For many first time parents, one of the trickier tasks can be waking up in the middle of the night to tend to their little ones who may need feeding, changing or snuggling.
But one dad has found himself in his wife's bad books after revealing that he refuses to wake up at night to share the duties - as he needs to maintain a good sleep schedule for his job.
The man, who claims to be a professional athlete, says he needs sleep to perform well - insisting that he had spoken to his wife prior to having a child with regards to his night time concerns. The wife then reportedly agreed to take care of the kids at night.
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The Mirror reports however, after welcoming their first child three months ago, the new mum's patience is beginning to wear thin and she has asked her husband to help out more often - but he is still refusing. In a post on Reddit, he said: "My wife Katie and I had our first baby together about three months ago. I'm an athlete and Katie's a stay-at-home mum.
"Sleep is very important for me because of my sport. I can't be waking up multiple times throughout the night and be sleep deprived. Katie and I talked about this before trying for a kid, and I told her that I can't compromise my sleep for anything short of an emergency.
"I specifically mentioned that I wouldn't be waking up during the night to help with the baby, but we could hire a night nurse to help out. Things had been going smoothly until a few days ago when Katie was being cold and distant. I asked if something was wrong, and she said everything was fine.
"She was quiet for a while, then finally mentioned that it's extremely unfair that I'm not helping her at all with the baby during the night. I acknowledged that she has been working hard and not getting much sleep, but we also previously agreed to this arrangement.
"Katie has refused to hire a night nurse to help because she doesn't trust someone new to watch our baby alone during the night. I suggested that she could have a family member help, but she didn't want to burden them. So we've been at an impasse.
"She still doesn't want to hire help, and I'm still not waking up during the night."
The man pointed out that he pays for a cleaner and is also subscribed to a meal delivery service that takes care of most of their food needs, so his wife spends all her time taking care of their baby. Commenters were largely on the man's side, as they stressed that if most of the housework is tackled by their cleaner, then his wife should be able to wake up at night to look after their child.
But many said the man should try and find a compromise, such as shifting his sleep schedule so that he can wake up earlier to be with his baby, while still getting the right amount of sleep. One person said: "Maybe you can give a little? Is there a night of the week you can let the wife sleep?
"Maybe have whoever the night nanny would be over for some day nanny stuff to build trust? You shouldn't compromise your profession, especially athletic ones that have health/injury risks that would also compromise your future earnings, but maybe this is a sign your wife just needs more help than she thought and you gotta adapt somehow."
In an update, the dad said he had spoken to his wife and the pair had agreed to hire a night nanny, as well as having his sister come over a few times a week to allow the new mum to get a good night's sleep. He said: "I talked to Katie about hiring a night nurse to temporarily help her out during the day, and she agreed and seemed happy about the idea.
"That way she can get familiar with the new nurse and feel more comfortable about transitioning to a full-night type of arrangement. She also apologised for lashing out at me and explained that she was mostly too embarrassed to ask her family for more help when she already has hired help as a stay-at-home mum.
"So we agreed to ask my sister since they have a really good relationship. My sister has offered to come by 1 or 2 nights per week to watch our son until Katie's comfortable having the night nurse be full-time and alone.
"That way Katie immediately gets at least some uninterrupted sleep too for now."
Do you think the dad is in the wrong? Let us know in the comments section.
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