Two months after the birth of my son, I turned 30. As a surprise, my husband booked a suite at MGM Grand Detroit for us to have an overnight celebration – and asked my good friend to watch our newborn.
Some of the people who heard this news were somewhat disgusted that we would leave our little man overnight so soon. I was left wondering why we couldn’t just live our lives without the backlash. We are still a couple – not just Nicholas’ mommy and daddy.
So when I read about the criticism that Australian model, actress and mom Megan Gale got for going out on a date night less than two weeks after their daughter was born, I instantly felt frustrated. Not frustrated with her – but with the people who had the nerve to be pissed off that the couple took some time to be a couple.
In case you missed this, here’s what happened.
In early October, this mom posted a smiling pic to Instagram with this caption: “River with his Nanna. Rosie with her Nonna. With about 10 mins to get ready my man & I are out for a quick dinner date. Missing our babies, but SO important for parents to have some couple time when/if they can grab it.”
Per usual, people all over the internet freaked out because parents put their relationship first.
After the backlash, Gale spoke out, saying, “For sure we have to devote the majority of our time to our kids. However, IF it can be managed well, stealing an hour or two here and there as a couple or an individual is a ‘win’ for parents. In this instance we had left Rosie with my very experienced and capable Mum after I had bathed, dressed, fed her and put her down, plus I’d expressed enough milk for two feeds just in case. At the moment she sleeps for 4-5 hours and then feeds again so we knew we had more than enough time for a 1-hour dinner, which was 3 mins from our house. And last night was no exception, she slept 6 PM-10:30 PM.”
I don’t blame this mom for clapping back. Why do people feel it’s OK to criticize every move parents make? If we spend too much time with our kids, we’re told our relationship will suffer. If we take time as a couple, we’re told we are bad parents for doing that. We truly cannot win.
At the end of the day, we need to focus on our relationships, because when our children are grown and gone, we’ll only have each other. And if we lose that connection with our spouses, we very well could end up alone later in our lives.
What do you think of the criticism? Do you agree with it or are you on my team? Tell us in comments.
