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Babies: 6 - 9 Months
watermellens
member
Help - when DH is home with DS
watermellens
member
Not sure if anyone else has had to deal with this, but I'm a SAHM now (have been since December and will be throughout the summer), but DH and I work over the summer at the same job and will be kind of splitting hours. He'll work 3-4 days a week and I'll work 1-2 days a week.
I go out to the gym, to do errands, grocery store, etc and leave DS home with DH often, but just for a few hours here and there. I went to the gym this morning and when I got home DH said "oh good, you're back - now I can have breakfast". It made me think that DH doesn't really ever do anything when he's home besides hang with DS (which seems great, but it's usually DS on the floor playing and DH watching TV and playing). He doesn't eat breakfast, shower, clean, put dishes away, etc. I asked him about it today (which turned into a fight b/c apparently I'm always "yelling" at him- great) and he said "well Brody wasn't napping."
Honestly, if I only did things when DS was napping I'd never get anything done!! Any way for DH to understand this? (Nicely of course, b/c apparently all I do is yell at hime)
My little man at 0-1-2
Pin me baby! 
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Re: Help - when DH is home with DS
Some days I wait for H to come home before I shower. Other times, I can put Baby E in his Space Saver high chair, and bring him into the bathroom with me.
H will also put E in the high chair when he's in the kitchen washing bottles or making food.
We also put E in his crib with the mobile on - that gives us a chance to do quick things like laundry.
Maybe give your husband a few tips or tricks?
My goodness - this is my house EXACTLY.
But one time, I went out for 2 hours and came home to find he cooked dinner, gave LO a bath, bottle (I BF) and put him to bed. Proof it's possible (well, that and DH said he was starving and couldn't wait for me to cook). But 99.99% of the time he sits there in the living room watching TV while DS plays.
Does he not eat when LO is eating? That's what I do.
I understand the situation though, since my SO doesn't do much with LO when they are together. He finds bonding time as a time when Juliana is playing on the floor and he is watching tv or doing homework. Ugh.
DD - Juliana Joan - Born October 27, 2010 - My Little Princess
BFP 1/14/13 - M/C 1/22/13 @ 5 weeks
BFP 3/20/13 - EDD 11/11/13
I'm kind of in the other boat on this -- I of course manage to eat and such when I watch my baby, but he is sooo active now that he's crawling and almost walking. He is so much more curious about our house than he is interested in his toys. Certain toys I can distract him with for a certain amount of time, but unless it's a new toy or pots and pans or something, he'll only stay interested for about 20 minutes. We have an open concept house, so all our bottom floor rooms are just open to eachother, which means it's hard to lock him into one room while I say, do the dishes. He just crawls away and starts to climb the stairs. I can get about 20 minutes out of him in his playpen, as well, and maybe 15 in his jolly jumper.
My sister thinks I'm whipped because I am always talking about how hard it is to get stuff done unless he's napping. I just think that he's at an awkward age where he's not quite ready to play 100% by himself.
That being said, once the kid is asleep, I'm the one that cleans the house (DH's only house chore is to take out the trash and cut firewood in the winter). I do the dishes, the laundry, take care of baby, clean, cook, grocery shop, water gardens, etc.
I think its a man thing...
My DH doesn't know how to get things done when the baby and he is home. One day I called him and asked that he switch the wash before I got home and he said he'd wait till I got there because he had the baby.
Mind you yesterday I was home with her and managed to do the wash, the dishes, vacuum and clean up the yard. DD and I also went for a walk and got lunch all before he got home from work.
I understand once she is fully crawling things will be more difficult but for now she is limited to rolling so as long as she is secure in her swing or on the floor, she is fine in my opinion.
I'm trying to figure out what the problem is here, really. Do you want DH to do more around the house? Are you worried that he won't take care of himself properly?
I see where your DH is coming from. It seems that he takes care of LO fine, but you want him to meet YOUR standards for the day for it to be a success. Telling your DH how much you would've done probably makes him feel like shiit, honestly. You probably didn't intend it that way, but it comes across kinda biitchy.
Unless you have a complaint about the quality of care for your LO, I think you'll just have to suck it up on how much or how little your DH gets done around the house. It's only 1-2 days per week. And if the house is trashed, give him some time after all day with LO to decompress & then ask him to start with whatever house work needs doing. You'll probably have a lot more success that way, and a lot less hurt feelings.