Hmmmm, I don't have children so this is not first-hand, but I do have two close male friends who say they felt little for their child until it was older.  The children of these two men are 3ish or so now, and I'd have to say that they are both very involved, loving fathers but they each said the same thing.  For the first year or so they felt that there was no need for them in the child's life-they wanted to participate but felt shut-out by their wives, and saw the child only as something to be maintained at first.

Don't know how common this is, but wouldn't be surprised if it were not uncommon for father to take longer to develop feelings for the child.  Any  opinions on  this?