Dads feel guilt leaving babies for work

“My work day just began and it is poop already. We all woke up late and I went to get our toddler from the room. Our child, the one I love more than anything/anyone, the one I am doing all this for, runs past me to tell Dad good morning and give him a hug and kiss. Nothing for Mom, again…like most days. My child will hug and kiss Dad unprompted all day, but cannot kiss or hug me with a gentle prompt most times. I’m happy our child has another parent they can love and trust this much. It’s just ha”

“I’ve been on paternity leave since August, set to go back probably November first and I’m bummed! Not only because I’ll be missing my new baby, but because I absolutely love my wife. These past few months have just reinforced our love for each other and how much we love being around each other. No, I’m not complaining about going back to work, as I know it’s something that’s gotta be done. I’m just going to miss being around my best friend all day everyday. Have a good night my dudes! subm”

“New parent, my daughter is 7 weeks old today and I'm day three back at work - how do I bring myself to care about my job anymore? Just had six weeks off when all my time was caring for my partner and daughter and it was so meaningful and fulfilling. Yes I know that I'm providing for my family by bringing in an income but like, man this sucks. Is this a normal way to feel or am I being dramatic or what? submitted by /u/zaccracklepop [link] [comments]”

“I know it’s probably unreasonable, but I have to travel for work and my wife and 11 month old are going to stay with in-laws and I am meeting them once business is done. I am trying to really make sure I am a stable point in my baby’s life and the dad guilt and anxiety is that I will show up after 3-4 weeks of travel and my daughter will treat me like a stranger. Am I just overreacting and anxious? This comes from really wanting to be the dependable, solid attachment for her so it’s out of love.”

“Hey everyone, I'm going back to work very soon after having 6 weeks off with my newborn. My wife is going to be taking care of our daughter full-time. I'm just wondering how everyone made their schedule work once things shifted back to working full-time? For context I work 9-5 and it takes me an hour to get to work and an hour to get home. At the moment we kinda go to bed whenever and wake up whenever but we need to figure out some kind of structure. Thanks! submitted by /u/r”

“Hello all! Father to a 10 month old. I love her more than anything! I’m a first time dad, and never had young siblings/cousins to take care of growing up. Having my daughter is the first time in my life taking care of one so small, but I’d say I’m fairly confident in my abilities to keep her safe and to entertain her. Wife just told me that next Saturday she will be having a girl’s day with her girlfriends from early morning to evening (well past LOs bedtime). I’ve been alone with her before for”

“My 3yo gets upset when I leave for work and won’t say goodbye. Does anybody have a similar experience and helpful advise to get her to give love before I leave? Edit: spelling submitted by /u/Maleficent-Toe-3742 [link] [comments]”

“My partner is due to give birth early next year. Where I live, either parent can qualify for parental leave, and because my wife is self-employed, we’ve agreed that I should take some paid time off to help with the baby, etc. The issue is that we’re also planning to move to a different city shortly after the baby is born. (Stressful!) Because of that, I likely won’t be returning to my current job after my parental leave. My question is: Do I tell my employer upfront that I’m not planning to come”

“Dad to a 9 month old that is my pride and joy. My wife and I both work pretty demanding jobs and so my daughter is in daycare from 8:30-5:30 every weekday. This means we see her for about two hours a day when she's awake since she goes to bed at 7 and sleeps until 7 (miracle baby honestly) We had six months at home with her while on leave (I got laid off, and my wife was on maternity leave) but she's been in daycare for about three months now. She LOVES it. She loves her teachers, she ye”

“My baby is 6 months old now. We don’t really have a support system aside from my MIL who occasionally helps, but she lives an hour drive away and juggles being available for 2 other grandkids. My mom has poor health and my dad mostly takes care of her. So it’s mostly been my wife and I supporting each other. I’ve been a contractor for almost 2 years at this large bank. Got laid off from my previous role in tech because of restructuring and a bad economy, so a contract role was the best I could d”

“I think my husband feels like the baby doesn’t like him and I feel really bad. He didn’t get leave and only had like a week and a half of vacation. He works in pest control and his coworkers did a crap job taking care of his area so since he’s been back he has had to work extra long hours to fix others mistakes. As result he hasn’t had a lot of time to bond with the baby Usually after work my husband hangs out with our son to let me have a break and have some me time . Our son has been a little”

“Hi everyone, my wife and I are expecting another baby in a couple of months, and today was our 14 months old’s first day at daycare. I (dad) work mostly from home so I get to spend a lot of time with him in between meetings and on quit days. Mom is currently a stay at home mom. He spent his first 3 hours there today, but I felt very sad all the time he was away. I couldn’t stand the quietness at home. I’m also having thoughts such as no one will ever care for him and give him the attention we do”

“Hey everyone, My wife and I are first time parents to a beautiful 2 month old. My wife is still on maternity leave until October, but my 6 week parental leave is over and I’m back to work. My job in general has me on the road at least twice a quarter for a few days at a time. Coming back from parental leave, this travel trend picked right back up again and I’ve had to travel arguably more than usual (sending this while on a plane atm.) With such a young child at home, I’m mindful of picking trip”

“My wife and I are expecting a second child in a few months, a baby girl. We have a 3.5 year old son who is the absolute light of our world. This morning as he was playing, I just felt an overwhelming rush of emotion thinking about how I could possibly love another child as much as him. I just can't fathom not giving him the time that we have given him so far and I worry about not raising his sibling as well as him due to split attention. In addition, we really wanted another boy simply becau”

“Hey everyone! My wife and I are first time parents to a beautiful 4 month old girl. We both work full-time and she used 3 months of PPL for girls first 3 months and I’m using my 3 months now to get her to 6 months when she starts daycare. I have to say…shout out to moms in general but definitely the stay at home moms!! Every day/ all day is HARD. My first few weeks with her weren’t so bad but you start to get this Groundhog Day feel sinking in pretty quick and then you kind of scramble for activ”

“Hello, my wife and I had our first son, he is about to be 15 months September 12. We have been blessed for one of us to stay and home and work, vice versa. My wife is returning to work September 8 and we have made the decision to put him in daycare. We toured the Daycare and it was great. We got to see what class he would be in and how many toddlers were in there. It’s a small class about 6 toddlers in there. Our son looked very happy looking through the glass windows and seeing the other kids.”

“Long time lurker first time poster. Posting today because my son turns 8 weeks today, but unfortunately that means I also have to go back to work. I find myself thinking about how my wife always asked me "You gonna miss me while at work?" as we both got ready to leave, and I would say "No you goon, I'll see you later today." I am thinking about that because I am currently finding every reason to delay leaving because of how much I am going to miss my little guy. Currently”

“Ooooooooh boy the ugly cry was real in my car before I left. My wife is a teacher, so she had all summer with him and when she had to work for a few months earlier in the year, we were able to have him stay with family. He had a few half days there to get used to it and did okay, but he didn't get fed as much as he needed and he was dirty. This place is all we can afford right now, but my wife is going back to her old private school job that takes infants at the same cost we are currently pa”

“FTD here! Our (30M, 27F) dream rainbow child was born two weeks ago, and I return to work one week from now. And I am pretty anxious. My wife is currently struggling to care for our LO. We attempt to alternate care sessions (formula fed) but wife can do 1-2 a day without a problem. The others she is usually asking me to take over or gets visibly upset during. She cannot handle any overnight sessions, these also fall on me. She had generalized anxiety and depression diagnoses prior to being pregn”

“Hi there fellow dads. I'm in my mid 30s. I have a 2 year old son and expecting a newborn early next year. About 1.5 years ago I was offered a decent paying job, good benefits but with long hours. My wife has always been the higher earner and supporting the family. She has been upholding the finances, her job is high stress but office hours. So I felt I should do my part and work harder. I am blessed to have this job as I am able to afford things for my family. I work about 60~70 hours a week”

“My wife and I have a 6 week old, and my paternity leave just ended, so I’m back to work. My work is a hybrid job with 2 days in office and 3 days from home. My wife still has 6 weeks of her leave, and will go back to being a nurse part-time (2 days/week) in September. We’re trying to avoid daycare because of both cost and the horror stories we’ve heard about them (rare as they may be). Her work is surprisingly flexible with her not being scheduled on my days in office, so hopefully she’ll only w”

“Hey everyone! First time dad to a beautiful 3.5 month girl! My wife used her first 3 months of PPL and now it’s my turn to use my 3 months. After they are both up our little girl goes to daycare in November. We were happy with the daycare when we first signed up for it and everything seemed great. At the time I wasn’t thinking….what if my baby won’t take a bottle from someone else, what happens with naps (right now my baby only contact naps in a dark room with her white noise machine, what happe”

“After a tough but most beautiful six weeks with our baby daughter, I have to go to work tomorrow. It hit me when I just gave her a kiss goodbye, and said till tomorrow evening . Man, the idea to leave my kid for the entire day and all the care for my wife is hard. The first few weeks were brutal before we found out she had cow milk allergy. The cramps were so painful to watch. Can’t image having to leave her for almost an entire day. Any tips dads? Is this something that will fly by, or will it”