Thursday, May 19, 2005

It's a BOY

Baby: We caved. We started talking about it last night and decided in the waiting room that we were going to find out the sex of the baby at today's ultrasound. It's a good thing we did. It's going to take Jen the remaining 4.5 months to come to terms with the fact that she is having a son. She can't even imagine what that will be like or what kind of relationship she'll have with him. She feels like she'll be outnumbered by guys now. She's right in that it will be 2 guys to one girl but the 2 guys will completely adore her.

This is both good and bad news for me. I'm thrilled to be having a son. I am worried that much of the blame will fall on me if I am unsuccessful in raising a son. It seems that it will be my job to make sure that he fits in well with other boys. That he doesn't become either a bully or a pushover. That he knows enough about men's interests to fit in but not to the exclusion of other interests that women can't relate to him. The pressure is now on me more so than if we found out we were having a girl. I could have just spoiled daddy's little girl and gotten away with it.

There are plenty of benefits to knowing that we were previously in denial about. Decorating the nursery is one thing. Also we only need to come up with one name. That alone is going to be very difficult. We don't have to buy all of those gender neutral things. I didn't know that most baby stores were filled with light green things. Filled.

Today was a very special day. Each day that passes makes it feel more real. Each goal, deadline or benchmark that we achieve adds a little more confidence. At some point my son will call me Dad and I won't even look around to see who he's talking to.

Rehab: Tuckpointers showed up this morning. 2 weeks early! Not a bad thing, but it was a surprise. Steve is coming tomorrow morning to start the framing. The window guys are moving along nicely. Things have been slow but they are picking up momentum and probably won't slow down much until the end.

2 comments:

337is said...

As a lifelong Mama’s boy, I can testify that it’s not all bad. Ladies love it!

Leslie = light green

LMR said...

I don't know why, but I usually assume that everyone is having a girl (maybe because pregnancy is so female/mother-focused? As it has to be, I suppose...) and then am totally surprised to find out they're having a boy. What? A BOY? Really?

It's not that I think having a boy is less desirable than having a girl, but I am just pre-disposed to assume it's a girl. The exception being that if it's kid #2 and they already have a girl, then I assume it's going to be a boy, as if life is always striving for balance and equality.

There are pros and cons to raising both boys and girls and I don't think anyone can give conclusive evidence that one is harder to raise than the other. It's much more linked to the personality of the child, I think.

In conclusion, you and Jen will do great as parents! And I would have done the same thing and wanted to know if it was a boy or a girl. I don't think I'm really good with surprises! Especially if it means a green and yellow nursery!