And Matt makes 3

I admit, from the the beginning of the pregnancy I've thought of Baby Girl as mine. Kind of like my clothes are mine, and my chick flicks are mine--Matt is welcome to all of them, but they belong to me.

After all, the nausea, sleeplessness, aches, general largeness, acne, headaches, heartburn, indigestion, stuffy nose, bloody nose, exhaustion, dizziness, shrinking bladder, mood swings, leg cramps, overheating, kicks strong enough to hurt, a veggie-filled diet, needles, labor, recovery, pain, more pain and just as many things I won't even mention here have all belonged solely to me. Try as I might to get Matt to suffer along with me, usually through well-timed grimaces or complaints, he has chosen not to, short of a few words of sympathy. Misery loves company, but apparently my company doesn't love misery. Oh well.

So when Matt told me he wanted to help with nighttime feedings, it didn't really register. I simply didn't believe him. You want to do what? Awaken yourself fully in the middle of the night, perhaps more than once, and cater to a screaming bundle of...screams? And then change its diaper? And then try to get the bundle back to a peaceful sleep, a feat often successful only through wild gyrations and acrobatics that are somehow restful to the bundle? And once you have, return it to screams by changing its diaper again? You've got to be crazy.

He's crazy. He doesn't mean it. It's just one of his wild schemes. I nodded and smiled and forgot he ever said anything.

A few weeks later, he told me again. In one ear and out the other.

The next time he told me, more than halfway through the pregnancy, it finally started to sink in: all of a sudden, it's not just me and Kalina. There's someone else.

This could present some problems. For instance, what if he likes her better than me? On the other hand, what if he likes me better than her? Are Kalina and I going to be pitted against each other? I think I could take her, if need be, but I really don't want to have to do that.

So Matt decided he wanted to be Involved. I decided to give him a shot. After all, it's either let him help or enlist the cats, who so far either walk wide circles around the baby or nap on her changing table and are thus very little help at all.

It started out badly. Presumably making up for lost time, Matt decided to monopolize the baby on the day she was born. By evening I'd only held her a few minutes. Doesn't he know that he has 9 months of dues to pay before he can claim her in her few peaceful cute moments? And that my 9 months of carrying her don't exactly count as quality bonding time now that she's here in the flesh? Should I have the nurses send him away?

They were cute together so I gave him another chance. Besides, Baby Girl didn't seem to mind him too much. She's such a good sport.

Good thing I did. He's nicely possessive of her, and since I'm holding her about 56 hours per day, I don't mind sharing a little. Possessive in that he really likes the little tyke. Let's just say any potential prom dates are likely to run screaming from our house. Followed, probably, by Kalina, also screaming if the past 12 days are any indication. So far, he does 2/3 of the diaper changes, 1/2 the burping, most of the bathing and all of the nail trimming, a lot of it voluntarily, at least during daylight hours. It helps me get a break, although I admit I also feel a bit negligent. Aren't I supposed to be the one expertly taking care of the newborn while he stumbles around trying to swaddle her in a burp cloth?

So I think we'll keep Matt around, at least for now. As long as he never takes the place of Mommy!