Splitting up household chores and labor within a marriage is a conversation for two adults to have. When it comes to adding a baby to a two-parent household, it's expected that both parents will take care of the baby, and both parents will pitch in to help the other out, regardless of their responsibilities outside the home … right?
Unfortunately for one mom, her husband don't think it's his job to help her … at all. In this situation, she took to Reddit to complain about her husband who refused to wash one of their baby's bottles because he had worked an eight-hour day.
The wife gave a little background.
In the post the woman says she (a 26-year-old) has been married to her husband Chris (a 29-year-old) for five years. In total, they've been together for seven years. They welcomed their first baby a few months ago, so she's currently a stay-at-home mom.
The husband does not clean.
"Everyday when our son naps I'm doing laundry, cleaning, and organizing the house. Chris is a Journeyman plumber and works 8 hours a day and is off every weekend and doesn't lift a finger unless it's in the garage."
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The wife asked her husband to clean one bottle for her.
One night, the wife asked Chris to wash a bottle for her to use in the morning. She mentioned she would handle the rest after putting their baby down for his first nap the next day. She asked him because she was completely exhausted.
The husband refused.
The husband's response was, "Why cant you do it? That's literally your job since I work all day." The wife shared that she was "floored" and went on to mention that she does basically everything around the house, works out, pumps milk every two hours, and takes care of the baby around the clock. She went on to ask how she was asking too much of Chris to wash one single bottle.
The wife shared she's disappointed with her husband.
"I proceeded to wash all the bottles and go to bed without another word. He comes to bed and asks if I'm mad at him I say I'm just disappointed he would think I don't do anything while he's at work he responds with ugh whatever."
She wonders if she's overreacting.
"Am I overreacting? I feel like it was an asshole thing to say to me when I really try so hard to be a good wife and mother it's all so overwhelming sometimes. Thank you for any comments and advice."
Reddit users shared their opinions on the matter.
With this being a popular topic, many users weighed in. The post has gotten 795 upvotes so far, meaning a lot of people think the wife is not overreacting at all.
Many people agreed that her reaction was valid.
"NTA and you're not overreacting," one user wrote. "He's underperforming."
Another user chimed in: "NTA. He has a kid and a home. Working doesn't exempt you from care work. Remind him that if you decide to split over this, he would have to work, take care of his own home, take care of the baby on his own and probably would have to pay child support. Washing one bottle (or in general stepping up as a husband and father) is nothing compared to what he'd have to do if you were not in the picture. Also being a sahm is way more working hours than a typical full time job. He needs to step up and stop being a deadbeat!"
Some comments were a little controversial.
"Realistically his job working 8 hours a day supporting your lifestyle and family, is more difficult and stressful than caring for a child throughout the day," one user mentioned. "It's not unrealistic to expect him to do some work, but it's also not unrealistic for him to expect you to contribute more than him towards the household chores."
Another user commented: "Bruh you literally have a FREE life. What the [expletive] is up with you entitled [expletive] females these days. YOU LITERALLY DONT HAVE TO WORK, and you’re crying about fixing up the house that you live in and he pays for? Are you literally high rn? Females have literally gone full weirdo."
These stories are based on posts found on Reddit. Reddit is a user-generated social news aggregation, web content rating, and discussion website where registered members submit content to the site and can up- or down-vote the content. The accuracy and authenticity of each story cannot be confirmed by our staff.
