Leo finally held his boy Ezrah for the first time when the tot was four months old.
Caught on camera, this is the priceless moment when a happily married dad met his baby son for the first time – when he was four months old.
A sailor, Leo Laurente, 31, was thousands of miles away from home in the middle of the ocean, half way through his nine-month stint at sea, when little Ezrah was born in Divine Word Hospital in the Philippines on 27 September 2018 – four days after his parents’ wedding anniversary.
The closest he got to seeing his beloved nurse wife, Ethil, 31, and their baby boy for months was during daily FaceTime calls, after setting sail for Europe from their home in the Philippines in April 2018, when she was four months pregnant.
He said: “My baby was already four months old by the time I finally got to hold him – but it felt so precious holding my little one for the first time.”
Working nine months on and nine months off, a sailor for seven years, while Leo is used to maintaining long-distance relationships with his loved ones, married for just seven months and knowing Ethil was four months pregnant when he left for his latest voyage was particularly tough.
He continued: “I was happy and excited to find out Ethil was pregnant, but also a little bit sad knowing I would not be able to be there with her when she gave birth to our first baby. I also knew it would be hard on her not having me physically there to support her. It was really hard to leave her.”
As Ethil’s pregnancy progressed, the couple kept in touch via Facebook messenger, which was made possible as the ship Leo was on had WiFi.
Whenever the signal was strong enough, they would also make video calls.
Then, on September 27, Leo went on a coffee break while on duty and saw a message from home, saying Ethil was on her way to hospital and was thought to be in labour.
He recalled: “I was so nervous that I couldn’t concentrate on what I was doing at work. I told a friend how I was feeling. He reassured me not to worry, saying Ethil would be okay.
“Then, at around lunchtime, I got another message which I read immediately. It was from Ethil’s sister, saying she had given birth to a healthy baby – my son.
“In that moment, the first thought that came to my mind was, ‘Thank God for the safe delivery.’”
Immediately, Leo asked for a photo of his newborn baby and saw the tot for the first time on his phone from thousands of miles away.
He added: “I can’t explain the happiness I felt. I kept on staring at the photo, and showed it to whoever I saw on the ship.”
But, with four months left of his contract, Leo still had a long wait before he could hold Ezrah for the first time.
Hearing about milestone moments like his son’s first bath, or when he began to smile, without being there was hard, but Leo treasured their FaceTime calls and seeing pictures that were text by his wife.
“I even bought an internet card to have a better connection, so Ethil and I could constantly send messages and pictures,” he said.
Finally, at the end of January, he returned home to hold his boy for the first time.
“It felt wonderful and I will never forget it,” he said.
Now, he is enjoying every minute of being a full-time dad, until he goes away again this November.
And he is telling his story to give hope to other seafarers in similar situations and to thank the maritime charity,the Sailors’ Society, who supported him when he was docked in the UK, even giving him a stuffed toy for Ezrah.
He said: “The most difficult aspect of being away from my family is knowing I will miss stages of my son growing up and won’t be there to celebrate some special occasions.
“But it is important to remain open-minded and understanding, to work hard and let family be your inspiration.”
Meanwhile, Sailors’ Society CEO Stuart Rivers has praised the sacrifice made by seafarers, whose work is vital to the smooth–running of the country.
He added, “Many people don’t realise that almost everything we use and own comes by sea, transported by seafarers like Leo, who make huge sacrifices to bring us what we need.”
For information, visit www.sailors-society.org
