Overworked and underpaid

Motherhood is a wonderful thing, but I often feel like my contributions are undervalued. Especially by my co-parent. Monetary income is not the only thing that keeps this household afloat, and replacing my nearly 24-7 availability and round-the-clock child care services would cost more than the hubster makes.

I parent all day, and yes I sometimes get to blog or go on Facebook, but I might be interrupted repeatedly. At the moment, I'm supervising siblings at play and ready to jump in any second if my referee commands aren't respected. My internet time usually happens when I'm nursing a baby or have someone asleep on/next to me and I don't want to risk waking them.

Superdork the dad-man gets spoiled when the babes are young and I'm their sole food source. When they start eating solids, he seems to forget that either one of us is equally capable of feeding them. And he has a major advantage when he does parent. Spending time with Daddy is a special thing and behavior is better when the kids, especially the toddler, are with someone they don't spend most of their waking hours with.

There are some days when I desperately want to do something as simple as use the bathroom without having repeated interruptions. I can tell I'm desperately in need of a break when I do things like go to a doctor's appointment and love having the time to myself.

So, how do I go about negotiating some vacation days from this motherhood job? I'll settle for a real meal break or some personal time on a regular basis.