HusbandWatch 2010

Keeping an Eye on the Twin Daddy

HusbandWatch 2010

My husband, as I’m sure you’ve noticed, is very actively involved in our pregnancy experience. For one, he keeps an observant eye on me at all times. He makes sure I’m eating and drinking enough and also fusses at me if he feels I’m being too active. Puck has been surprised (given my stubborn streak) that I have been more likely than normal to agree to his requests. (His “hard-headed woman” is a bit less stubborn.)

Puck’s worry for me and the babies usually manifests in his various acts of concern and pampering and his occasionally putting his foot down about something he doesn’t feel I should be doing. However, there are times when his calm demeanor breaks, and you can see just how stressful it is for him, usually right after we receive another curve ball about our pregnancy. First, the seeming miscarriage; then, the twins (very good news but still unexpected); then, monochorionic identical twins; and now, velamentous cord insertion. It is at times like these that I discover Puck does extra research on his own and attempts to protect me from the most worrisome information he finds. Each new discovery launches him on another quest for information, but often with the result that while he is better informed, there is very little that we can do beyond what we’re already doing to make this pregnancy safer and better.

This pregnancy has definitely changed my husband’s life patterns as much as my own:

Food

While Puck has always been our primary cook, with the pregnancy he has really upped his game. During those first months when I was voraciously hungry and had to eat a ton of food to add even the tiniest bit of weight, Puck spent a lot of time in the kitchen, cooking and doing dishes. He would whip up a snack for me as soon as we got home, and then he would start on dinner. A few hours after dinner, he’d make me an evening snack.

With all that cooking (and because we added more foods high in carbohydrates back into our diet to help me gain weight), he started to gain a few sympathy pounds at first. However, he soon adjusted his own eating patterns to be able to maintain or even lose a few pounds even as he continues to prepare large quantities of food for me. Puck also keeps the kitchen well-stocked with meat, dairy, and a variety of snacks.

Sleep

While Puck does not get the benefits of the pregnancy naps, his own sleep patterns have changed.

Regular Puck: Puck has always been a deep sleeper. When we first brought Shakti home as a puppy and were crate training her, we made up a bed on the floor right by her crate to keep her company. When she would cry to go out to the bathroom, Puck would inevitably sleep through it unless I physically woke him up. Now, once I woke him, he was more than happy to take his turn taking Shakti out, but he rarely woke up without a little extra help.

Pregnancy Puck: Now, Puck is a much lighter sleeper. He usually wakes up when I get up to go the bathroom at night to ask if everything is okay. In fact, I was pretty surprised last week when I got sick in the bathroom in the living room in the middle of the night and Puck woke up to come check on me. Right now, as I struggle to breathe at night due to my allergies (Puck thinks it’s a cold), he often startles awake when I sneeze loudly or make some other unusual sound to groggily and worriedly ask, “Are you okay? Is everything alright?”

Mood

Overall, Puck’s mood is good, though he worries. At present, he frets about me not feeling well, and it distresses him when the aches and pains of pregnancy (like the round ligament pain) make me gasp or wince when I shift positions. Puck maintains his proactive attitude and looks for ways to ease whatever ails me. I, in turn, have to keep an eye on him.