Ode to Daddy

When a woman has a baby she is overflowed with emotions and expectations. The harshest of these expectations comes from herself. She instantly feels the need to immediately be an expert in everything that is her baby. This behavior seems to be essential in the early months of her newborn's life.
However, as her child grows more independent it may be hard to remember that she is not, and never was, alone. There was another person who made it their business to be an instant expert in everything that is her child. From bathing to changing diapers, to fevers to feedings, this person has been there as well.
Daddy.
It's true that a lot of the care for a new baby falls on the mother. This is especially the case with breastfeeding and/or stay-at-home moms. Every moment of every day and night is centered around the small person that has recently come into the world. As a result, it may be hard to remember that Daddy can take care of baby just as well as Mommy.
Feelings of attachment often originate in the womb. A woman goes through a miraculous change while pregnant. According to Tracy Rosecrans of heartline.com, "Pregnancy is [a] time of great physical and emotional change for women."
The 40 weeks of pregnancy is plenty of time to set a woman up to feel like it all rests on her shoulders since all the changes are happening to her body and hers alone.
Society puts a lot of pressure on mothers to fully support and raise their child without any help. There is a heavy expectation that is implied in the early days after birth - your maternal instincts will kick in and you will magically know how to raise a little person (even if you've never been around a small person before...it's that magical) or you're a bad mother.
With guidelines like these, it's hard to remember that there is another person there worrying and dotting over that small person.
Yep, you guessed it - Daddy.
Doctors Richard and Jan Hanson stated that the village it takes to raise a child seems more like a ghost town these days. In their column "Mother Nurture" they say, "The amount of mental and physical work that comes with children is staggering. It ranges from figuring out what color to paint the new baby's bedroom while you're pregnant to -- eighteen years later -- helping him pack for college." 
What's the remedy? Share the load.
This isn't always easy. One of the first things that is told to a new mother is "establish a routine for your child" but that doesn't always include the father. As time passes and the routine becomes sacred it's hard to have confidence in the ability of the father.
The issue of course is not in the ability of the father's child caring skills. It's in the ability of the mother to let go and share the day to day tasks with your partner.
Let go!
It's important for all parents to have a little "Me Time." Everyone gets burnt out. To share the load is to get a little time to yourself. Even if it's just ten or fifteen minutes a day. Use that time to unwind and regroup.
Start with delegating some of the tasks. Assign some of the daily routine to your partner like the bath, getting dressed, story time or a walk. It may be hard at first, but they have been with baby from the beginning as well. More often than not, perhaps even more so with working parents, it gives them a chance to bond with baby since they've been away all day.
So, Daddy - take control of some tasks. Although Mommy may seem a little wary at first, know that it has less to do with her doubting your ability to care for your child and more to do with her inability to release some of the responsibility and sharing the load.