Next week, turning point...

Next week marks a turning point for us. My Husband starts his new job. Although I am (deep down inside) quite excited for him, as this job is what he's been aiming for for years, I am also quite saddened as he will soon only see our baby 2 days a week. He will leave early on Monday mornings, and return late on Friday nights.

When Saphira was born, Michael took paternity leave (just like every other Daddy), but when he returned to work we were devastated to learn that the company had been re-shuffled, and his job no longer existed (this happened to many others too). Financially, this was crippling for us. Even though I was claiming maternity leave, so thankfully had a steady 'income', having a baby can be quite expensive. We live a long way from any doctors, so routine appointments become quite costly (with fuel). Also, due to complications following the birth, I had to have surgery a few weeks after Saphira came to live with us, which was an added burden for us (thank goodness we have health cover, otherwise it would have been really expensive).

At the time, I was struggling to 'see the good' in what was happening to us. It didn't help that we were both extremely sleep-deprived, or that it took (literally) months for me to recover from the birth. My Husband was a boon during these early months. He cared for her, almost exclusively, unless she needed feeding. Thankfully, we were blessed with the most perfect baby, who never cried unless it was for a reason - dirty, wet, tired, hungry.

The silver lining - that I have only been able to see in hindsight - is that Michael was able to have almost 8 months uninterrupted stay at home Daddy time with our Princess. He has certainly taken over the lion's share of her up-bringing. When I returned to work when she was 4 months old, he happily stayed with her, knowing that I would bring in the higher wage, and thus be able to financially stabilize us that much faster. He would cheerfully bring her in to town (whichever town I was working in that day) for a feed, and either hang around in town until the next feed (if I was going to be a few hours) or he would potter on home and patiently wait for me to return in time for the following feed. He rarely complained and even then, it was only if he was really tired.

Sure, the house was a constant mess. I remember picking several arguments about 'why couldn't he do some housework seeing as I was out securing our future'...Shame on me. Our Beb-beh came first, always, for him. (Me, I need a tidy house! I'm OCD like that!) I also know that he struggled with me being the income-earner. But the good thing, the 'bright side' of all of this is that he was able to spend quality time with our baby. Those are moments he'll never have again. There were so many 'firsts' that he was around to witness/experience. I know he's grateful for this time off, but I know he's super-excited to be taking on his 'proper' role :) And thus, I'm trying to be excited with him - but inside I'm stressing about putting her in care on the days I have to work (Aunty Rach has dogs that don't know about personal space), having her 5 days a week with no naps (for me), having to burp her (usually his job) etc. But this is a great opportunity for him. So *high five* for Husband for doing a terrific job for the last 8 months. She's still alive, so you must have done something right ;)