guiltless pleasures

[oyinmama]

am i the only one who feels ZERO guilt about passing the babe to DH?? he does 75% of the burping in our house, (he's way better at it than me) and probably about 45% of the diaper changes (not quite as good, but how else is he gonna learn?)

i love cuddling with and talking to and taking oodles of wondering delight in my babe, but i also really love watching DH do the same.

[Ironica]

Not at all! Heck, I picked my DH because I knew he'd be a great Daddy ;-) and I delight in watching him take on that role. I'm the only one who can nurse the baby... but when it comes to EVERYTHING else, one warm body is as good as any other as far as DS2 is concerned. Especially when he wants non-nutritive sucking (and he's surprisingly clear about when that is), DH has shorter pinky nails and I guess his fingers are a better size/shape for that activity (DS2 seems to prefer him to me anyway).

Humans are tribal creatures. Babies are meant to be held constantly, but I believe that we as mothers are *not* meant to be the sole provider of that lap/arms/chest/whatever. Those of us with involved, available partners are *incredibly* lucky to have someone to share the awesome task of parenting, and I don't feel one shred of guilt over it!

[Jennisee]

I'd actually feel guilty if my DH wasn't able to participate in the baby care. He wants to hold him and care for him just as much as I do.

I absolutely love that he can decipher DS's cries just as well as I can, knowing the difference between the hungry cry and the diaper cry and the tired cry. We're the only two people in the world right now who know our DS that well, and it's like a little secret bond that we share.

[onlyAngil]

I feel gilty every once in a while, but no not really.

[oyinmama]

[~ATenthMuse~]

No, I don't feel guilty. I've got the great dh, but the babe isn't cooperating so much the past few days. It's like, if he can't smell the milk... Well, he's just not a happy camper. Poor dh. He tries.

[ChristyH]

nope! In fact I handed her off after she was fed last night and ran to the store, it felt so good to get out of the house with no one attached to me. She was still asleep when I got home and he was cuddling with her on the couch

[Jennisee]

Originally Posted by ChristyH

In fact I handed her off after she was fed last night and ran to the store, it felt so good to get out of the house with no one attached to me.

Doesn't it?! For some reason, I get "touched out" a lot more easily this time than I did when DD was a baby. I'm guessing it's because I have two kids on me all day instead of just one. I went out of the house by myself twice this weekend, once to go garage saleing and once to go mushroom hunting. Both times, I went during DS's nap, and DH stuck him in a sling and he never even noticed I was gone.

[KariM]

This is the first baby I've felt guiltless in passing the babe to someone else (DS or DH in my case).

I think it's mostly because I *do* have another child who needs my attention and I realized during this babe's pregnancy that she would have to share her mama with her big sis.

It's hard balancing the needs of two kids, but I more often feel guilty about neglecting my DD1 rather than feeling guilty about someone else holding the new babe. Hey, at least she's in the arms of someone who loves her, KWIM?

[Jennisee]

Originally Posted by KariM

It's hard balancing the needs of two kids, but I more often feel guilty about neglecting my DD1 rather than feeling guilty about someone else holding the new babe. Hey, at least she's in the arms of someone who loves her, KWIM?

As a mama of two now, this really resonated with me.