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It takes a man and a woman to make a child. What happens once the baby comes into the world? The baby becomes the focal point. From a couple, you now become parents. With a new addition to the family come additional responsibilities. With the new responsibilities also arise the difference between you and your husband. Here are the challenges that you might face and which would need loads of “handle with care” warning signs.
1. The romance fizzles out
There will be a transition from a romantic wife to a doting mother. Sadly it is there to stay. Motherhood totally takes over the woman in you. The apple of your eye seizes all your attention. Your romance is bound to be on a nosedive. Your husband would talk it out with you, but it might not change.
2. The devoted wife begins to command
With so much multitasking, it’s natural for one to ask for help. Frequent requests from a wife to help in the kitchen or daily chores gradually begin to be taken for granted. The occasional requests are soon replaced by mandatory roles in the household which are met by quite some bemoaning husband.
3. You can no longer hang out together
Forget the evening out. Going for a movie is a total no-no. You don’t want your baby to inhale the stale circulating air in the enclosures of a movie theater. As your baby begins to crawl, and you take him to the movie, he would want to crawl out and explore places, maybe to your chagrin. Worse, the baby might just cry through the movie, so one of you must keep walking in the aisles if the rest of the audiences must watch the movie.
4. Your opinion about things change
As you attain a different perspective of everything as a parent, so do your opinions. In fact, the façade of acceptance of each other begins to break down. You stop nodding to everything that each of you says. You begin to show your honest likes and dislikes that you had been concealing for quite long now.
5. You differ culturally
There might be cultural barriers which begin to show in after the birth of your baby. Right from naming your baby to the everyday rituals, you will see a humongous difference in how your in-laws apply rules to your baby. It would be entirely different from what was passed on to you or advised by your mother. Sticking to either becomes the debate of the day.
6. You might be going solo many a time
With your baby around, you can no longer join each other on several occasions – be it a weekend getaway or a dinner invite. More than often it’s just either of you who shows up leading to too many questions. You could be in splits about this with your spouse. But that’s the way it is.
7. Your sense of humor takes a new direction
It used to be about you two. But now it’s just about the baby – of what your baby did or was about to do during the day. You wonder what he could achieve in the following weeks. But any spontaneity that had existed before the little one’s arrival is totally gone now.
8. You could have mood swings
As a mother, your body experiences hormonal changes. It could cause behavioral differences with your spouse. Expect mood swings. If you have postpartum depression, it is something that needs to be resolved by meeting your doctor at once.
9. Your communication takes a very mundane form
Don’t be surprised if your communication with your husband takes the bland format. Serious and dry communication could be in the offing.
We know these differences with your husband might scare you, but they are most likely to happen. Your husband and you would nurture the child together, and at the end of the day, no matter what, both of you would know the best for your baby. Tell us if you experienced any of these and how you handled it.
