After my wife and I feed the boys their last bottle for the night, they reach up indicating they want to snuggle on our shoulders. They do this every night. My wife and I sit in silence for a few minutes cuddling with whichever baby we fed. Two nights ago, as I snuggled with Wyatt, he leaned back and looked at me in the darkened nursery. I said, “I love you, Wyatt.” He replied, “I love you,” and put his head back on my shoulder. I reacted the way any grizzly father of rowdy boys would. I cried.

As a father, you’ll know your children love you. They show it with every squeal, reach or laugh. And of course, once they have a grasp of simple pronoun-verb-pronoun phrases, they’ll actually tell you they love you, even if they’re really just parroting what you tell them. I mean, seriously, I could’ve said “Lobster goggles ipecac” and Wyatt probably would’ve repeated at least some of it.

But, every one of those moments will warm the cockles of your manly heart. So, when your child actually does say those words, you’ll be overwhelmed with emotions so far from the hunter-gatherer side of the parent spectrum that you may feel the need to immediately counter it with a Jason Statham movie marathon and perhaps a KFC Double Down.

You’ll also find it isn’t just confined to your baby either. You’ll see other babies in strollers on their way to the park and silently coo at them. You’ll make funny faces at strange infants. You’ll speak gibberish to your neighbor’s newborn. Basically, you’ll show the world your masculinity can and will buckle when confronted with a drooling, poopy tot.

It’s okay. Even though the general public thinks you’re a wimp, your kid will think you’re a hero just for walking in the door. They’ll show you with a squeal, a reach and a laugh.