Ladies, get in here.

So you have a six months old daughter who is teething and the process was making her extremely cranky all day. Finally, heavens smiled on you and you were able to get her to sleep. You finally took a breather as you were overjoyed that she was finally asleep, if not blissfully.

If only you knew.

Then the man of your dreams or so you supposed came home. The first thing he asked you was where his baby was and you sighed deeply in relief and were like, “Ahh! She is sleeping finally. Baby, you won’t believe the stress she put me through today. Her teeth is really affecting her. She has been cranky and restless all day. I just succeeded in putting her to sleep.”

When you were done with your monologue, he smiled – you know, that smile that stops your heart, winks* – and said, “I’m sorry. I can imagine what you went through.”

You left him to freshen up and went back to all the duties that Africans expect you to do, so you can be tagged a dutiful and good wife.

You finished cooking a beautiful, sumptuous meal and went back to the room. The sight before you stopped you short and almost drove you into another frenzy.

There your baby was, awake and smiling while your husband was swinging her around.

This baby has woken up again.

“Weren’t you quiet enough?” you asked resignedly.

“Oh, no. I woke her up. I wanted to play with her,” he answered, smiling again.

Only this time, the smile left a bitter feeling at the pit of your stomach and you felt like wiping what you saw as a smirk off his face.

“What? How could you do that? Why would you wake her up?” you screamed in fury.

Oblivious to your feelings and totally at a loss why you are that angry, he replies, “What do you mean? How can she sleep without playing with me?”

You had to call upon all the pre-wedding counseling classes you attended and all your mother’s advice to restrain the obscenities in your head from spewing out. Certain you might destroy something in your temper, you left the room still steaming.

Some couple of minutes later, you heard your baby let out a wail.

“There you go,” you thought. “Now you will see what I’ve been experiencing.”

Hardly had the thought left your head when he came in, still smiling that silly smile – forgetting it used to drive you crazy – and dropped the baby in your arms. “I can’t get her to keep quiet,” he explained and left you looking at his retreating figure, aghast.

So what would you do, let’s discuss.