Maxi-Cosi Dad of the Year Award 2017

This year’s Maxi-Cosi Dad of the Year is someone who has given selfless and unrelenting support to his growing family.

Winner: Keith Lynam

At 37 weeks gestation, dad Keith Lynam had his babies, Archie and Pippa, in his arms. When he noticed Archie was experiencing laboured breathing, Keith didn’t stop when the first, second or indeed third doctor told him it was normal. Instead, he insisted his son visit a neonatologist, which led to the discovery that Archie’s airways had not fully developed.

“I just keep thinking, ‘What if I didn’t have him?’ Other people don’t have this support. I’m so grateful for him. We’re delighted that we’re not the only people that know he’s Dad of the Year anymore. Everybody else can verify it for him now!”

Without Keith’s persistence, the outcome could have been potentially devastating. When Archie was finally able to come home, it was required that Keith and Emma place an oxygen mask on him each night. This was a harrowing experience for both parents and little Archie. Emma says, “Keith held me as I cried every night as our little boy lay next to us connected to his machine. If our little girl as much as squeaked he jumped to hold her. Add to that the trauma of daily medication that caused Archie to howl in pain as it hit his tummy – without Keith’s support I would have given up so many times.”

With things now looking up for this growing family, Emma wants to express her awe of this amazing dad. She says, “I just keep thinking, ‘What if I didn’t have him?’ Other people don’t have this support. I’m so grateful for him. We’re delighted that we’re not the only people that know he’s Dad of the Year anymore. Everybody else can verify it for him now!”

maternity&infant

*Title photo by Paul Sherwood, Boots Maternity and Infant Awards, Royal Marine Hotel, Dun Laoghaire. October 2017*