Baby Watch Blog: 36 Weeks & Counting!
Having a baby is a powerful thing for a woman. So is having the right to vote and the ability to do other things that years ago we weren’t allowed to do. However, I think some women are a little headstrong on the girl power thing. I mean, being nice doesn’t make you throw out your almighty girl power card … does it?
Apparently it does. I recently asked other moms about packing a hospital bag in advance to prepare for the delivery of Baby. I’m approaching my due date with swiftness and I wanted to be prepared this time around — I was induced unexpectedly with my last two children. I got an overwhelming response and support for packing a hospital bag and even some tips on what to pack that I might not have thought of like snacks, chap stick, etc. However, that all changed when I asked about packing a bag for my husband.
Wow. Can we say girl power or what?! Nearly everyone that responded said “He can pack his own” or “Why are you packing it for him” or anything else along that line. I felt a little slap in the face for even thinking it. Like it belittles yourself to pack a little hospital bag for your husband! Good grief!
My thinking was not that he couldn’t do it for himself or that the woman has to pack for the man or whatever feminist logic you can think of. While some men might jump at the chance to dash away from the hospital for a moment after their Baby is born, mine never wanted to leave after my first two babies arrived. He was staying … and he needed to shower! My husband despises wearing his work uniform in public. I thought it would be nice to have a bag ready for him so he wouldn’t feel as if had to rush home to shower and change. It’s something I WANT to do for him. Why do some women get hostile about wives who like to take care of their husbands?
I was floored by how many women were appalled at the idea of my packing HIS bag. My husband will appreciate the fact that I thought about him!
So, I say this to everyone who thinks I’m wrong to pack my husband a bag for the hospital:
Let’s all just take a chill pill. Do something nice for a change that you wouldn’t normally do for your husband. It doesn’t take anything away from you. It doesn’t make you any less of a woman. You’ll be happy to learn how happy it makes the other person. Try it … instead of bashing others that do.