In the first few days after their baby is born, new parents are at war for a little precious sleep.
After hours of labor or surgery, nurses and doctors coming and going and excited friends and family making unexpected appearances, it can be difficult to find the time.
But one mom came up with a hilarious solution that may or may not help new moms catch a few extra winks.
Amidst all the exhaustion, it's reasonable for parents to bicker a little bit about who needs to stay up with the baby while in the hospital. But for one veteran mom of three, she decided after going through the hard hours of labor, the least her husband could do was answer to the baby during the night.
But 30-year-old Samantha Miller learned the hard way with her second child, it may not always be so easy to wake her husband, 39-year-old Chad Miller, when she needs his help in the middle of the night.
Samantha explained:
"When I had my son Chase, I lost my voice from being on oxygen for so long. In the middle of the night, I needed help feeding him, but the baby's cries never woke up Chad."
"Without having a voice, I couldn't yell to wake Chad, so I had to throw an empty water bottle. This time, I thought I'd have much better aim with a Nerf gun!"
You read that correctly.
Samantha hilariously included in her hospital bag a Nerf gun for just those occasions when she needed to wake her husband for help.
Samantha later shared her ingenious plan on Facebook, including a photo of the Nerf gun she had included in the bag the Miller family had brought to the hospital.
The post went viral, shared more than 18,000 times, as moms everywhere took delight in Samantha's idea.
Samantha Mravik-Miller / Facebook
Samantha Mravik-Miller / Facebook
Samantha Mravik-Miller / Facebook
Samantha Mravik-Miller / Facebook
It seems many of these moms may have tried something similar in the past, throwing a wide array of items at their significant others.
They all seem to agree the Nerf gun is the better option.
Samantha Mravik-Miller / Facebook
Samantha Mravik-Miller / Facebook
Samantha Mravik-Miller / Facebook
Samantha Mravik-Miller / Facebook
Samantha later shared how she, somewhat unfortunately, forgot she had brought the Nerf gun with her to the hospital, mostly because she didn't need to use it. Chad proved to be quite attentive and didn't need to be awoken with a surprise attack from a kids' toy.
Just the same, when Samantha shared her plan with her husband and the nurses, they all had a good laugh about it.
There are suggestions all over the internet, listing for moms the items they most need to include in their grab-and-go hospital bags, and what they can reasonably leave at home. After seeing this new hack, expectant moms-to-be inevitably will be reevaluating what they need to include for their hospital stay!
"Straight men of Reddit, what is the strangest thing you have been told not to do because 'that's gay?'"
The following behavior just screams, "gay," fellas. Watch out.
Song Choice
"Sing a Lily Allen song during karaoke."
– KentuckyFriedEel
School Protocol
"Advice I received in high school from other students:"
"Don't cross your legs with one knee over the other. Put one ankle over the other knee."
"When carrying books, palm them and carry them at your side. Don't rest one edge of the books near your waist."
"Never button the top button of your shirt."
– Gorf_the_Magnificent
Look, But Don't Look
"This one time, at summer camp, this guy who'd just been swimming in the lake told me you could tell how cold the water was by how hard his nipples were. 'But don't stare too long,' he said, 'because that's gay.'"
"You were the one who told me to look in the first place!"
– SonOfTheShire
Sandwich For Sissies
"When I was a kid, my dad called me a sissy because I cut a sandwich diagonally."
– captainmagictrousers
Getting Woodwind
"I played the clarinet. I got called Faginet a lot."
– Virtual_Caramell
"But that's one women do," one might argue.
Daddy Duty
"Changing my daughter's diaper. Mentioned it in the office one day. Called gay."
– Bullydaddy
A Lighter Shade
"Buying a white IPhone."
– Freshrendar
"Added my husband (then boyfriend) to my phone plan. Went to the store on my own to upgrade both our phones. We both just wanted the next gen Samsung. It was only available in purplish-pink in store."
"I shrugged and said it didn't matter, he's putting a case on it anyways. Guys working at the store kept trying to talk me out of it, actively pushing me to go to another store, making them lose commission, just so my partner wouldn't have a feminine phone. He used his pink phone for 3 years."
– Caity26
Life Skills
"I've been criticized for knowing how to sew and cook. Those are essential life skills!"
– placeholderNull
"My father was a Marine drill instructor in the 50's. Guess who did all the sewing in my house growing up?"
"Yeah, no one dared to call him gay for it."
– desrever1138
Here are examples of guidelines for being a manly man, according to manly men.
Manly Appetite
"Not a straight man but... back in my bartending days I asked a man if he wanted to see a dessert menu. He said 'if I wanted dessert I'd order wings like a real man.'"
"Weird flex but okay."
– BigJiggies
When I'm In The Mood, I Masticate
"When I'm feeling extra manly, I just take a bite out of a cow and then chew on some raw wheat."
"Like a man."
– AmigoDelDiabla
No Appointments Necessary For Straight Men
"I left a pick-up basketball game because I had an appointment to get a haircut. Evidently, the only straight way to get a haircut is as a walk in."
– patricksaurus
Abiding By The Law Is So Gay
"Using turn signals. And not as some sort of euphemism, but literally using them while driving to turn or change lanes."
– Sargatanus
In grade school, some fellow classmates asked me to check for gum on my shoe because they saw me step in some.
When I lifted my leg to take a gander, the boys were howling hysterically as if my actions confirmed something.
Well, it sure did. Apparently, if I l looked at the bottom of my shoe from in front of me, I was "normal," but since I bent my leg back and looked at the bottom of my shoe from behind, that made me "so gay."
Although, I didn't come out 'til years later, maybe those goons were onto something. Thanks for the heads up, guys.
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