Talk the talk to walk the talk

Readers* spill some of their discussion points...

“I co-slept, and my partner would moan about being woken up by the baby. He only started to loosen up about it when I went back to work and was in the same boat as him. Talking about the strain we were both under helped, and he began to get up and keep me company while I was feeding. I wish we had talked about what language our child will be spoken to. He is Xhosa, and I am Zulu. I didn’t think this was going to be an issue, but it has been.” – Nompumelelo Zulu

“I was very clear with my partner that when the baby was born I didn’t think I would cope with cooking. I told her it was going to be bangers and mash pretty much every night! She stepped up and cooks for us every night, while I make supper for the kids.” – Ana Luton

“I got really annoyed with my husband, because I felt he wasn’t helping me enough. I realised that when I asked him to do something, like change the baby, he was happy to do it. He admitted that he felt that I wouldn’t be happy with the way he did things, so he didn’t offer to do them. I think it’s important to tell your partner that they did a good job, rather than just criticising them when they try.” – Sumaya Reed