I mean really... I'm not blaming lurker here, she's clearly very distressed, but the call from higher up seems very unfair. They should have recognised his situation and made allowances.

We live in a society where people shouldn't be at a disadvantage becauser they have children, I imagine it's difficult to manage a newborn and be totally punctual and prepared, you'd expect the company to have policy's that deal with new parents and allow them to work in less important positions until they're back to normal (or as normal as you can be with a child).

Once again, I'm not laying into the OP, you're clearly very upset by this. I'd recomend you make your feelings known to the people higher up to avoid these kind of things in future. If someones slacking giving them the kick is fine, but for a new farther who's 'head is in the shed' it's not his fault if he's not up to his usual standards, it's the company's for not making the necessary allowances.