To the Dad Who Survived the First Trimester…

I am 16 weeks pregnant today, and for the first time in nearly three months I have been up, out of bed, and functioning as a Mom/wife/home manager for the first time.

It was rough.

I was so sick. I was miserable. I lost a lot of weight. I needed several different medications. I couldn’t cook, clean, concentrate on anything without having nausea.

My house suffered. My kids suffered. I don’t know how we ate food for those three months, because I didn’t cook once. I did enough laundry to make sure we all had underwear, and that’s about it. I didn’t mop the floors, vacuum the carpets, clean the bathrooms or make after school snacks. Frankly, I didn’t do anything but grow a child.

It wasn’t easy for me, but it also wasn’t easy for all those who are in my life, especially my Theo.

So I just wanted to give a huge shoutout to the man who held my hand throughout this entire first trimester (and beyond). Yeah, I know that he’s the Dad and he obviously should be the one to support me and help the raise the kids, but this man went above and beyond.

He woke up early with the kids every single day for the last three months.

He changed all the diapers.

He cleaned our AirBnB after single guest left.

He was in charge of bathtime (or have my kids bathed at all in the last three months?)

He drove Heavenly to and from so many outings and appointments.

He put the kids to bed every night.

He vacuumed the carpets, swept the floors and cleaned up the kitchen.

He picked up my prescriptions, went to the store at all hours of the night to pick up lemons and any other anti-nauseua remedies for me.

And he worked his full time job.

That does not include everything that he did, but it’s a short list of them.

Was my house perfectly clean? Were my kids eating at my regular standards? Were my kids bathed as often I would have liked? Probably not.

But that doesn’t matter, because Theo stepped up. He worked his full time job, all while helping me and keeping the kids entirely alive. He served me in ways that I don’t even know about and thankfully, he kept our family running during that time.

So here is to the Dads- the Dads who aren’t struggling with morning sickness, but who are holding their wives trash buckets while they puke.

Here’s to the Dad who come home from a long day of work and take over the childcare duties, because they know that their wife is completely done and needs to tap out.

Here’s to the Dads who wake up early and spend time with their children, and the ones who stay up late to do the same.

Here’s to the Dads who know how to pick up a broom and a vacuum cleaner.

Here’s to the Dads who know how to make approximately four meals, so they faithfully make those meals in rotation for their eager children.

Here’s to the Dads who have a good attitude even in the midst of the “for worse” or “in sickness” parts of their marriage vows.

Here’s to the Dads who have survived the first trimester alongside us Moms…

We love you and appreciate you.