The roles are defined

One thing is becoming very apparent in our first stab at parenthood - Meggan has her role and I have mine. Meggan is the nurturer, the loving mother, the safe harbor when Mia doesn't feel well. I, however, am only the court jester. There is no doubt Amelia loves me. She cracks up at the mere sight of me - probably not the first time a girl has done that, but the first time I'm not offended by it. She trusts me as a dad and is very well behaved for me during times when she normally gives Meggan trouble. That said, when times get really tough for her, when she can't sleep, when she wakes up crying, when she doesn't feel well, she wants nothing to do with me. Tonight, we had a perfect example to hammer home these truths. Mia and I had a great time tonight. I played with her in her "jump up and down" chair and she was laughing and having a blast. We put her to bed a little while later. Since she has a slight cold, she had a hard time sleeping and woke up crying. I trudged upstairs to calm her down and get her back to sleep. In my most loving, fatherly way, I scooped her up and held her to my chest, rubbing her back and kissing her on the forehead. Her response - well, she can't speak, but I'm pretty sure it was the baby equivalent of an F bomb. Meggan, hearing this, came upstairs to lend a hand. She took the baby and held her EXACTLY the way I was...and Amelia fell silent. Look, I don't mind being mildly amusing from time to time, but what the hell?!? Apparently, I'm good enough to feed her, clean her, change her, entertain her, but when it comes to comforting her, I need not apply. I think what I have to do is pretty clear. As she gets older and understands what I am saying to her, I'm going to have to make up all kinds of stories about her mother so that she will come to me to comfort instead. I know it seems dirty and low to tell your child that her mother has a contagious baby-flesh eating disease or that she tried to trade her for the complete Sex and The City series on DVD, but I don't see any other options. I simply cannot settle for being the clown dressed in the dad suit.