In Hawaii, parents of infants may experience some difficulty balancing the needs of the child with the rights of both parents. While the infant’s needs do come first, the parent who is not the primary caregiver has a right to see their child. In the best-case scenario, the two parents will be able to work out an acceptable solution when it comes to visitation.
One parent will need to accept the fact that they may not have as much time as they would like at first, especially if the infant is breastfeeding. After some time, the parent’s time with the infant will increase as the child gets older and adjusts. At first, the custodial time may be through the form of short visits with the child. It may take some time for overnight visits. The court will not usually order overnight time for the first few years of the child’s life.
Breastfeeding may require that the parents come up with a special solution that would allow the infant the ability to also see the other parent. A feeding schedule cannot be used as a reason to deny a parent the right to spend time with their child altogether. In many cases, the type of time that a father can spend with the infant depends on how the mother is feeding the child and the success she is having.
Parents who have concerns about a visitation schedule for their infant may seek out a lawyer for advice. The lawyer may assist their client in negotiating a satisfactory visitation schedule. If that is not possible, the attorney may take their client’s case to court in the hopes of persuading the judge to order a visitation arrangement that makes sense for the child and both parents.