AITAH for expecting my husband to help me parent while we were on vacation?
I’m really torn right now and just need some outside perspective. I made this throwaway account to keep my information private. My husband (m31) and I (f22) recently went on a vacation with our 2-year-old daughter. The trip was actually his idea, he had suggested the idea of having one last little vacation as a family of three before we have baby #2, which we have been trying for for a few months now. My husband thought it would be nice to focus on just our daughter and us for a bit before things got more chaotic with another baby. I also thought it would be a nice opportunity to bond, spend some quality time together, and recharge as a family. We spent about a week at a really fancy resort and honestly I was so excited.
But when we actually got there, things didn’t quite go how I expected. I thought, since we were on vacation, my husband would be just as involved in taking care of our daughter as I was. I didn’t expect him to do everything, but I thought we’d be more of a team, sharing the responsibilities, especially since we were away from the comforts of home and I knew it might be harder to juggle things. Instead, it felt like I was still doing the majority of everything. I woke up with our daughter, took care of her meals, got her ready for the day, and dealt with nap time (and one tantrum), while he mostly relaxed or did his own thing. When I asked him to help, he would say things like, “I’m on vacation too,” or “You’re better at this anyway.” He spent a lot of time drinking so I didn’t even trust him to do most things but it just upset me so much that he didn’t even attempt to try.
Honestly, it’s been hard at home too, because I already feel like I’m doing most of the parenting. He doesn’t help around the house much either, and it often feels like I’m managing everything on my own. I guess I thought, on vacation, I’d at least get a little break. Maybe I’d finally get to sleep in for a few days, or he’d pick up some of the slack? But no, I felt like I was still doing everything. I just wanted some help, especially since this vacation was supposed to be a “reset” for us before we go into the newborn stage again, this time with a toddler.
However, I’m starting to wonder if I was wrong to expect him to step up more just because we were away. Maybe I was being too hard on him, especially since he’s the one who planned for and paid for the trip. But it really felt like I was still “on duty” the entire time, and honestly, I don’t know how much longer I can keep carrying this alone.
Am I the asshole for thinking he should be just as involved as I am on vacation, or was I being unreasonable by expecting more help?