I have a fantastic husband.

When it first became clear that it was taking us longer than the average couple to get pregnant, I instantly panicked. I jumped right on Dr. Google and started to come up with all kinds of scenarios about what was wrong with us (kind of ironic, though, that endometriosis never crossed my mind back then). Matt took a much different approach. He was disappointed each month when it wasn't THE month for us, but would always say, "Well, we'll just time things a little better next month. I think we're getting close." At the time, his optimism and calmness was frustrating to me. I wanted him to jump on the Panic Bandwagon so we could get some help. But now, looking back, I know his approach was what I needed at the time-- a rational, calming presence to even out my over-the-top hysteria.

Obviously we did eventually get pregnant (a miracle that I still thank God for regularly). However, being pregnant opened up an entirely different can of worms in my Crazy Kitchen. First, there was a valid reason for concern-- my hCG levels were not rising properly. From the moment I found out that the rise was considered "less than ideal", I threw in the towel and felt defeated. I sulked. And sobbed. I just KNEW the pregnancy was ectopic. Matt, on the other hand, took an entirely different approach. When he read the email from our RE that said that my pregnancy "might still be normal" but it was less likely with the strange rise in hCG levels, Matt focused only on the might still be normal. For me, it was like those words didn't even exist in the email. For Matt, those words were all he saw. The optimism, yet again.

But it's not just his optimism that I admire. It's the fact that he doesn't quit anything, even when things get tough. He frequently reminds me to focus on the "bigger picture" instead of the here and now.

Silly as it might sound, I am in awe of the way he has handled sleep training. Camden had a particularly rough night a few nights ago, where he was awake and crying off and on for 2 hours. Matt stepped out of Camden's room in frustration, after his many attempts to comfort him resulted only in Camden shoving his face out of the way each time. Camden was angry. Matt was starting to feel defeated. I was disappointed, but resigned myself to the fact that this was likely the end of sleep training. "Just go get him & bring him to our bed," I told Matt.

But after a 5 minute breather, Matt headed back into Camden's room & started soothing him in his most patient, loving voice. And you know what? Camden calmed down and eventually went back to sleep. And each night since then has been better & better-- that's all a credit to Matt's optimism ("He'll get this") and persistence.

Matt initially worried that Camden would be mad at him for being the sleep trainer. Each morning, he'd ask Camden semi-jokingly, "Do you still like me?" The funny thing is, Camden seems even MORE attached to his daddy now. He runs to him with outstretched arms when he gets home from work. And he loves to sit on the couch with Matt while they read books together. It's like he wants to tell Matt "I know I'm not always easy to handle in the middle of the night, but thanks for sticking this out with me."



So thanks, Matt, for being a fantastic husband & an even better father.