babies and a photographer was present to capture and immortalize this beautiful moment. After a while, it was Caleb’s turn.