“I’m glad you’re at home with me,” I said as I changed Leif and to get him ready for his afternoon nap. “I’d be really nervous if I had to deal with this alone. I honestly don’t know how mothers did it all by themselves all these years.”
“I’m glad to be here dealing with this with you,” Luke said, standing at my side at the change table, watching while I put on a clean onesie. “In fact, I couldn’t stand not being here while he’s sick. I’d be unable to concentrate on work if I thought you were here all by yourself.” He shook his head. “It’s really criminal that every man doesn’t have parental leave rights in this country, considering how wealthy we are as a nation.”
“Agreed,” I said. I kissed Leif on the head and then held him out so Luke could do the same. Then, I laid him in his crib and turned on the mobile so that a soft lullaby played, and the stuffed rockets and stars paraded around above him.
He seemed really entranced with the sound and sight of the mobile, and Luke and I were able to sneak out of the room. We watched from the doorway as Leif wiggled a bit but eventually settled down.
We were lucky to have such an easy baby and we knew it. Many parents had babies that were fussy, colicky, or had other digestive issues. Leif was easy, not fussy and seemed to go to sleep pretty well without much effort. He did wake in the night for a feed or two, but that was it.
We were blessed.