No parent can forget the sleep deprivation of those first few days and weeks with a new baby. This dad won’t forget any time soon either; his wife caught his sweet love for his new little girl on camera!

The story behind this video taken by a new mama in Honolulu, Hawaii, is that her hubby has fallen asleep, so she’s thrown her balled-up robe at him in an attempt to wake him. He mistakes the robe for his bundle of joy and immediately goes into dad-mode, rocking his pseudo-baby to sleep.

He bounces her vigorously while yawning and wiping his tired eyes. He shakes his head at mom, as if to say, “I’m exhausted, but I’m doing my best.” Doesn’t that encapsulate fatherhood?

When the new mommy pans her camera backward, we see that she is holding the baby, and her sleepy other half has unknowingly misidentified his new baby girl as a rolled-up robe. Mom does not immediately respond. After all, she’s probably exhausted as well.

She lets him continue rocking and yawning, and she switches the camera from dad to baby a few more times. Still, you have to admire his dedication. Solidarity, Dad, and as those who have been there before will tell you, it gets easier.