Before we had a baby, I loved my husband’s spontaneity and ability to go with the flow. Post-baby, my appreciation for his carefree personality morphed into irritation every time he forgot to pick up diaper rash cream at the drugstore. Almost overnight, we went from being leisure-time pals to co-owners of a demanding small business with one very cranky little customer.
Before we had imagined gazing lovingly down at our adorable sleeping infant, lit in soft focus as a lullaby warbled in the background. A few years later came the reality check: that sweet snoozing baby was actually awake and screaming. We were tired, cranky, and bickering about whose turn it was to get up next.
This turn of events struck me as ironic, given that I study families for a living. I thought I was overly prepared for whatever motherhood could throw at me and yet I was still blindsided by how much my husband and I struggled with our adjustment to parenthood.
