18 emotional photos of partners meeting their baby for the first time 😭

There’s no feeling that compares to the moment you become a mama, but one that feels just as sweet is seeing your partner with your baby for the first time. Regardless of how your baby came into this world or how this tiny human was created, there’s just something about seeing the person you love the most with your child.

We asked #TeamMotherly to share photos of those precious first moments. With more than 2,500 responses, we couldn’t share all of them here. If you’re feeling *all of the feels* take a look at the full thread.

“After a long battle with infertility, this was the first time my husband held his son.💙”—Jennifer B.

“I’m a single mom, so here’s my service dog meeting my newborn. He was there through my labor and delivery. 💜”—Rebecca L. M.

“My wife reassuring me that I’m still alive and that we’re okay—40 week appointment preeclampsia diagnosis, and a crash C-section because both baby boy and I were in big trouble. I’ll never forget this, truly the best moment of my life so far. ❤️😭”—Danielle N.R.

“I was 34 weeks pregnant with our daughter when he got diagnosed with AML Fast Acting Leukemia, got sent to Indy the day he walked out after a month stay, we had her. He got to hold her first because I was having problems—10 months after that he lost his battle with cancer.💔”—Sarah L.

“My husband caught our baby. 💕 So magical.”—Rachel G.

“Our daughter was born a micro-preemie in 2015, due to severe preeclampsia. I had an emergency C-section and was pretty out of it for a few hours after the birth, so I don’t have the first pictures of my husband with our daughter, but this photo is the first time he got to hold her–nearly 6 weeks after she was born.”—Gaby I.

“We lost our daughter and nearly myself due severe preeclampsia and HELLP syndrome. We got just a few precious hours with her. 💜”—Charissa B.

“I’m a single Mom (no excited Dad here). I admire there are men in the world who live and support their babies! Here is a picture of the first time I held my adopted daughter.”—Loretta W.

“After a very long and challenging birth, I had to go to recovery without Everleigh for the first hour of her life. Daddy stepped up to the plate and they’ve had the most amazing bond ever since.💘”—Rebekah N.

“My husband is a government agent and was unable to be there due to work. My doctor let my godmother FaceTime him to see her being born.”—Ashley L.

“Meeting #3 is the only ‘first moment of meeting’ photo we have—3 months old.”—Chelsea L.

“After waiting for him for eight years, we finally got to meet our Isaac.”—Danielle P.

“When you fall in love with your husband all over again and deeper than you ever thought – the second you see them love someone your love created.❤️”—Lisa O.

“Our son was born 12 hours prior while my husband was away at training. He deployed when our son was 4 months old and won’t see him again until he is over a year old. 💙”—Kate N.

“I knew from this moment that she would be a total daddy’s girl, and a year later she is that and so much more! I fell in love with my husband all over again watching him interact with our daughter shortly after her delivery. 💞”—Kate G.

“I gave birth to our first son after 4 back-to-back miscarriages while my husband was deployed to Afghanistan. He met him when he was 7 months old. I was worried he would be scared of him but he went straight to him.”—Jessica R.

“This was our first baby. I look back at this picture and have so many emotions. The joy on my husbands face seeing our son for the first time. 💙”—Traci T.

“Our daughter Morgan was born at 35 weeks. Her dad was the first person to actually see her. I was so out of it due to the anesthesia from the c-section.”—Tiearra H.