Babies are intrinsically funny. That’s a fact.
They’re tiny humans who can’t walk or talk, they do ridiculous things, and their faces are endlessly entertaining.
Seeing them doing ‘grownup’ things is even better. Imagine a baby with a job? Hilarious. That’s the explanation of the entire Boss Baby franchise.
So naturally, we greatly enjoy this photo series from dad-of-two Matt MacMillan.
Matt’s second son, Ryan, was born nine weeks premature and weighing less than 3lbs in July 2018.
He had to stay in a Neonatal Intensive Care Unit for six weeks. When he was finally allowed to come home, Matt and his wife, Alyssa, knew they needed a positive way to mark his early start in life.
After joking that he wasn’t premature but just ‘advanced’ for his age, they decided to pose him up doing grownup things, from shaving to chopping wood.
The photos ended up being shared 100,000 times in under a day.
‘Ryan was born nine weeks premature and was in hospital for the first six weeks of his life,’ said Matt.
‘My wife and I like to joke that he is not premature, but just advanced, which is where this idea stemmed from.
‘She helped me with everything. One of us would hold him in different positions, and then I’d just edit us out, so it looks like he is doing it all by himself.
‘I find normal newborn photographs somewhat boring, so I thought I’d spice it up a bit this way.
‘My wife and I both have a really good sense of humour, so we both loved doing it. It will be something that we can look back on forever and smile.
‘I just tried to brainstorm different stereotypically manly activities. It was really fun.
‘He is a really good baby to work with. He is always laughing and smiling.’
Matt said his favourite photo is of baby Ryan heading off to work, carrying a briefcase. We have to agree.
The dad has had to explain to people that the scenes in the photos aren’t real, and that he doesn’t actually let his premature son play poker, lift weights, or fix cars.
‘It was funny, because I’ve received some angry comments from people who actually think that it’s real,’ said Matt.
‘They’re asking me how I could put my baby in danger like that. I had to laugh.
‘I mean, there is no way a baby could lift an axe that size or go fishing or carve a turkey. He couldn’t even walk.
‘They’re all completely photoshopped. There was no danger whatsoever.’
For Matt and Alyssa, the photos are a way to celebrate the arrival of their son, adding some humour after a rough start.
‘We are not sure what we want to do with them just yet, we thought about framing some of them,’ said Matt.
‘But there are around 12 photographs, so we might even turn them into a calendar.
‘It will be funny for him to look back on when he is older. I have no idea what he will think about it all but I’m sure it will make him laugh.
‘Ryan had a rough start in life being born premature, but now he is doing better than ever.’
