When I was pregnant with my first son, I spoke to a close friend who had given birth just a few months before. I was looking for reassurance and advice, and she told me that though having a newborn was hard, it did make her feel like she and her husband were on the same team.

A few weeks later I sat on the couch holding my newborn baby boy. I was crying. I didn’t know why. All I knew was that I didn’t feel like the person I had been before, and that my husband looked like a stranger too — one who couldn’t carry or feed our baby like I could; one who had been able to drink beer and eat deli meat throughout my pregnancy. Not that I was bitter. And as he looked back, I could tell he didn’t recognize me either.

We felt further apart than ever, with mere feet between us. Never had I felt less on the same team.

My latest for Mockingbird–read the rest here!