THE sight of this strapping 1.8m man tenderly cradling a little baby tends to draw stares from passers-by.

Newbie dad Don Lowe, 35, is a proud father to his nine-month-old daughter, Dawn Alethea. The budding entrepreneur runs his own baking business selling cakes and cookies.

He plans to start the first of his chain of food and beverage outlets in August with his partners. It will be a sandwich bar in the east.

Reminisced Mr Lowe on his first sight of Dawn: "I never knew that anybody could have so much love in them. I was grinning from ear-to-ear on that day. Everybody in the hospital was my best friend."

Before fatherhood, Mr Lowe was worried about the financial responsibility of having a child. But he and his wife, Mrs Lowe Su Ching, a lab biologist, 35, decided they were ready for parenthood two years into their marriage in 2005.

Said Mrs Lowe on her husband: "He's very attentive to Dawn's needs and emotions - he's the same as a husband too."

Despite working up to 16 hours a day, Mr Lowe takes time daily to "just be silly" with his baby. The father and daughter's favourite activity?

"Crawling and making noises together," he said.

The family's official diaper- changer washes Dawn up every morning before sending her to his mother's place. Come evening, he fetches her home.

On being a new father, he said: "I'm always learning, not just about my child but about working on my weaknesses so that my family benefits."

The family will spend Sunday at the swimming pool, an activity that little Dawn enjoys. Said Mr Lowe: "If she's happy, then I'm happy."

For more my paper stories click here.