The early days and months of parenting are full of questions and sleepless nights for many.
In most households, this falls mostly to the new mama, who is at home a little longer after the father goes back to work.
But sometimes a new dad will surprise us and share how difficult he has it, even in this household scenario.
Two new parents were going through a particularly rough week with their three-month-old, as the baby cried day and night and was unable to sleep. In the vast majority of instances, the mother turned to the baby, allowing her husband to sleep, and tended to the baby throughout the week.
On a day when they were both home, however, the husband and wife intended to go to a friend's party with their young baby. The mother hoped her husband would help with the baby, especially with several party-related preparations to get ready, but she was sorely mistaken when her husband had an unsavory reaction to helping with their baby.
Frustrated, the mother and Reddit user, "witchprincess42," turned to the "Am I the A$hole" subReddit for advice.
You can read her full story here:
from AmItheAsshole
Some felt this new mom probably needed to talk to her husband about the situation, to attempt to work things out before they could become another statistic of how having a new baby can ruin a marriage...
But everyone mutually agreed her husband was being an insufferable jerk on the day of the party, and she had every right to be frustrated.
"NTA. Your husband is an a$. As you said, the tree didn't need to be cut down that day. It is not a time-sensitive task. And the way he didn't even let you get prepared in peace? Absolutely thoughtless." - Pleasant_Complaint
"The tree was an excuse. He knew your son had been cranky for days. He knew he was crying, and he knew there was a looooooong stretch of Saturday to go before you'd be going to your party. It was easier to be outside, with the noise of a chainsaw (I'm assuming) than inside dealing with a crying child. He timed it perfectly so he'd have time to get ready, with zero regard for you at all."
"You, OP, are NTA. Your husband is the hugest A. He'll likely never admit; a man that can't even handle his own child for less than half an hour, and would literally rather spend time with tools and a tree ranks pretty low in the responsibility table."
"If there's any way for you to arrange for overnight childcare with a relative or friend, you need to get yourself some rest. Take yourself to a motel, if you have to. Prioritize yourself, as hubby's already made it clear that he's the most important person is his world." - VeryVeryTexan
"I'm also pretty suspicious that he purposely went to cut the tree down to avoid having to deal with his child. NOT a good look; very immature and selfish. Who can look at their distressed and worn-out spouse and think, Mmm, yeah, not gonna help and just walk away? Like, where's this dude's compassion and support for his wife?" - luxeshimmer
The new mom came back with an update to her Reddit post and shared she had taken the thread's advice, and talked to her husband about the situation. It sounds like they'll be working to make their situation a little more balanced going forward, and she'll certainly be getting her much-needed solo time.
