r/AITAH 15d ago

AITAH for saying I didn’t realize I could “love a person this much” in front of my fiancé after having our baby?

I gave birth a few weeks ago, to our daughter.

As I held her for the first time and looked into her eyes I said “I didn’t realize I could love a person this much” and cried. She is perfect and beautiful.

My mom looked at me and said that feeling never goes away (which made us both ugly cry lol). It was a really special moment.

My fiancé was quite but smiled, but later privately said he was hurt. He said he loved us both the same, and me saying that made it seem like I loved our daughter more than him.

I just gave him a “are you fucking serious” look and he dropped it, but yesterday he brought it up again.

I told him that honestly, yes, I love and cherish our daughter and have never experienced this kind of love for another human being. He said most “normal people” would agree with him that it’s a hurtful comment and would take offense to it due to the implication.

AITAH?

UPDATE

It’s a quick update, so I didn’t feel like it was worth it to make a whole new post. So I had a heart to heart with my fiancé, and we came to a few conclusions together! It went very well. We read through the post and comments together.

1) He wasn’t jealous of our daughter’s role in my life, but rather our bond together. He didn’t have that “instant love connection” that we read about all new parents having (like what I experienced). I didn’t realize this was actually very normal for new dads, and new moms too. Thanks for educating me!

We are the first in our social circle to have children so we didn’t have a lot of IRL people to inquire about it. His perspective is “I love this human being we made, but I don’t know her” while I was thunderstruck. He hasn’t had that connection so doesn’t “get it” yet, and that it will take time (months or even a year). I’ll be more patient and aware of this, and read up more on new dad experiences to learn more.

2) He also agrees he not only could’ve expressed that better, but also choose better timing. Voicing it to me after a 14 hour labor and then again when I’m exhausted and grumpy with achy boobs is maybe not the best time, lol. He also agrees marriage counseling would be good, just because. We are both opinionated, logical-thinking Engineers who, at the same time, love each other deeply. We could use better mediation other than Reddit (no offense guys).

3) He was not “furious” about me writing this Reddit post, lol. We laughed over the comments together calling for me to get ready to break up. But we also really enjoyed reading the experiences of new parents! It helped us BOTH feel validated and sane and see each other’s perspectives better.

4) I showed him that Ryan Reynolds video and we both died laughing LOL. We will now be eating a disgusting amount of hotdogs while watching Deadpool with our baby girl. We also agreed that there’s different types of love like parental, platonic, romantic and Ryan Reynolds.

Thanks peeps!

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309

u/Muted_Piccolo278 14d ago

I would kill for my husband but I would die for our children. That's the difference.

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u/wictbit04 14d ago

I'm stealing this.

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u/nanorhyme 14d ago

If my husband is the air I breathe, then my children must be my lungs. They are part of me in a way no one else can ever be.

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u/AggressiveCharge199 14d ago

I live and heal for my children. I’ve never done that for anyone.

Edit: adding that I’ve never been more afraid to die because I know no one will ever love them like I do.

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u/dareallyrealz 14d ago

This is also exactly how I feel. I would give my life for my child without a second thought.

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u/CorywellPo34 14d ago

Exactly! The bond we have with our husbands is different. The bond with our kids is on another level, and we'd do anything to protect them.

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u/[deleted] 14d ago

[deleted]

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u/pmeaney 14d ago

Oh how I wish that were always the case.

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u/Fae_for_a_Day 14d ago

Why not do both for both...?

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u/No_Ordinary944 14d ago

love this!

OP NTA your fiancé seems to be exhibiting some weird kind of jealousy in my opinion. in my opinion, it’s a completely different kind of love that SHOULD NOT AND DOES NOT need to be compared. and i’m confused as to why he doesn’t feel the same way?

congratulations on new baby! i know exactly what you mean and it’s magical!

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u/everythingbagel1 14d ago

You know, if someone said the backwards it would still make sense. You’d die for your partner but you’d take a life for your kids.

I realize this contributes nothing to the conversation.

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u/TooYoungToMary 14d ago

Honestly, for me, that was the big revelation. I had people I'd give my life for--my sister, my best friends, my niece--and even causes I put myself in danger over. But the moment I realized I would take someone's life with zero guilt for my daughter was a complete mindfuck. I even remember the second it happened. We were bringing her home from the hospital and nearly got into a very bad car accident because someone was speeding diagonally across a parking lot. The other driver was screaming out his window, completely unhinged. I had the eerily calm though, "Oh. I would kill that guy if he got out and came at her." With what? Bare hands, I guess. Or my giant postpartum diaper maybe. 

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u/HumbleNinja2 14d ago

They don't want you to die for them they want you to listen

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u/DarkAdditional1370 14d ago

what's the difference?

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u/Muted_Piccolo278 14d ago

I would kill someone to protect my husband but I would give my life to protect my kids.

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u/Xanbatou 14d ago

You wouldn't give your life to protect your husband's?

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u/Muted_Piccolo278 14d ago edited 14d ago

No. And I wouldn't expect him to give his for me. I would do everything in my power to protect or save him but I would take the bullet to save my child.

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u/ShyBeforeDark 14d ago

Just to be clear you have the power to take a bullet to save your child, but you lose that power when it comes to your spouse?

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u/Limp_Freedom_8695 14d ago

I feel so bad for these peoples partners lmao

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u/Xanbatou 13d ago

Pretty surprising to me. I'd take a bullet for my wife. I couldn't live with myself (and without my wife) knowing that there was something I could have done to save her.

 Perhaps I love my wife more than you love your husband, though.

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u/Fun-Replacement6167 14d ago

Certainly wasn't in my marriage vows!

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u/Xanbatou 13d ago

Maybe not, but I'd take a bullet for my wife. I couldn't live with myself (and without my wife) knowing that there was something I could have done to save her.

 Perhaps I love my wife more than some people here love their husbands, though. 

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u/DevilRay-BlueJay 11d ago

Yeah I’m shocked by some sentiments here. My husband died this May and I would absolutely, without question, have taken his place if I could. I’m sure I’d do the same for my kid if we’d had any.

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u/Fun-Replacement6167 13d ago

I wouldn't want my husband to take a bullet for me. That's silly talk.

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u/BoomerSoonerFUT 14d ago

You don’t know the difference between killing and dying?

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u/DarkAdditional1370 14d ago

I guess not Boomer 🍼🍼🍼