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Good grief -- when the heck is Kate Middleton finally going to give birth? It seems like we've been on royal baby watch forever, and it's basically a shock to wake up every morning only to find out she still hasn't gone into labor yet. (Seriously. This is getting really old.)
And while I'm sure the extra time spent waiting for her little one's arrival has allowed her to make sure she's ready to become a mom, there's one thing she just can't fully prepare herself for. Prince William is only taking two weeks of paternity leave, which is basically like five seconds when it comes to life with a newborn baby.
Ugh. When I had my son, my husband only took a measly two weeks off as well. Sure, it sounded like a huge chunk of time when he initially made the plans, but we both learned the hard way just how fast 14 days goes by when you're dealing with sleepless nights, countless diaper changes, and a whole host of other daily tasks you've never had to deal with before.
And when the time was up and that dreaded Monday morning came when he finally had to return to work? Yeah, I cried harder than our new baby -- after he left the house, of course. I never would've burdened him with being an emotional mess when he already felt bad enough about leaving me and the baby for his job. (Guilt trips aren't my thing.)
I was just so exhausted and overwhelmed, as was he. I can't help but wonder how much easier the first few weeks would have been if he'd been able to take a month or more off from work so we could adjust. Something tells me both of us would've been a lot more content, much more rested, and probably a whole lot nicer to each other as well.
And even though Kate will have all sorts of people there to help her out with the new baby, she's still going to miss Prince William when he has to return to the Royal Air Force so soon after the birth. I don't care whether you're a princess or not -- there's still a certain level of comfort in having your husband there with you as a source of support for you and your newborn. Nobody can quite replace him, as I'm sure poor Kate will realize the minute his paternity leave is up.
I guess you have to give him credit for not expecting to receive any sort of special treatment simply because he's royalty. But I'm sure plenty of new dads would have no problem milking that title for all it's worth if it meant getting to stay home with their wife and baby for a few extra weeks.
How much time off did your husband take after your baby was born?
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