A personal trainer's pledge to do anything for his 'miracle' daughter hilariously backfired - when he was forced to wear a flowing Cinderella dress so they could walk their dogs 'like a pair of princesses'. When David and Jo Eatock's tenth IVF treatment worked using their 'last' frozen embryo, the delighted dad promised he'd never reject any of Indie Eatock's playful demands.
The 45-year-old was forced to deliver on his vow when the five-year-old begged him to pull on an adult-sized princess costume her auntie brought round. Images showed David in the 'tight' baby blue dress similar to one Disney's Cinderella wore, complete with puff sleeves, standing alongside a grinning Indie who wore a purple gown.
In Jo's Facebook post, the pair are seen skipping down their street with ShiChi dogs Fred and Fudge, both one, in tow. David said even local kids started quizzing him but the 'hero dad' brushed off the embarrassment as 'part of his promise'.
David and Indie Eatock (Kennedy News and Media)
The 43-year-old adult public heath officer's Facebook post has racked up more than 26,000 reactions and the personal trainer has been hailed as 'amazing' by fellow parents. David insists he's happy to do anything Disney princess-loving Indie wants because his love for her is 'a thousand times stronger' as a result of his and Jo's 11-year struggle to have a baby.
The couple call her their 'miracle child' as she was the 'last' embryo before they ended IVF treatment. Little Indie was then born three weeks premature with the umbilical cord wrapped around her neck. David said: "The walk was hilarious. I've made that promise and I've got to stick to it now.
"[The dress] is definitely not meant for a bloke. It was tight and I felt my arms were going to rip it. Kids were following us and having a laugh but I was playing up to it and telling them 'I'm a princess'.
"Indie loved me in it. It was a bit of fun at the end of the day, it's all worth it to see her smile. I'd do anything for her. We've got this little joke about 'mummy says no, daddy says yes'. She reminds me that I said I'd do anything for her and so anything goes really.
"She's spoiled but she's not a spoiled brat. She'll hold me to my promise, but I genuinely mean it. That's the problem, she'll want to keep that up.
David and Indie Eatock (Kennedy News and Media)
"I see how important it is to be the best dad ever. We had it in our head that we'd never have a baby and we were considering adoption. It amplified how we feel about her by a thousand times.
"We're fairly old parents and I want to cherish every moment with her. I hope she'll remember her dad walking around wearing a dress."
Jo and Dave travelled to Cyprus for five IVF treatments after having no success with UK medical professionals during their first five attempts. Indie was born on July 17, 2017 via an emergency c-section because she'd 'stopped growing', and Jo says it was lucky she did because the umbilical cord was wrapped around her neck.
Now Indie is settling in at school, David can't help but attend to her every need when she's at home.
After Indie made the request, Jo insisted he'd have to deliver on his promise and even told neighbours to watch his stunt.
Jo said: "I told the neighbours to get their cameras ready because I knew they wouldn't believe what they'd see. He didn't care in the slightest about who saw him.
"He looked better in the dress than I would, she loves getting him to prance around in it. He sighed about it but he told her he can't say no to her.
"He's said he'll do anything for her, so he's got to live up to it now."
Jo's post has earned more than 27,000 likes and shares on Facebook, with users hailing David's 'brilliant' parenting. Jo's post read: "When your daughter says 'Daddy can we take the dogs for a walk dressed as a princess?' You take the dogs for a walk dressed as a princess.
"Eleven years of infertility, 10 rounds of IVF, we will do anything for her. Credit to my husband for this one though."
One commented: "This gave me the biggest smile this morning. Well done daddy, life's too short not to do these kinds of things with your little ones. Brilliant!"
Another wrote: "What an amazing dad! What a special moment shared between father and daughter."
A third commented: "Fabulous, well done, daddy. I'm sure your little princess will remember this for the rest of her life."
