Independent

I am a very independent person. I have a child and I can take care of myself- have for a long time. My boyfriend of two years and I have a baby on the way and our little ups and downs but is usually pretty good communication. However lately he keeps getting on my case about not being included enough or not feeling needed and my response is always that I don’t need him to do things for me, I enjoy his company and having a life with him but it’s not a need, it’s a desire. He doesn’t know how to digest that sometimes and because we have really opposite schedules these days and I am off work and doing a lot of projects around the house without him (though I always run my ideas by him and tell him what I’m doing- but he works overnights and sleeps during the day so I can’t really wait for him to do everything I want to do) he gets upset sometimes. I’m happy to do these things with him but he isn’t always available and I get that so I don’t just go ahead with it myself.

I just wonder how other men deal with a very independent partner. I always feel like we are our own people but that we choose to spend our lives together. I don’t feel the need to be tied to each other’s hips and be our whole worlds and that it’s ok if one of us wants to take on a project without the other but he never initiates things without my partnership through the whole thing. It’s fine but I am just not like that. I don’t like to be slowed down and I find it frustrating to have to wait days to do something that I have time to do now.

Anyone else deal with this in their relationship??