WIBTA for taking a vacation day to go to Wimbledon tennis tournament rather than staying at home with my wife and newborn baby?

A Reddit user, a passionate tennis fan, faces a dilemma after winning tickets to the prestigious Wimbledon tournament just as his paternity leave comes to an end. With his wife recently giving birth to their daughter, he must decide whether to take a vacation day to attend the event or stay home to support her and their newborn.

While he believes it’s reasonable to take the day off given his long-standing love for tennis, his wife feels it would be inconsiderate, especially since she prefers not to leave their baby with a sitter. Now, he’s wondering if taking this day for himself makes him the bad guy. Read the original story below for more details.

‘ WIBTA for taking a vacation day to go to Wimbledon tennis tournament rather than staying at home with my wife and newborn baby?’

I am a big tennis fan, and this year I won 2 tickets to Wimbledon’s center court on quarterfinals day in the open ballot. I’ve been entering the ballot for over a decade and this was my first win, other than 2020 when the tournament was cancelled…

The tickets are for early next week. [clarification – I have been twice before when I’ve queued for general admission, and twice when we’ve been invited for early round games].

My wonderful wife gave birth to our healthy baby daughter 2 weeks ago. My paternity leave ends the day before my Wimbledon tickets, so in order to go, I would need to take a vacation day instead of going to the office or (my option) working from home.

My wife thinks I would be an a**hole for taking vacation to go to the tournament rather than either using it to extend my paternity leave and help her with the baby, or saving it for a joint holiday.

I think it is reasonable to go since I love tennis, I have plenty of vacation saved up, and I offered to pay for a sitter so my wife could come to the tennis as well but she declined (thinks it is too early to leave baby with sitter). What do you think – WIBTA for going?

Let’s dive into the reactions from Reddit:

GordonBlue133 −  YTA.The kid is only 2 weeks old. your poor wife is exhausted and probably gets no more than a couple hours sleep at a time because of feeding, heck she likely hasn’t yet recovered from the birth. And you’re going for some personal fun time? I can’t believe you had the nerve to suggest a sitter, too.. seriously? again, YTA.

Initial_Potato5023 −  YTA You have a newborn baby. Your first priority NOW in your life is your wife and child not your fun time.

sheramom4 −  YTA. Especially for suggesting that your wife leave a three week old with a sitter. Your wife isn’t even recovered from childbirth yet. The baby is brand new. Is she breastfeeding? How do you propose she leave a nursing newborn with a sitter? Of course it is too early to leave a newborn with a sitter.

Do they charge for newborns at Wimbledon? At a bare minimum, asking if she would like to bring herself and the baby would have been step one.

Rohini_rambles −  2 weks? Your wife probably can’t pee or poop without tons of pain. Her hormones are probably all mixed up now too.
You’re a father to a newborn. Forego the tennis and stay home and help your wife. 

There’ll be other tennis. You’ve also been many other times. It’s pretty messed up to be so s**fish. Do you even look at your wife on a daily basis, and see all that her body has to go through to recover? . So s**fish. 

Schezzi −  Your wife has been carrying your kid for 9 months, just gave birth, and is healing and exhausted while only two weeks into one of the hardest times of parenthood.

And you think YOU need a vacation day? That this is even an idea for you tells me who has been doing the bulk of the childcare already….. Your poor wife. YTA.

stellaa29 −  Here’s the thing – no, you’re not the ah for your specific title question. But you have to understand that from this point forward, unless YOU work really hard to address this, you will always have more freedom than your wife to come and go as you please.

The lack of sleep, the constant needs to meet, the difficulty completing any task fully, being touched out – that is all felt so much more when you see your husband galavanting around for this and that. Even you getting to leave the house and go to work is a luxury. Truly.

You need to make sure that your wife gets everything you get. You get a day to go off and do something you enjoy, and you better be moving heaven and earth to make that possible for your wife too. If she’s truly not ready for time out without baby, you pick up more around the house.

You take baby a little longer so she can have a bath or read a book or invite a friend over for coffee or whatever she likes to do. Try to anticipate your wife’s needs and help meet them.

Look around and make sure you’re taking care of chores that are likely weighing on her mind. And for the record, it IS way too early for a sitter. That’s the suggestion that I think makes YTA.

majesticjewnicorn −  YTA. Not only should your wife and newborn be your priority… you’re planning on attending Wimbledon, which can hold up to 42000 spectators. Your baby hasn’t even had her vaccinations yet and has barely got an immune system, and your wife has recently given birth and is still recovering from this.

Covid cases are spiking here in London, but because newer variants don’t have as strong symptoms as the original variants, some people are assuming they are experiencing hay fever and are going out and about without testing.

You are willing to spend several hours in close proximity with thousands of people, and bring home some pretty n**ty illnesses for your tiny baby and wife to potentially catch. What is wrong with your priorities?

Wimbledon is a yearly event, and by your own admission you have previously been, albeit you paid for it. You can give it a miss this year. It was an AH move to even enter the ballot in the first place, knowing you were due to have a baby, and those tickets could’ve gone to someone else who hadn’t ever experienced Wimbledon before (especially if this was a financial reason for them).

immajustgooglethat −  YTA. Newsflash, you have a newborn baby and a wife recovering from childbirth. I can guarantee your wife doesn’t have the luxury of even thinking about leaving the baby for a full day while the baby is so young.

Doubledogdad23 −  YTA. step up and be a f**king father.