I thought my first pregnancy would be smooth mainly due to the support I expected from my husband. But when I needed his understanding about the struggles of being pregnant, he mansplained it to me, forcing me to teach him a valuable lesson!
I’m 30, seven months pregnant with my first child, and exhausted. Not just “I didn’t sleep well” tired. I mean can-barely-walk, lower-back-throbbing, sciatica-shooting-down-my-leg kind of exhausted. But my suffering meant nothing to my clueless husband.
A happy man | Source: Midjourney
You see, I was so tired. The kind where my body feels like a clunky shopping cart with one bad wheel, and the baby inside me has apparently mistaken my bladder for a kickboxing bag! Doug, my husband of four years, is 33. Works in tech. I work in HR.
We both pull long hours and up until this pregnancy, I thought we had a solid partnership. We’d always split chores, tag-team dinners, and supported each other’s goals.
But pregnancy changes things—physically, mentally, and emotionally. And for some reason, it also changed Doug.
A drained pregnant woman | Source: Midjourney
Lately, every little thing I do feels like dragging a ten-pound weight behind me. I’m swelling and cramping to the point that my OB told me I should consider either working from home full-time or starting maternity leave early.
I took a few days to think about it, then decided to talk to my husband.
So one evening, during dinner—meatballs, roasted potatoes, and spaghetti I cooked—I told him we needed to talk.
A dinner plate | Source: Midjourney
“Babe,” I started, trying to keep my voice calm, “I’ve been thinking about maybe leaving work early to rest. Temporarily. My body’s just not handling this well, and the doctor—”
He didn’t even let me finish.
He scoffed, like, actually made a sound! Then he smirked and said, “You’re being dramatic. My mom worked until the day she gave birth to me.”
I blinked.
A surprised pregnant woman | Source: Midjourney
He went on, “You’re just being lazy. Admit it, you don’t want to work anymore. This isn’t the 1800s. Women juggle jobs and pregnancies all the time. You’re using it as an excuse!”
Then the kicker: “Don’t expect me to pick up the slack financially just because you feel tired!”
I sat there in silence, my fork halfway to my mouth, spaghetti cooling on the utensil and the plate!
I wanted to scream! I wanted to argue my case, but instead, I forced a smile and said, “You’re right. I’ll push through.”
And just like that, a plan was born!
A pregnant woman mid-eating | Source: Midjourney
I was going to show this man exactly what “lazy” looks like, and what real work actually feels like!
I didn’t quit my job.
Nope!
Instead, I went to work every day for the next week while also waking up early to do everything around the house.
The next morning, I got up at 6 a.m. while he was still snoring. Cleaned the kitchen, prepped his lunch, scrubbed the bathroom floor on hands and knees (hello Braxton Hicks), and left for work like nothing had changed.
For the next six days, I became Superwoman!
A pregnant woman cleaning | Source: Midjourney
I’d wake up early and do every chore in the house—laundry, floors, dishes, garbage, organizing the pantry, dusting fan blades, and even alphabetizing our spice rack.
I went all out! I hand-washed his sweaty gym clothes and hung them in color order. I made fresh dinners nightly: grilled chicken piccata, lemon-garlic pasta, and even a homemade lasagna that nearly made me pass out from standing so long!
An enticing dinner plate | Source: Midjourney
Doug noticed, of course.
“Wow, you’ve got energy lately,” he said one night, chewing happily. “Told you it was all in your head!”
I smiled sweetly. “Just trying to be the strong woman you believe I am.”
He nodded proudly. “That’s the spirit!”
I almost choked on my salad.
But I wasn’t just exhausting myself for petty satisfaction. I was planning something bigger, something unforgettable.
I did something else my husband didn’t know about. I booked him a well-deserved “surprise!”
A pregnant woman thinking of a plan | Source: Midjourney
See, my OB had referred me to a doula and postpartum coach named Shannon. She’s this no-nonsense powerhouse of a woman who also runs intensive parenting workshops for soon-to-be dads. I asked if she’d be willing to help me out with a little… lesson.
Shannon grinned and said, “I live for this.”
Then I texted my college friend Maddie, whose twin boys were now three months old and in peak screech mode.
“I need a favor,” I told her. “One day. Total chaos. You in?”
My notoriously mischievous friend laughed. “Girl, I’ve been waiting for this moment!”
A woman laughing while sitting her twins | Source: Midjourney
I coordinated everything for the upcoming Friday. I figured at that point, my husband wouldn’t suspect anything as he’d relaxed into the idea that I would do everything around the house and still work.
That day, I told him I had a prenatal appointment and needed him to stay and work from home because “the water company and pest control are coming.” Of course, this wasn’t true.
I threw in, “They gave us a window between 9 a.m. and 3 p.m., so please don’t schedule calls.”
He rolled his eyes but said okay. “Guess I’ll babysit the dishwasher.”
He had no idea what was coming!
An unimpressed man | Source: Midjourney
Friday morning, I kissed him goodbye, handed him a carefully typed “to-do list” on floral stationery—”Be nice to the workers!”—and left the house.
At 9:15 a.m., Shannon rang the doorbell. Doug later confessed that he answered the door in pajama pants, holding coffee, thinking she was with the water company.
“Hi!” she said cheerily. “I’m here for your fatherhood simulation day!”
Doug blinked. “Wait, for what?”
Then, 75 minutes later, Maddie arrived, juggling diaper bags, bottles, and two babies already crying like fire alarms.
At this point, Doug texted me in a panic!
A panicked man texting | Source: Midjourney
Doug: “WHAT IS HAPPENING? There’s a woman here talking about diapers and sleep regression while making me swaddle a fake baby! There are also TWO REAL babies SCREAMING in the living room?!”
Me: “They made it! It’s your real-life dad simulation day! You’ve got this, champ 
”
No response. For seven hours.
At 6 p.m., I walked into an apocalypse!
A pregnant woman arriving home | Source: Midjourney
One baby was wailing. Doug sat on the couch with a burp cloth over his shoulder and a haunted expression on his face. Shannon sat cross-legged on the rug, sipping chamomile tea like she was meditating through the chaos.
The smell hit me first—diapers and despair.
Doug stood up like Frankenstein’s monster. He looked like he hadn’t slept for three days! “They both pooped. Twice in a matter of hours. One projectile vomited on me! I didn’t eat! They took turns screaming! I think one of them is teething!”
A shocked man talking | Source: Midjourney
I blinked. “Weird. You said women can handle pregnancy and careers. You’ve had eight hours. No pregnancy. Plus help.”
He opened his mouth. Closed it again. Then just slumped back down on the couch like someone had unplugged him. He didn’t say anything but stared at a wall hauntingly.
But I wasn’t done.
Later that night, after Maddie left (with a mischievous wink and a “Call me if you need round two”), I handed Doug a wrapped box. Inside was a small scrapbook I’d titled “Things You Didn’t See.”
A wrapped box | Source: Midjourney
He looked confused but opened it slowly.
Inside were screenshots of texts I’d sent his mom over the last few months, asking for her advice, trying to keep her in the loop. There were photos of my swollen feet next to a vacuum cleaner, receipts from grocery runs, and notes I’d left for him wishing him luck on big meetings, little things he never noticed.
At the end was a sticky note:
“You think I’m lazy? You think I’m weak? I hope today showed you just how wrong you are.”
He stared at it for a long time.
An emotional man staring at a scrapbook | Source: Midjourney
Then he looked up at me, eyes red.
“I’m sorry,” he whispered. “I didn’t get it. Not until today,” he said, apologizing profusely.
And for the first time in weeks, I felt like he really saw me.
I nodded. “That’s all I needed to hear.”
But this chapter wasn’t done yet.
Here’s where things get really wild!
A happy pregnant woman smiling | Source: Midjourney
The next morning, he woke up early and made me pancakes. Real ones, fluffy, golden, with strawberries and whipped cream! Then he made a call I didn’t expect.
He called his mom.
“Hey,” he said. “I just wanted to say sorry. I used the story that you worked until the day I was born against Cindy, but… I shouldn’t have done that. I guess I used it as the standard for everyone, forgetting we are different.”
A man on a call | Source: Midjourney
“I can’t imagine what you went through working full-time while carrying me to term. I’ve seen what Cindy’s suffered through, so I am sorry you had to go through that, Mom.”
His mom paused, then said something I didn’t expect (he’d put her on loudspeaker for me to hear his apology and her response).
“Oh honey, that’s not true! I stopped working four months in! Your dad and I decided that I needed to rest. I just never told you because I didn’t want you to think I was less strong for thinking I’d stayed at home.”
A happy woman on a call | Source: Midjourney
Doug blinked.
“Wait, WHAT?”
I took a long sip of my tea and smiled. “Looks like you believed the wrong version of strength.”
He’s been different since then. More attentive. More understanding. He never uses the word “lazy” anymore!
And last night, as I waddled to bed, he kissed my forehead and whispered, “Thank you for not giving up on me.”
I didn’t say anything.
But I smiled.
Because sometimes, the best way to teach someone what strength looks like… is to let them live in your shoes—poop, puke, and all!
A happy pregnant woman | Source: Midjourney
Royal Bombshell: Prince Harry’s Deep-Seated Hatred for Father Charles Revealed!
Prince Harry and his brother, Prince William, are currently not getting along well. Rumors suggest that William, who will be king one day, doesn’t even want to talk to Harry on the phone. There are reports that William and his wife, Kate Middleton, want to try to fix their strained relationship with Harry.
In his memoir titled “Spare,” Harry talks about feeling like he was less important to the royal family compared to William, who is the future king. Their lives were also marked by tragedy when their mother, Princess Diana, died when they were young.
Their once-close brotherly bond has changed, and Harry has even referred to William as his “archnemesis.” A new report reveals that Harry also has issues with his father, Prince Charles, about something related to his brother.
William and Harry had a happy childhood together, but everything changed on August 31, 1997, when Princess Diana died.
After losing their mother, William and Harry had only their father, Charles. Despite being part of the royal family with its rules and traditions, one would expect them to grieve privately like anyone else. But Harry claims this wasn’t the case when Diana died.
In his memoir, Harry remembers the morning he found out about his mother’s death. He was just 12 years old when Charles came to his room and told him, “Darling boy, Mummy’s been in a car crash.”
Harry recalls feeling shocked and says Charles didn’t comfort him much. Charles mentioned Diana’s injuries and how she didn’t survive. Harry remembers Charles putting a hand on his knee and saying, “It’s going to be OK,” but he didn’t hug him.
Harry also mentioned feeling guilt about his mother’s death and how he and William walked around Kensington Palace after her funeral.
“After our mother’s death, there were 50,000 bouquets of flowers for her, and we were there shaking people’s hands, smiling,” he continued. “I’ve seen the videos, and I noticed something strange – the people we shook hands with had wet hands. It turned out they were wiping away tears.”
Princess Diana’s death shocked the entire world. But at that time, many forgot that William and Harry, two young boys grieving for their beloved mother, had to maintain a public appearance.
The two brothers walked behind their mother’s coffin to Westminster Abbey.
Later, Harry criticized the decision for them, aged 12 and 15, to walk through London with the world watching.
“My mother had just died, and I had to walk a long way behind her coffin, surrounded by thousands of people watching me while millions more watched on TV,” he told Newsweek in 2017. “I don’t think any child should be asked to do that, under any circumstances. I don’t think it would happen today.”
Harry and William used to have a strong bond. When Harry turned 21, he said they were very close and could “talk about anything.”
“He is the one person on this earth who, I can actually really, you know, we can talk about anything and we understand each other and give each other support and everything’s fine,” Harry said.
Today, everyone knows that Prince Harry and his brother Prince William are not getting along. William reportedly doesn’t answer Harry’s calls, and they were already having problems before Harry and Meghan decided to leave the royal family.
In his book “Spare,” Harry wrote about a night in 2019 when he and William had a physical fight at his home in London. Harry said William had criticized Meghan, calling her “abrasive,” “rude,” and “difficult,” which Harry believed was just repeating what the media said.
Things got worse, and Harry described how William grabbed him, tore his necklace, and knocked him to the floor.
“He put down his water, called me a name, and then attacked me. It happened so fast. He grabbed me, tore my necklace, and I fell onto the dog’s bowl, which broke and cut my back. I lay there stunned, then got up and told him to leave,” Harry wrote.
Harry also said William encouraged him to fight back, remembering how they fought as kids. But Harry refused. Later, William returned looking sorry and apologized. Harry said he had visible injuries on his back.
Harry even called William his “archnemesis.”
About a year after Harry and Meghan left the royal family, Queen Elizabeth II’s husband, Prince Philip, died. During that time, Harry and William still had a lot of tension between them. Meghan didn’t attend the funeral, but Harry did. The days around the funeral were intense and emotional for the family.
During Prince Philip’s funeral procession, Prince Harry and Prince William didn’t walk side by side. News reports said Queen Elizabeth II decided they shouldn’t walk together. Instead, their cousin Peter Phillips walked between them.
The Mirror reported that the Queen made sure every detail of her husband’s funeral was just right. She wanted the focus to be on honoring his remarkable life without any distractions.
Some reports suggested it was actually William who asked for Peter Phillips to walk between him and Harry.
Before the funeral, Charles, Harry, and William had a private meeting. This was just a month after Harry and Meghan spoke with Oprah Winfrey in a big interview.
Unfortunately, the meeting didn’t go well. Harry was upset about how it turned out. The unplanned two-hour talk at Windsor Castle right after Prince Philip’s funeral felt like a surprise attack to Harry by his father and brother.
“A source told Radar Online that Prince Harry was surprised by an unplanned meeting with his dad and brother after Prince Philip’s funeral. The source said it wasn’t a good way to start making peace.
In the past few years, Prince Harry and his brother have met only a few times. Recently, Harry and Meghan traveled from the US to England for Queen Elizabeth II’s funeral.
During the funeral, Prince William and Kate walked together with Harry and Meghan at Windsor Castle. They greeted people and saw the many flowers and tributes for the late monarch.
When Prince Charles became king last year, Meghan Markle did not attend the ceremony. Harry went alone to the UK, but he returned to California shortly after the coronation at Westminster Abbey.
Father’s Day was on Sunday, June 16. Reports say Harry tried to arrange a call with his dad for the special day. According to royal expert Tom Quinn speaking to the Mirror, Harry’s attempts were met with hesitation from his father, advised by Camilla not to do anything that might upset King Charles.”
A royal expert says Harry wants to send a nice message to his father, whom he loves. But their issues aren’t private because their lives are very public.
“He knows everyone is watching to see if he’ll reach out to his dad. He wants to ignore their problems and send a warm message,” explained Tom Quinn.
Harry has tried to fix things, but his relationships with his father and brother aren’t good. Quinn said Harry wants to make up, but there’s a big problem: he feels his dad, King Charles, favors William over him.
“It’s important to remember Harry loves his dad, but he’s upset because Charles seems to side with William in family arguments,” Quinn told the Mirror.
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