Not all of our other halves turn out to be the hands on parent we expect when our little one is here, but the ones who do deserve a huge pat on the back from us.
When I was pregnant, there were a few occasions where I felt I was more excited about everything that was going on than my other half was. However, it must be hard to get excited if you can’t feel what the other person is feeling. There were times when I got very cross that he couldn’t feel baby Ring kicking right at the beginning – ”Oh for God’s sake, HOW can you NOT feel THAT?, it was a HUGE kick!”. Naturally, if you’re anything like me, and even more so when you’re pregnant, your mind starts working ten to the dozen, paranoia sets in that you’re the only one that’s bothered and you’re going to be doing it all on your own!
Fast forward to ‘holy shit the baby is actually here‘ and he really stepped it up. For someone whose had such minimal exposure to babies, he really was a natural. Nappy changes, bath time, getting Toby dressed – he wanted to learn and do it all and I have to say he’s a pro!
I love that my other half wants to be a proactive parent. From taking an interest in what he’s eating to downloading apps to see what kind of development milestones we can expect to see coming up, to playing with him when he gets home. I can’t fault him.
It must be so hard for the ‘second’ parent, especially since their leave is almost non-existent unless you decide to share it out between you. It makes me really angry that they don’t get anywhere near the same amount of time as the one who gave birth. It takes two to tango you know! Both parents need just as much time to bond, and not only that, where is your support when you’re signed off from the midwife after 10 days? But that’s not what this post is about.
I just want to raise a huge glass to all the parents out there who have to stomach leaving their partners and babies every morning to work a full day, come home and make those couple of hours before bed time count with their kids. We really do love you!
How do your other halves make the most of their time with the kids?
Well written Jade!