I can admit that I have been a little jealous lately.  My youngest daughter, Megan, has certainly become, what I can only describe as, enamored with my husband.  She wakes in the morning and asks where her Daddy is, wants me to call him through out the day so she can smile like a Cheshire cat while he talks and she listens, and runs to him like she has not seen him in months every night.

Well, they all do that but she seems to have the most “umph” behind it!  And then  attaches herself to him for the entire night.

She would rather stay home with him instead of running errands with me and if she curls up, it is usually with him.  And no matter how hard I try, she wants to hang out with him even if I have a fun game planned for everyone!

I think it’s cute, but, honestly, I am a little on the “Your MY baby, get over here and favor ME” side of things.  In know she is his daughter too and blah, blah, blah, but it seems to me that the baby should be more attached – please forget the post about her clinging to me 24/7 -that has all changed!

My other two daughters adore their daddy too!  He is their playmate, their “horsey”, their “hide and seek” buddy, but when it comes to needing something or all around cuddling, they come to me.  So, really, I get 2 he gets 1 so I should be OK with that.

Yet… still unreasonably jealous.

And then last night, at 1am, after my sweet baby had insisted on falling asleep in “daddy’s bed” he came and got me from my office.  Megan was up and crying for…

ME!

I jumped up, eager to take care of my little girl and soon realized that she was sick.  My husband went to bed and I stayed up the rest of the night stroking her back, comforting her and soothing her while she woke and tossed and turned and whined, “Mamaaa” all night long.  I was tired but a little happy at the same time.

No one said I was normal!

And as I took her to the doctor and learned that she has an ear infection and nasty cold, she clung to me and cried for me and needed me.  And it felt so nice to have her back for a little while.  Even though I know that when she feels better, she’ll go right back to being Daddy’s girl.

So, tonight, as I sit up again rubbing her back, soothing her and taking care of her, I know I am getting the tough part of parenting while my husband sleeps.  But that is really OK.  Because no matter how many mornings she wakes up in her crib and asks, “Mama, where my Dada?”, she still needs me.

And that’s a good thing for my silly, unreasonable, jealous little mommy self.  Because I need her too!