Hey Kevin - Monk is absolutely correct. You shouldn't feel like you should be thanked for taking care of your own child. Do you thank your wife every day when she's in charge of the baby? Why are you any different? You are not "baby-sitting" as so many fathers consider it. You are taking responsibility for your child.

If your wife is breastfeeding then the first couple of months are really tough. She is going to feel tired *all* the time (this is probably true even if she's not breastfeeding). I found that I was getting about 6 - 7 hours of sleep each night, but it was broken up in 1 - 3 hours at a time. I never had more than 3 hours of rest at once for months. That really does a number on you after a while and I never felt really rested. I felt like I could drop to sleep at any point during the day.

The one thing my hubby did that I really appreciated was force me to take time for myself even when I thought I didn't want it. He would take the baby from me and make me go take a bath or go lie down or take a walk. Time to yourself when you're a new mother is so hard to find. Find time in each day to allow her some time to herself, even if it's only 10 minutes. Don't take care of the baby so she can make dinner. Order out and let her take a nice, long bath instead.

Another thing he did was he always made sure I had something to drink while I was breastfeeding. It's easy to get dehydrated, so he always got me a nice big glass of water with ice or cranberry juice with perrier. He did it without me having to ask, which I appreciated.

I hope this helps a little bit. Good luck!

Dawn

Also, if you at all can, when you give her that time for herself alone, try to make it the same time, so she has something to look forward to.