Mummy Letting Go

Little Miss & Daddy sharing a milkshake

I am blissful this morning!  Last night, I suggested to Hubby that perhaps he might like to take Little Miss out on Saturday mornings to have “Daddy & Daughter Time”.  Time without Mummy hovering; time without Mummy being in charge; time where Daddy is the one to solve the problems, make her laugh and cuddle her cries.  I brought this up to Hubby at 11:15pm as we were going to bed and was met with a lot of “Uh huh” so I wasn’t too sure if he would begin “Daddy & Daughter Time” today or not.  At 7am, when Little Miss decided it was time to start the day, Hubby got up with Little Miss and they went downstairs for their usual weekend morning.  I stayed in bed and listened for a while before I dozed off again.

At around 8:30 I heard them tromping back up the stairs and heard rumblings of “Pancakes” and “Getting Dressed to Go Out”.  I smiled.  Hubby got Little Miss dressed, changed her nappy and got himself dressed and ready without me hovering.  I did meddle by packing a cool bag with some snacks but I let Hubby get on with it.  I do find it funny that he refuses to take our perfectly-packed-for-all-eventualities changing bag in favour of his manly rucksack with supplies randomly stuffed in but I wasn’t going to say anything.  I got Little Miss’ shoes and jacket on, grabbed her dummy and got her installed in her car seat.  Yes, I know, I should have just let him handle all of it…I do all the live-long-day, all the live-long-week but I was trying to help as usual.

I kissed Little Miss goodbye, kissed Hubby goodbye and reminded him about patience and waved them off.  This is the 2nd time in Little Miss’ existence that Hubby has taken her off on his own.  The first time I was weepy and emotional and worried the entire time.  I even rang them to see how they were getting on!  This time I shut the door, smiled, made a cuppa and happily sat down on the couch with the laptop to catch up on Twitter and Blogging.  I’m so HAPPY!  This sounds a bit terrible!  But I need this now…it’s no longer about worrying; it’s now about Mummy’s sanity.

I adore my daughter and wouldn’t change a thing about being a stay-at-home-mummy.  We have a wonderful time together and particularly this week, have really had fun!  We finally had a bit of sunshine on Thursday and after having a very bad back and being rather down in the dumps, I decided that it was time to stop feeling sorry for myself.  I packed Little Miss into our Cosatto i-Spin, grabbed the changing bag and my sunglasses (dusted them off first…haven’t needed them for so long) and trundled into the next village to have a walk and wander.  Little Miss and I spent 3 hours out of the house walking, wandering, having lunch, laughing and playing at the park.  It was a great day.  Yesterday we did the same with our best mates and it did us a world of good.

But all of this good time together means that I have virtually NO TIME to myself.  And I desperately want our daughter to value and adore her Daddy just as much as her Mummy.  Daddy can solve the problems too, after all!  So, I suggested the “Daddy & Daughter Time” to my hubby and am so thrilled both for him and for me that they’re doing it.  I need to have some me time, even if it is only a few hours here and there.  It will make me a better mummy and will allow Little Miss and her Daddy to bond in a different way.  So, while they are away, I have blissfully, selfishly sat on the couch, with “Saturday Kitchen” on the telly (no Cbeebies this morning), a cold cuppa next to me and a cheery smile on my face as I type away guiltlessly!  Ah…

How do you share the parenting roles in your relationship?  If you’re a stay-at-home-mum, how do you wriggle some you time into your week?  Please share your secrets…I’m dying to know!