With a team full of 20- and 30-somethings, it's no surprise that the Bears are full of many fathers to newborns.
Chris Harris, Earl Bennett, Sam Hurd and Zack Bowman all brought home new babies in the past year. It turns out that having a new baby at home is no different for football players than it is for anyone else.
Bennett and Bowman's sons were born hours apart in the same hospital, just days before the Bears lost to the Packers in the NFC Championship game. Bennett found that he had no time to sulk over the season-ending loss.
"It was crazy, because my wife said, 'Well, you're off now.' So I had to get up with him at night. I stayed up with him and let her sleep through the night," Bennett told Grizzly Detail.
The time off allowed Bowman to spend more time with his son Ty.
"I got a lot of opportunity to spend a lot of time with my son. I was talking to my dad, and I told him, 'Y'know, he's turning from a little baby into a little boy.' When you first hold him, they're so helpless, now he's moving all over the place."
Harris' son Jackson was born in June. He shared the happy news with his large Twitter following, sharing in his family's joy.
"Everybody's congratulating me, telling me he's a cute little boy. He takes after his mother, obviously," Harris said.
Harris' wife liked having her husband around to have an extra pair of hands to help.
"I was changing a bunch of diapers, feeding a bunch of bottles. I got the first couple of months in before I had to head to training camp. She likes it. She didn't want me to leave because I was actually helping her. Gave her a few mommy days."
Hurd's little girl was born in November, while he was still in season with Dallas. He found that his daughter was a refuge from football.
"When I got home, she would just lay down, and take care of me. She gave her mom most the headaches throughout the day. Ups and downs are going to happen throughout the season, and having her helped take my mind off of football."
