This Is A Man's World?

I am the Mommy. Mommies are the center of all babies worlds. Mommies are the ones who cause little faces to light up, who calm fears, kiss boo boos better and fulfill any and every need our child has by our mere presence. Or at least that's what we're led to believe. So why this past week has my whimpering or cranky child turned into a ray of sunshine when Daddy walks in the room? Why has my uninterested baby suddenly begun babbling and cooing when Daddy gets down on the floor to play? Why has my squirmy little monkey begun reaching with all her might for Daddy as he walks by. This is not fair. This is not what I signed up for. I am supposed to be the beacon of light in her little world. Daddy is supposed to range from mildly entertaining to perhaps even slightly scary sometimes (at which times of course Mommy would swoop in to the rescue and comfort the little angel).

Don't get me wrong, I wanted an involved Daddy - someone who would change diapies, feed bottles, read stories, play games, and do hair. And I got that. I am lucky. Very lucky. But I didn't anticipate the side consequence that, as a result of all this co-parenting, there would be times Coco would prefer Daddy to Mommy. Ouch. That wasn't supposed to happen. Back when I was a kid, Daddy was the one who would play horsie, bring presents back from business trips, and force me to eat my peas. But Daddy did not (for the most part) kiss boo boos, pick out matching socks, or choose the right barrette to go with my outfit. Because of that, Mommy was the one I turned to when I needed a little extra comfort. Now, in my current world, Cora vacillates back and forth between having Mommy days and Daddy days (or in the recent case, Daddy weeks - humpf).

Hurt ego aside, I'm hoping that this is helping to teach her that 1) Men can be partners in the home and in parenting, and 2) that men can be nurturing and loving and involved. If that is the lesson we're instilling, then I can take a bruised ego from time to time.

But I'd better still be the one who gets to kiss away the boo boos. That's non-negotiable.