And thanks to you all for the encouragement - nice to know I'm not a monster.
the one thing that drove me most insane about being a new parent, aside from the poop, and the puke, and no sleep and always being on edge.. it was how much people tried to sugarcoat everything. i know for the most part people are just trying to be polite and don't want to speak out of turn but.... #### that.
all that did was make my wife feel horrible.
"babies are so sweet and pretty! and they're so much fun! you're so lucky!"
no. no they aren't. some of the time they are.. they can be... but for the most part they are an unrelenting life sucking force. it's what they do. they are soaking up all your time, energy and effort because they have to. they need you. and it is exhausting. and, yes, they are amazing, beautiful, precious, a miracle, etc. until such time as they vomit in your mouth and poop on your work pants.
i freaking love kids. and i loved the baby stage. it was awesome. but it's not all dandelions and roses all the time.
you're going to have days/weeks where you're just fed up. that's totally normal. absolutely. the problems come in when people you know are telling you it's not. or when you tell yourself it's not. everything in moderation of course. if you are smothering the kid for 15 seconds at a time to see if it dies.. well... you've gone too far. but if you're thinking about it at 4 AM when you're up for the 3rd time that night... well... we've all been there.
just remember that Romo only sees the baby a few hours a night.. so, of course, he's going to be over the moon with her. that's a good thing. that's awesome. he should be. i know i was. my whole day was waiting to come home so i could see my kid(s) (and wife, yes) and finally interact with them. and every day when i came home and was excited, and the kid(s) were happy to see me.... my wife died a little more inside thinking that 1) she wasn't connected to the kid(s) like i was, 2) the kids loved me more and 3) i loved the kid(s) more than her.
5 years in she still has her moments but i think more often she would like to turn the clock back to when the kids weren't hanging off her legs every second they are together. they're like 6 month old Lab puppies around her. they can't possibly get close enough to her or get enough attention. total 180. more or less, of course.
GMTAN is awesome. lots of good dudes in here. plenty of good advice but it's still the internet. seriously, try to find a mommy group of some sort that meets offline. get away from the kid for a few hours/a day. with or without Romo. mom's have to unplug. you feel like you can't or shouldn't but that's when you most absolutely have to. try not to overburden yourself with daily chores/tasks. #### the laundry, #### cleaning the house, sleep when the baby sleeps. this is easily the most exhausting and difficult thing you will go through in life.... at least, imo. there's no let up. not for a while.
guess i'd say, keep the long view in mind. it's super easy to get caught up in the minutiae of the day to day and think it will never end. i can still remember my wife breaking down in the middle of one night when our first born was about 3 months old... it was an ugly scene. lots of crying. lots. had my mom come over the next day to take the baby so the wife could rest... before she left she dropped a good piece of advice on us that went something like "just remember that in the whole of your lifespan this is a blip on the radar. it seems never-ending now and it feels impossible but you can't ever turn back the clock. savor these days and this bonding time with your baby and keep in mind that it will get a lot better soon.... also, your husband is an incompetent boob so call me when ever you need help."