Editor's Note: A cleft lip, with or without cleft palate, is the fourth most common birth defect in the United States, affecting one in 700 babies a year. In this guest post, Roberto Santiago writes about his inner turmoil reckoning his daughter's quest to look "normal."It's a weird thing when your 4-year-old gets a nose job.Before you get upset, I'm not a pageant dad. This was a medically necessary nose job related to my daughter, Lou, being born with a cleft lip and palate.Since the day she was born, our surgeon has repeated the phrase “normal by five” several hundred times. … [Read more...]
My Special-Needs Son on the Run
Editor's Note: City Dads Group is proud to occasionally feature writing from members of The Handsome Father, a support community that helps connect, prepare and inspire gay fathers. In this inspirational piece, Craig Peterson writes about his special-needs son, Andrew.From the day I met my adopted son Andrew at age 5, he liked to walk in front. He wanted to lead.Meanwhile, my two younger sons were in no hurry. They liked to walk hand-in-hand with their new father and didn’t want to share me with anyone – including their older brother. But Andrew didn’t mind. He’d be off on his own … [Read more...]