Having a baby is a magical experience for a pair of new parents, but for Dads in particular, the process can result in a new found respect for their other half.
While most freshly minted Daddies will find a private way to make this known, actor and director
Justin Baldoni was so overcome after the birth of his daughter Maiya, he decided to tell the world how much he admired his wife, Emily's strength, and that of new Mums everywhere, in a Facebook letter that is very likely to make you blub like a baby yourself.
Here is the letter in full:
"Dear Women, (and any man willing to read this)
Please forgive me as I gently offer up this prayerful reflection about my experience as a man during the pregnancy, and birth of my daughter.
This is a love letter… A love letter to my wife, to my newborn daughter… and to you. I have never in my life witnessed such grace, such beauty, such intuition and instinct, such heroism and power, such prayerfulness and steadfastness, and such joy and happiness as I did these past 9 months.
I may have thought I loved my wife before… but I'm not exaggerating when I say I absolutely worship her now. Emily chose to make our little Maiya's birth a ceremony of love, and all I could do was say thank you, thank you, thank you.. through tears and tears of gratitude.
If you're a man reading this and you have a wife…take a second, stop and simply embrace her, tell her how grateful you are she exists, and let her know how honoured you are to be able to experience life with her. Let her know you trust her intuition and that she is perfect. If you're a woman reading this… look in the mirror, stare into your own eyes and know that you have EVERYTHING you will ever need right in front of you… it's already inside you, and you are amazing and capable of literally anything.
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Know that anything a man can do you can do (and probably better) and there are things that you can accomplish in this life that a man could never even dream of… because they were destined to be accomplished by you. So if you see a glass ceiling, know that it's only there so you can shatter it.
Know that you are beautiful just as you are… and you my dear, are more than enough. You are perfection.
These are the words I pray my little Maiya will hear throughout her life from not just me, but from all the men in her world. This is my prayer of gratitude and hope for all women. This is a reflection of a humbled and awe struck man who had the bounty of witnessing the power, the supremacy, and the radiance of the feminine.
This is simply a love letter, a letter of love, and a letter filled with love from a new father to anyone who needs to hear or read this.
If that's you, just know… I love you.
Justin."
Oh Justin, and we love you.
