If you think maternity leave and being a stay-at-home parent is a kind of vacation, oh boy, are you mistaken.

Sure, you don’t really have to work in the traditional sense. But that doesn’t mean that all of the commitments are somehow magically gone and that you now have all this free time that you can fill up.

That goes double, if not triple, for situations where you have 3 kids, plus you’re pregnant, and your husband somehow thinks you still have to be on the ball with all of his nutritional expectations.

It goes without saying that parenting is hard. And it gets exponentially harder when you have 3 kids, one on the way, and your husband is adding more pressure

Image credits: LightFieldStudios / envanto (not the actual photo)

This woman turned to the Reddit community for some perspective on whether she’s wrong to refuse prepping her husband meals given the circumstances

Image credits: mstandret/ envanto (not the actual photo)

Image source: Ladybug0308

It didn’t stop there as the husband kept on being passive-aggressive and manipulative by saying how hungry he is

A mother of 3, with #4 on the way, shared on Reddit how her husband expected her to pull more weight around the house. Despite her already doing a slew of things, including (but not limited to) cooking, cleaning, laundry, shopping, homework, school activities, drop-offs, among others, he also expected her to cook for him all the time. Because “life’s tough, this is your job.”

Well, commenters were having none of it and were actually surprised how OP is still with someone like that. Many pointed out that, in reality, being a mother can’t really be equated to having a job. If it was, however, it’d be 3 continuous and never-ending shifts, which one commenter calculated would cost the husband roughly nearly $24,000 per month.

In order to keep up a healthy family dynamic, mothers have to receive support from their spouse and other family members

While it’s sad to admit that folks have to be reminded of this, studies have shown that mothers who feel personally supported tend to experience less anxiety, depression, stress, and loneliness. In turn, they feel more fulfilled and more satisfied with their lives.

What is support? There are 4 major factors that constitute support for mothers: unconditional acceptance, reliable comfort, authenticity in relationships and friendship satisfaction.

With unconditional acceptance, mothers have to feel seen and loved for the people that they are. Reliable comfort means that they need to feel comforted during crises and deep distress. Authenticity in relationships deals with being honest and genuine with the mother, showing your inner self rather than being superficial. Lastly, friendship satisfaction essentially means keeping up a good relationship, visiting frequently, and helping out.

If you can provide all of this to a mother, whether you’re a husband, an immediate or distant relative, or a friend, it will go a long way in keeping a healthy personal and life dynamic.

But we’d love to hear from you. What’s your take on this? Share your thoughts and stories in the comment section below!

Across the board, folks thought that the mother was not at fault—in fact, the husband was on a whole new level of jerk

Some shared similar stories of sucky husbands

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