I'm not an overly emotional person, and I'm usually not into the whole 'telling the world how much I love my boyfriend, when I could just personally tell him' but I'm approaching the end of my pregnancy, and I guess my hormones are giving my emotions the run around.
I've realised this week that it's so easy to forget (especially with 'baby-brain') the little things that happen when such a huge change in your life is taking place. And I didn't want to risk this stage getting lost in the whirlwind of my mind - plus if my little corner of the web is still running in X amount of years time when my daughter is old enough to understand, then I'd love for her to be able to read first hand what a great man her daddy is...
Just to paint you in the picture.. I guess I'm currently on Maternity Leave (I say 'I guess' because I'm technically on annual leave as I had to use holidays due to not returning to work for the rest of this year, which in a weeks time will then turn into Mat Leave). So most mornings when Adam gets up for work I tend to wake up too, and lie in bed with a coffee whilst he gets ready. Whilst he's in the shower or whatever I'll scroll through social platforms - which is exactly what has triggered this post.
When I found out I was pregnant a friend of mine invited me to join a 'Mum' group on Facebook where mums and expectant mums generally post funny status' about their day, upload funny photo's of the mess their children have made with their breakfast, seek advise from other mums, rant about their mother-in-laws etc... And don't get me wrong, it provides me with multiple 'lols' throughout the day, and I've even posted for advise myself a few times throughout my pregnancy - the women on there are so honest and raw, it's refreshing. Hooooowever, I've noticed the past week or so, that every morning I'm reading multiple (and I'm talking double figures) posts where women are slagging off their husband or partner. And okay, that's fine, it's your life, who am I to judge? But 80% of the time I'm not talking witty complaints about snoring, or how their other half never swaps the toilet roll over on the holder once it's run out... I'm talking getting really personal to potentially random women all over the world, whilst he's probably none the wiser... For example, I read a post this morning where a first-time mum asked how long it took everyone after they'd given birth to want to be intimate with their partner again, which created a massive discussion of 100+ comments - so I had a browse. Some of the replies not only made me cringe, but were so disrespectful. I honestly just don't get it. Maybe I'm lucky enough to never have the desire to speak about Adam in such a way, but surely it can't be right to openly discuss such personal things behind the person you're supposed to love's back, to 1000+ women who you probably know 1% of on a personal level.
The other general consensus of status' that I'm reading on a daily basis is that some women are unhappy with how much their partners work, and how they're not around to help out with baby duties... As my daughter isn't born yet, I can't even relate to this, however I am also to blame just lately for feeling somewhat fed up of being at home, alone, awaiting the day my daughter is born. And I feel so guilty that I've even felt like that for a second. The thing is, it is because of Adam that I am lucky enough to take a year off work, and develop a bond with my daughter, and take the time to naturally recover after the birth without any worry or stress of money. So when Adam's working 13 day stints of 10+ hours shifts without a day off, and I'm idly flicking through Netflix and reading blog posts online, I should really be thanking my lucky stars that I ended up with one of the best ones.
Don't get me wrong, I wish he was home earlier, and I do sometimes wish he'd take the weekend that he's supposed to have off, so that we can make the most of our time left as just the two of us. And I bet he does too!... But how can you slate a selfless man who is stepping up and cramming in the overtime to make sure his daughters life gets off to the best possible start, and to support his family? You absolutely can't.
I want my daughter to understand that just like I am, she's incredibly blessed to have such a hardworking dad who has stepped up since the second we decided that we were ready to welcome her into our lives. Who after leaving the house for work in the morning at 8am, and sometimes not returning home at night until gone 7pm, never fails to come home with a smile on his face. And a dad who puts me and her before anyone and anything in this world.
*All images used in this post are solely my own.
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