Push Present

Did you know that there is something called a push present? Apparently, your husband is supposed to get you a gift for having a baby. Okay, I get it, I did go through the pain of labor and the awful recovery, so it is nice that some husbands choose to recognize that with a gift. But for me, Brody was enough.

But this did get me thinking about what Jason did do for me after giving birth. If you know Jason, he isn't the type of guy to just do anything I ask him. He's helpful for sure, but he makes it very clear that he's not here to wait on me, just as I do not wait on him either. We are partners.

However, after Brody was born the recovery harder than I expected. With no hesitation, Jason took over everything I didn't do. In the hospital he ran out to get anything and everything I needed. Once home he took over the cleaning/cooking/diaper changing/dog care etc. With non-stop visitors he was also in charge of entertaining and coordinating schedules. Since I was breastfeeding, Jason made it possible for me to focus solely on that and recovering.

After about a week of this, I started to feel guilty. I realized that he had changed more diapers, given more baths and played more with our dogs than I had. In my sleep-deprived, emotional state, I started to doubt myself as a mother. Shouldn't I be doing more? I knew deep down that healing quickly would help Brody in the long-run, but it was still difficult to let Jason do so much. (In case you haven't figured it out yet, I'm also a bit of a control freak)

Looking back now, it was the best thing he could have ever done for me. Within two weeks I was feeling great and by the time he went back to work I could handle it all on my own. And 3 months later, I can guarantee I've changed more diapers than him.