Dad refuses to change newborn's nappies at night because he needs eight hours of sleep

31 August 2021, 14:03 | Updated: 31 August 2021, 14:17

A dad has caused a stir online after revealing that he won't change his newborns nappies during the night because he needs to sleep.

A dad has claimed that he doesn't think he should get up in the night to change his baby's nappy, despite the fact that both he and his wife are on parental leave.

The anonymous man explained that his baby is five weeks old, and his partner wakes up four or five times in the night to breastfeed.

He added that he had been getting up in the night to change the baby's nappy after the feeds to give his wife some rest, but he doesn't believe this system is fair.

As reported by The Sun, he wrote on Reddit: "My partner thinks that I should do all the night time diaper changes since she's breastfeeding. Her argument is that since she's nursing day and night, it's only fair.

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"She says she needs time to go to the bathroom, drink water, etc, while I am changing the diaper. In her view: I am often grouchy, need to be asked multiple times to get up, and sometimes argue if he even needs to be changed."

The dad went on to say that he'll need a full night's sleep when he returns to work.

He added: "She will be on leave for the next 18 months. We go to bed at 9pm, and I get up with our dogs at 6 am and she's up with the baby an hour or two later."

Many Reddit users were not sympathetic to the dad, with one writing: "Your wife is exhausted, physically and due to lack of sleep. You have no excuse especially while you’re on parental leave.

"She does need to use the bathroom, drink water, whatever - to take care of herself, so she can take care of your son.

"Parenthood is about shared responsibilities and partnership. You need to grow up and share the burden.

"There’s only room for one baby in your family, and it’s not you. Time to be a dad. It’s hard, but tough s*** — this is your moment to decide what kind of father, and ultimately husband, you want to be."

Another wrote: "Newsflash, your days of eight hours sleep are over for at least a few years.

"My kids are five and eight and sometimes they still wake up in the night, thankfully not often but you have to be there when they do."